We, who are sisters and brothers,Children of God, families of life on Earth,friends of nature and of all people, children of Humankind calling ourselves Rainbow Family tribe, humbly invite: all races, peoples,tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals - out of love; all nations and national leaders - out of respect; all religions and religious leaders - out of faith; all politicians - out of charity; to join with us in gathering together for the purpose of expressing our sincere desire that there shall be peace on Earth, harmony among all people . . . and to hold upon worship, prayer, chanting, or whatever is the want or desire of the people beginning the 28th day of June, but upon the 4th day of July, at noon, to ask that there be a meditative contemplative silence wherein we, the invited people of the world, may consider and give honor and respect to anyone or anything that has aided in the positive evolution of humankind and Nature upon this, our most beloved and beautiful world - asking blessing upon we people of this world and hope that we people can effectively proceed to evolve, expand and live in harmony and Peace. Amen.
This is a Spiritual Gathering, absolutely Free & non-commercial, supported by our voluntary cooperation. We are here to express and rejoice in the sacredness of ourselves, nature, the land, and the spirit that connects us all. Tread lightly, with great respect, as you enter the Cathedral of Nature.join in this unique event -The Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes.
REVISED DIRECTIONS: From the North , Northeast & Northwest Hwys. 90, 17, & 6 lead to US 219 south to Ridgway.
From the South, East & West take Interstate 80 to exit 18 and follow US 153 north. At Penfield take US 255 to St. Marys and take PA 120 west to Ridgway. Heavy, large vehicles use this route. Cars and small vans continue on 153 to 219 north and into Ridgway.
Cars and small Vans only use Interstate 80 to exit 16 and follow US 219 to Ridgway. Warning: US 219 North is steep, twisty and dangerous for large rigs - DO NOT USE THIS ROUTE. If you are checking a map for another route coming from the south also avoid 949 north as it leads to Arroyo Road which has a narrow bridge with a 3 Ton limit.
RIDGEWAY In Ridgway at the intersection of Main St. and Broad you will see a Sheets Convenience Store if you are coming from the north make a right onto Main St as you will be on Broad...coming from the south you are on Main St. and Sheets is on your left. go straight through 4 lights. Site is approx. 9 miles. At Laural Mill Run Go up a steep hill and over a narrow bridge. Speed limit is 30 mph. You'll eventually see a sign for Little Drummer, keep driving. There is a sign for ATV Timberline Trailhead (on your right) and you are real close. This road becomes Spring Creek Rd. At the intersection of Arroyo Rd and Spring Creek Rd. make a right onto FS 136 (not marked, dirt road). Go north 4.5 miles towards Owls Nest. Welcome Home!!! Follow speed limits - 20 mph on dirt roads.
Come home safely, take care of each other along the way. Make sure your vehicles are safe and street legal. Ignore all rumors of cancellation, regardless of source. If you cannot be with us in person on the 4th of July be with us in spirit by joining in the silence.
WE LOVE YOU!
(Personal items are a must - all else is optional) PERSONAL ITEMS: Your own bowls, cups, utensils, personal water containers, water jugs, portable shelter, camping equipment, sleeping bags, blankets, mats, flashlights and extra batteries, camp shovel, camp tools, rope. Temperatures on the Allegheny Plateau can be as high as 100 or low as 40 this time of year. Prepare for both humid, sunny days & thundershowers. Bring rain gear, layered clothing, hiking footwear (there is a long walk from the trailhead to the gathering), sunscreen & a hat. Bring toiletry supplies including extra toilet paper, menstrual necessities, biodegradable soaps & shampoos, & first aid supplies, snake bite kit. Bring acoustical instruments. Rafts & tubes for swimming! If you're able, please bring extra items (esp. blankets) to share w/someone less prepared. Please bring bags to take out your trash & recyclables.
The Magic Hat: This is where the money comes from to pay for most of the food you eat, gas for the shuttles, supplies for C.A.L.M., batteries for the hand held radios, and any other necessary items. Please, put your green energy into the Hat early to fund this gathering. The Hat is passed around at evening meals and with the Magic Hat band during the day. Money from the hat goes into the Rainbow Bank on the Land. Banking Councils are held everyday. There is only one magic hat. Some kitchens & camps may pass a hat for their specific needs. Be aware whom you give money to. There is no charge for anything here.
