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Rainbow Survives, Once Again

By Gabe Kirchheimer

Once the legal dust settled, the 2005 Rainbow Gathering in the mountains of West Virginia was a mellow affair. The US Forest Service had rejected the Rainbow scouts' original choice of a site near Alpena, and ticketed hundreds of early campers there for illegal use and occupancy of a national forest. Fortunately, the alternative location suggested by the USFS, in the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area of the Monongahela National Forest, further south near Richwood, was both beautiful and hospitable to the estimated 10,000 who attended the event July 1Ð7.

The 2005 Gathering siteÑhosting abundant wildflowers, interesting insects, streams, rock ledges, mountain fog and other spectacular natural featuresÑbecame home to thousands of campers who came for a week of connecting with old and new friends, communing with nature and praying, in one's own way, for world peace. The site, several miles in diameter, straddled a small mountain with streams on either side, and was crisscrossed by a network of Rainbow trails that spontaneously appeared in the brush to serve as "hippie highways." Over 100 camps staked out various magical locations, and several large kitchens served their own constituents as well as the masses that came to Main Meadow each evening for dinner.

Dinner circle was a good time to find one's friends, while waiting patiently for the evening's mystery potluck offerings. As usual, vast quantities of vegetable stew and halvah were served by Krishna camp, along with sprouts from Sprout Kitchen, bread from a small crew representing the West Coast's notorious Lovin' Ovens, and beans and rice from various other charitable enterprises. The Magic Hat was passed nightly, with musical accompaniment, to keep everything "all ways free"; thus were the kitchens enabled. (The Rainbow journal All Ways Free thankfully included a large map of the Byzantine trails connecting the camps.)

Aside from critical donations to the Magic Hat, money is fairly useless at Rainbow, best saved for gas to get down the road. Dozens of Trading Circle blanket-sitters bartered practical and curious objects—knives, crystals, art supplies—at the large crossroads, with not a greenback in sight. Nearby, the Information Center, better known simply as Info, gave directions to faraway camps and answered questions about health, safety, lost dogs and "lost parents." Kiddie Village, in view of the crossroads, was wonderfully decked out by Felipe and his crew, with a large kitchen, swings and log seesaws.

Further down the path, past the 24/7 drum circle, lay the fabled Cranberry Glades, a sunken bog of rhododendron trees, wetland plants and millions of grasshoppers, which clustered silently on milkweed plants lining the old road.

A long, sloping path ran alongside an exquisite stream up Cranberry Mountain, with numerous small waterfalls flowing over a series of flat rock shelves. Turtle Soup, Fairy Camp and Jerusalem, hosted by groovy Jews from the US and Israel, were located on this lightly populated ridge, a good mile or two from Main Meadow. At the bottom of the hill, not far from Rt. 102, another stream flowed through large and small rock towers and sculptures, and fireflies filled the air there each evening.

A week of too much fun in the woods has a healing effect, and the serenity of the lush environment was nicely countered by a slew of old and new Rainbow events. Zero Boy got things moving July 2 with Comedy Night at NYC /Purple Gang, which included a rare recitation of the abstruse sex regulations of a nearby commune. Lively yoga and capoiera sessions were held near Yogaville each day, the Latin jam by Main Meadow was bumpin' every evening and music could be found far into the night at many camps scattered about the site.

The morning of July Fourth, Rainbow's holiest day, was by tradition silent, as people read lips and used homemade sign language to indicate essential information (like the location of the nearest latrine). Most drifted to Main Meadow to meditate, and by noon many thousands prayed for peace and held hands, ultimately forming a circle so large it went over the rise and couldn't be seen from the opposite side—considered an auspicious sign in Rainbowland. At "Rainbow noon"—12:45 or so—Kiddie Village children with painted faces reached the peace pole at the circle's center, triggering whoops and hollers and an all-day party under the sun.

Armed USFS Law Enforcement officers, sometimes 12 at a time, had been entering the site all week on horseback and on foot behind shouted Rainbow warnings of "Six-up!" However, no police appeared on site until the evening of July Fourth, and the idea that respect was being shown by the police, who apparently were given the day off to be with their families, took hold among some participants.

In another official twist, the nearby town of Richwood displayed a large rainbow-hued banner—"Welcome Rainbow Family"—over the highway, and Richwood's gracious mayor, Bob Henry Baber, was seen serving soup at the Instant Soup kitchen. Rainbow participants have a long history of spending serious money on supplies in remote communities, injecting a rare economic jolt to the host area. Of course, the well-stocked Wal-Mart in Lewisburg saw plenty of action as well, and their policy of allowing overnights in their parking lot didn't hurt, either.

