Creating Better Community

Creating a Better Community

By Xan Hall

Building a community is hard work; it is often also thankless, exasperating, and overwhelming. But the dividends of that work – a community of people who support each other, who do thingsthat are mutually beneficial, who make sacrifices for each other – that’ s worthwhile.

We all know the stories about the ‘ bad old days’ at the farm. But in case you don’ t, here’s a recap. There was that time Orren had to fight in court so we could access the land at all, because there was a legal injunction against setting foot on the land from October until April one winter. There was that time Stones Rising happened during a hurricane, and the hardy brave souls who stayed out in the rain raised those Stones anyways, and got soaking wet and weren’ t done before dark. There was that time a car got irretrievably stuck in front of faerie camp, necessitating a bypass (that’ s why the faeries have a parking lane). There was that time a flood took away the lower shower house and many campsites in the Soggy Bottoms. There was that time the woods caught on fire, nearly ending in disaster. There was that time in the kitchen without proper refrigeration, when veggies were stacked in the corner with ice bags and tarps, and two people cooked for a thousand. There was that time...

The Bass Goes On

By Chris Carter

Bass. The power, the drive, the majesty.
Harvest. Gathering together. Reaping the seeds we have sown.

I remember back in the Dark Ages, when I first heard electronic music. I would stay up late to record it on a cassette player from the local college radio station. I knew then that this was something special that I wanted more of. Later I would find it at the clubs, and experience the continuous flow of mix that a DJ can add to the music, a flow that I could lose myself to in dance. I wanted more. I found it at raves, where the flow went on all night until we emerged exhausted together in the morning, bound together in a brotherhood, a lodge of beat that built communities that have lasted the test of years. Festivals were the next evolution, building on the all-night vibe to an all-weekend retreat, the environment one of intent and spiritual focus, a space to evolve and grow personally while building that sense of community even further. I will always remember these transformative events that have made me who I am.