KID'S VILLAGE: A co-operative community for our kids and their families. Bring all types of arts & crafts supplies and play materials that encourage peacefulness & cooperation. Talented entertainers always welcome to help co-create a safe kids space with workshops, playshops, pageants and parades. Fresh Goats Milk is appreciated. Please bring cloth diapers. Kid Village is not a drop off point or free babysitting. Parental responsibility & participation in childcare is the key. Know whom you leave your children with.
C.A.L.M. (The Center for Alternative Living Medicine) invites medicine people, therapists & counselors of all disciplines to harmonize, work & learn together. This is our healing area. If you get sick or are hurt or have a contagious disease, get yourself to C.A.L.M. Donations of medical and herbal items are welcome. CALM has a Magic Hat to supplement it's needs. Check the C.A.L.M. website for the wish list: : C.A.L.M. Info
SANITATION: Wash your hands/wash your dishes - keep clean! LATRINE needs: metal buckets for ash or lime (bring lime). Multi-gallon plastic jugs w/ spigot & bleach for hand wash. 2 lb. coffee cans w/ lids (keeps toilet paper dry), toilet paper, spades to dig latrines with. For BATHING bring solar showers, shower hoses, buckets, biodegradable soap & shampoos. For LAUNDRY bring biodegradable detergents, bleach, clothesline, buckets, wash basins, & hand cranked wringer. A plunger and a bucket make a great portable washing machine!
TOOLS & MATERIALS: Mark tools for identification. Bring shovels, axes, picks, tamper bar, saws, mauls, hatchets, sledge hammers & rakes. Account for your tools: know who they are with & where they'll be. Bring lanterns (candle, kerosene or oil), rolls of plastic, twine & lots of rope. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY: solar panels, wind & water generators. Bring animal or people carts, wagons, & wheelbarrows to bring in gear.
LARGE SHELTER: Tipis, parachutes, yurts, big tents, plastic & tarps for community use. Be responsible and take them with you after the gathering.
FOOD: Please bring bulk food for the kitchens, snacks for you and friends to keep with you. Kitchens range from raw food to macrobiotic & from total vegetarian to omnivorous.
For KITCHENS: Bring large stainless steel pots, large cast iron pans, big woks, stirring paddles, large cooking & serving utensils, large insulated hot food containers for feeding in Main Circle, big bowls, grates for fires, lots of 5 gal. Buckets, large water containers biodegradable soap, vinegar, bleach, washcloths, sponges & scrub pads. Propane cooking reduces smoke levels. Keep your kitchens clean. Healthy food keeps the camp healthy. There is no road into the site so everything must be carried via the trail.
COMMUNICATING: Pens, markers, crayons, paper, pushpins, staplers, clear plastic (2 mil or heavier), sign making materials, poster board, paint, plywood, town criers w/bells & notebooks.
PLEASE keep boom boxes, ATV's, helicopters & chainsaws away from the gathering itself.
CLEANUP: All garbage, litter & recycling in your camp is your responsibility to take out and faraway from the gathering site. If you see litter pick it up and take it away. Bring your recycled plastic shopping bags to share. Take in only what is necessary as it is a long walk out.
SHUTTLE VEHICLES: Need vehicles and crews to shuttle from parking areas to front gate, CB's for shuttle drivers and parking lots. Drivers be aware of the gas lines and don't drive on them.
It's a large site, camp on high ground as springs, streams and creeks run through the bottom. The area is delicate. ALL kitchens, latrines and camps must be at least 200 ft. away from streams and creeks. Protect the springs we drink from - please stay away from those areas. Keep dogs out of them. A HEALTHY CAMP IS A HAPPY CAMP!
Our right to Gather on "National Forest" lands, which are held in trust for us and our posterity, is protected by the first amendment and that is the only PERMIT necessary. Please do not sign any permits for "Rainbow Family Gathering".
"Congress shall make no law respecting...religion, speech, press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble. Do administrated agencies now have powers that the Constitutions specifically withheld from congress? Applying for 'permits' gives authority to "authorities" to participate in the 'control' of people assembling, and 'permit' a strong 'police presence', and the further ends of the 'control' agenda are met!
Hello & thanks to the folks of Ridgway who were such a big help in our 1986 Gathering. We are happy to be back and plan for a fruitful relationship. See you at the Gathering!
To all organizations and friends: The Rainbow Family is not in need of clothing. Please donate to folks who can use them instead of bringing to the Gathering.