Granola Funk—the camp that birthed the touring band Granola Funk Express—was the site of the all-night Talent Show on the Fourth. G-Funk's rustic two-story wood and fabric stage structure showcased impressive talent, and performers included the Rainbow Gypsies, comic Vermin Supreme, singer Aliza Hava, longtime Rainbow musical superstar Fantuzzi, several Granola Funk MCs spittin' "hippie-hop," a classical violinist and many others. The show was stolen by a silent, naked dancer who performed with no music, to thunderous applause.

The morning of July Fifth brought the beginning of a big day for NYC/Purple Gang, as G. Rock and dozens of others executed a culinary conspiracy to serve champagne brunch to a lucky 600 people—who consumed 55 dozen eggs, hundreds of potato latkes and lots of fresh fruit salad. Then it was time for the highly anticipated big whiffleball game, complete with 15 lbs. of peanuts, eager spectators and a legendary rivalry: NYC vs. Boston.

According to an anonymous whiffleballer, the Boston Area Rainbow Family (BARF) team had provocatively dissed their notoriously attitudinal opponent, variously asserting that NYC stood for "Not Your Chair" or even "Not Your Camp," usually in the company of laughter. However, after Boston's early 3-0 lead, New York proved the letters really stand for "Now You Can," as they were well ahead 9-3 when the game was called on account of rain.

Earlier on the Fifth, scores of campers who had been ticketed reported to a makeshift court at 9 a.m., conveniently set up on the road near the site. Some paid a $250 or $125 fine, some paid a reduced fee and others opted instead for community service, generally a Rainbow cleanup stint after the event officially ended July 7. Some wore black armbands in protest over the charges, a gesture described by a flyer as "a sign of our sorrow over the fact that the Rainbow Gatherings have become a criminal activity."

Rainbow continues to survive as a unique American tribe, defending its culture in the face of persistent legal challenges. Rainbow 2006? Reportedly, the National Gathering, which is in a different state each year, will return to Colorado for an unprecedented three-peat.


Rainbow's Legal Gray Area

A leaderless, anarchic group, Rainbow—a non-organization without members—has long frustrated law enforcement by refusing to fit neatly into a proscribed legal box, and by choosing where and when to gather by council consensus rather than by application to the authorities. As a result, the FS has used every means at its disposal to attempt to control the site selection process, usually working with Rainbow scouts simply on an operating plan to ensure that health, sanitation, water, parking and other criteria are fulfilled. Rainbows allege a pattern of harassment by police, especially at smaller regional Gatherings, and many arrests have been made in recent years.

Although at least one person signed a use permit for the West Virginia Gathering at Cranberry Glades, Rainbow tradition specifies that no individual may represent the Family. Traditionally, all Rainbow decisions are made by consensus in open council, and this year's site selection process appeared to set precedent, with Rainbow ultimately accepting the site chosen by the Forest Service (although not specifically authorizing the signing of a permit). The 200+ tickets issued at the Alpena site, which was reportedly blockaded by the police, was apparently trouble enough, and the Cranberry Glades site—although lacking swimming—was a decent choice perhaps not worth fighting over.

For Rainbow 2005, the Forest Service cited about 950 legal infractions, mostly involving illegal use and occupancy, traffic violations, dogs off the leash (there were many, along with trail poop), nudity and parking infractions. One serious incident involved a man who reportedly refused to remove his garbage from A-Camp (the only alcohol-tolerant camp, confined to an area of the parking lot), and then stabbed an objecting camp resident, who was taken to the hospital.

The current pattern of ticketing Rainbow People—variously described by the media as hippies, neo-hippies, pagans, punks, hoboes or even Satan worshippers—has been in effect since 1995, when the USFS finally managed to promulgate seemingly unconstitutional regulations restricting the First Amendment right of the "people peaceably to assemble" on public lands. It is this provision under which the Rainbow Family had gathered, sans permits, for world peace since the first Rainbow Gathering near Granby, Colorado in 1972. However, the infamous regs, now a decade old, state that 75 or more people may not gather on National Forest lands without a permit.

The Rainbows charge that the nebulous statute has been unfairly and aggressively enforced during Gatherings rather than at scout troupe or church outings. Hundreds of tickets are now routinely issued at national and regional Rainbow events throughout the country. Since the regs went into effect, several permits have been signed by individuals, to the consternation of some who consider such acquiescence the ultimate betrayal of a God-given right of assembly. In 2003, alleged Rainbow "leaders" Garrick Beck, Joanee Freedom and Stephen Principle served 90 days in federal prison for refusing to pay illegal use and occupancy tickets issued them at the 1999 Gathering in Pennsylvania. Their cases went all the way to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear them. Several other prominent non-organizers have since served time in federal prison.

Despite the difficulties of Rainbow 2005, said Freedom, "it was one of the most amazing, peaceful and spiritual gatherings in a long time."

Gabe Kirchheimer has documented this modern American tribe since 1986.

 

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