By Paula Story, Associated Press Writer
RIDGWAY (AP) -- In cars and buses, on bikes and motorcycles, thousands flash peace signs on their way to a woodland nirvana. They have come for the annual Rainbow Family Gathering, this year held in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania.
The Allegheny National Forest, home to the endangered Indiana Bat, is now the temporary home of the more than 20,000 people expected to greet each other with the signature Rainbow Family of Living Light "welcome home."
For the past 28 years, the Rainbows have gathered on federal public land at different sites around the country, bringing their live-and-let-live philosophy for a two week camp-in--complete with heavy does of dreadlocks, tie-dyed clothing and marijuana.
The sounds of drums echo through the trees; a young woman in braids and a long, flowing skirt walked the dirt trails playing a flute. They call each other "brother" and "sister," and they often have nicknames like Angel, Runningmouth and Bullwinkle, sharing the latest camp news as veterans and first-timers set up their temporary homes.
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| PEACEFUL PAUSE-Becky, no last name given, holds her son Abraham Rainforest, age 2, in her skirt while he naps and she rests at the Rainbow Family gathering Sunday afternoon. Becky came from California for the event, and said she has been attending them for years. The temperatures peaked over 90 degrees Sunday, and most sites were accessible only by foot. (Photos by Paul A. Wilson) |
Somebody even hauled an upright piano deep into the woods.
"A lot of us are professionals, and we take vacation to do this," said Sara, a farmer from Nebraska. "My friends, the people that I hang out with, have been doings this for 25 years."
But some locals in the nearby town of Ridgway, which has become the unofficial rendezvous point for many of those headed to the gathering, worry that the event -- Sunday through July 10 -- will bring an unwelcome element to their town.
A waitress who works at Susan's Family Restaurant said she's more than happy to serve the stream of earthy out-of-towners who come in.
"They've been in a lot, but they've been very nice. Some people who work here don't want to serve them, though," said the waitress, who asked that her name not be used. "I think they're kind of scared of them."
Tom Wolff, 54, lives in Ridgway and works as a maintenance man.
"Live anywhere, there's good ones and there's bad ones," Wolff said. "The ones that come into town, they're generally trash. No shirt, no shoes. They're kids, runaways, I think."
At Keystone ServiceStar hardware, owner Rich Ross said he's had no trouble and business has been up slightly.
"They're buying tarps and duct tape and rope," Ross said. "That's what they live in."
Rainbow members set no real rules, except to bring a cup, bowl and spoon. Everything is free and food is donated. Clothing is optional, although most of those wandering through a vast trace of the forest on Sunday wore loose skirts, shorts or baggy pants that soaked up the sweat and hung low in the muggy, 90-plus temperatures.
Unofficial camps continue from year to year. They include "A" camp, which has become the designated site for those with a penchant for drinking alcohol, or Kiddie Camp, a haven for those with children because it provides a kind of woodland daycare.
Law enforcement officers, known as LEOs to the Rainbow folk, were more plentiful than any herd of elk or family of bats in the forest. Forest Service officials and Pennsylvania State Police were out in force, roaming the dusty roads leading to the sprawling campsites.
A group of officers on horseback approached one camp Sunday, and the groups started chanting "We love you; we hate your guns."
Sara, the Nebraska farmer, and Bullwinkle, a 43-year-old nature photographer from northern California, said Sunday that more young people have been coming in recent years. They admitted that some may not have caught on to the whole spirit of the Rainbow Gathering, but they hope to teach them to be stewards of the forest.
"Some kids and some adults, they come up here and think this is a big party, but it's not," Bullwinkle said. "From babies to 80, we have all walks of life."
On July 4, the group will remain silent for a collective prayer for peace.
Last year, the Forest Service's 50-member National Incident Management team spent $500,000 to monitor the event in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona.
The 22,000 people who attended caused little damage, except for some short-term fecal matter in the water.
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