Endangered species: The Indiana Bat. Local conservation groups have a court order stopping the cutting down of any standing trees, living or dead, in the Allegheny National forest to save the endangered Indiana Bat. Please don't cut living or dead standing trees.
Timber Rattlesnakes are native to this area and live in the rock beds, make noise if walking through this area to warn them of your presence. The area is roped off, but If you see one leave it alone and walk away. We are in a marshy area, mosquitoes may be annoying. Ticks may be in the tall grassy areas.
DECLARE ALL PREVIOUS JULY GATHERING SITES SACRED
RAP 107
Please protect this Beautiful Land.
Walk softly. Harm no living thing. Harmonize - Blend in. Use only down,
dead wood. Cut no living trees. Preserve the Meadows...camp in the Woods. We
are caretakers of this land.
Everyone sharing makes a strong Human Tribe!
Please Protect the Water Sources by staying out of DELICATE spring areas.
Avoid camping, peeing, washing above spring areas. Keep ALL soap out of
streams, springs or the creek! Use a bucket to take your bath at least 60
feet away from the water source. To be certain drinking water is safe: boil
it!
Use the slit trenches or covered latrines - cover your paper & waste with
ashes or lime, wash hands after. Break the fly/illness connection:
shit-fly-food-you! Dig no shitters near water areas or kitchens.
Protect our Health!
Use your own cup, bowl & spoon! Wash them after eating and rinse in
bleach-water. Visit C.A.L.M./M.A.S.H. if you feel ill - especially if you
have a contagious disease - or are injured.
Camp Together - Establish neighborhoods. Community Fires only! ~ Each with
5 gallon bucket with water and shovel for Fire Protection. If you are the
last to leave a fire PUT IT OUT! Please, NO Fireworks! Watch your gear: Be
Responsible ~ "Tempt Not Lest Ye Be Lifted From."
Pets are discouraged but if you must bring them keep them fed, on a leash
and out of the kitchens, springs & fights. Clean up their poop. Love them.
Cleanup begins when you arrive. Bring in only what is necessary. There is
no janitor here...you are the cleanup crew. Separate garbage for recycling.
Please don't litter. Compost in pits only.
You are the Gathering! Participate in Shanti Sena (the peace keepers
council), activities, councils, work crews, workshops. Volunteer wherever
needed: kitchens, welcome home, firewatch, parking lot, shitter digging,
supply, front gate, etc. R-E-S-P-E-C-T your Sisters & Brothers energies.
Keep the Balance: Earth, Sky, Trees, Water & People!
Alcohol is Discouraged, Weapons are Inappropriate, Violence is contrary to
the Spirit of the Gathering. Please take no photographs or videos of people
without permission. Discourage Drug Abuse.
Buying and selling endangers our legal right to be here. The Magic Hat is
our Bank, donate early to fund our needs. The Magic Hat goes around at
mealtime circles and with the Magic Hat band.
Our power together is many times our power separated.
Enjoy the Rainbow with an open heart and you Will see the Vision.
Join us for July 4th Silent Contemplation & Prayer for Peace, respect those
maintaining silence from dawn. (c)Hold the silence until the arrival of the
Children's Parade.
RAP 701
In preparation for leaving...Pack up all your trash/recyclables and take it
away. Take it far away. Do not impact the small towns near the gathering.
If you can't take it with you drop it in the collection area.
Dismantle and disappear your encampment. Pick up your litter. If you don't
someone else will have to. Vanish ALL traces. Douse your fire, ashes cold,
scatter your fire rocks. Replace turf.
Fill in your local latrine and compost holes solidly with lime and soil.
Latrine tops are burned. Remove string and twine from tree limbs. Break up
hardened ground with shovels or picks for future root growth and moisture
catch. Intermix humus from forest ground if possible.
NATURALIZE! When an area is clear and clean scatter logs, branches, leaves
to look natural. Disappear trails, renew forest habitat. Water systems are
removed, cleaned and stored for next year.
Help with disabled vehicles, fully dismantle ramps and bridges. Water bar
steep places to prevent erosion. The final crew re-seeds with appropriate
vegetation to complete the process.
Transport as many riders as possible out of the area. Treat local folks
with great kindness.
Drive safely and share this love wherever you go.
WE LOVE YOU !!!
Please copy and distribute this information freely!
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