4 ... Gabriel Morristo children and their families—with naturally crafted jungle gyms and
rope-swings. CALM, the Center for Alternative Living Medicine, is a
healing camp for both physical and mental ailments. Krishna Camp
has ongoing chanting and dancing, and the best food in town. Yoga
classes can be found at various camps or in the main meadow. And
a trading circle forms what could be termed “downtown Rainbow.”
Although exchanging money in a National Forest is illegal, there are
no limits on trading goods, and some come primarily for this part of
the gathering.
As night falls, you might stumble across a story-telling tent, a tal-
ent show complete with disco ball, folks making music around small
fires, or pounding drums circling a raging campfire in the main mead-
ow, echoing the heartbeat of the people throughout the forest.
One of the beautiful—and sometimes tragic—things about the
Rainbow Gatherings is that almost every type of person can be found
there. You’ll see folks of every age, ethnic and religious group; from
yuppies to hippies, Hell’s Angels to faerie folk (sometimes even with
wings), gutter punks and Native American shamans, old crones and
ex-cons.
Although alcohol isn’t allowed in the main gathering area, at the
edge of the gathering somewhere near the parking area can be found
A-Camp (Alcohol Camp) where they drink beer, eat red meat, do
hardcore drugs, and occasionally get into fist fights, or worse. A-
camp can at times be something of an antithesis to the more pure
and peaceful focus of the Rainbow Gathering itself. Every few years,
it seems, there’s a reported rape or assault at the gathering—usually
occurring in A-Camp. Because, unfortunately, this ugliness is a harsh
reality of human existence and society anywhere, it is an anticipated
(although, of course, not at all supported or accepted) aspect of the
all-encompassing humanity of the gatherings.
As the name implies, these festivals in the woods are meant to
include all colors of the proverbial rainbow—regardless of a person’s
race, culture, religion, politics, societal status, dress, sexuality, or
whatever other means people might choose to delineate themselves.