Some time ago, Be (Enchanted Folk's Own Fairy Godmother!) posted a list of three wishes for the Enchanted Folk Community, which read:
"EF Merry Meets & Gatherings – Message from Be!
Small Miracles… is the title of Linda’s beautiful painting which graces Enchanted Folk – this perfectly reflects my message to you here -
EF Merry Meets - FAEspace in your place…
One of our greatest wishes when we began this site last summer, was for us all to be able to get out from behind our computers & link up in person, even if it was just a congregation of two! We are delighted to encourage EF Merry Meets all over the world, just low cost little meet ups in a coffee shop, library or maybe at a local gallery – creating real life communities.
We warmly support these social ventures & maybe a group/forum could be started for sharing photos & so on. There is an Invite facility on everyone’s EF Hubs through the Calendar, where you can ‘Create an Event’ page to help spread the word if you wished – these are then private to members of EF.
The main inspiration is for informal, spontaneous, happy get-togethers where we are sure magic will happen… looking forward to meeting more of you soon & hearing about your EF adventures.
EF Gatherings – FAEspace in a big place!
My next wish (how many do I get?) is for larger Gatherings, where the emphasis is on a bigger group of EF friends just getting together, rather than having to create a festival with all the organisation & costs involved. My vision also includes hopes for some of the amazing musicians on EF inspiring us to dance while we picnic & have fun - even indoors (I am British ;) – a magical Bring & Share, literally! No need for dress up, although that’s a personal decision of course!!
I figured that if I was brave & put my thoughts ‘out there’ then maybe folk would know of some possible places & these could become a reality.
EF Tour Bus & EF Art Exhibition – FAEspace all over the place!!
Just one more, & this is a really wild one I know – I have a dream of a Bus (thinking ‘Summer Holiday’ here ;) that can tour each country, so that EF can come to you in your place! I’ve had a long-held idea of a movable Exhibition of EF Art… in all forms, together with music, storytellers, demonstrations/classes & more…
But, again, if I don’t share this with you all, then no one will know my thoughts or be able to offer the EF community their magical bus - like in the movies!!
(*This last part is my very bravest wish, please remember you heard it here first, fore like so many others, I’ve had enough ideas taken from me these past years to keep me wary & feeling a bit broken, sorry.*)
THANK YOU for reading my hopes, dreams & wishes for the evolution of EF – if any of you have personal contact with your Fairy Godmother, then it would be wonderful if you could maybe please pass these ideas onto her…
With much affection & in great appreciation of you All dear friends, Be (Sept '07)"
So -- the purpose of this group is to see all three of Be's wishes come true!
I'm happy to say that we have a good start on the first wish -- there have already been several successful Merry meets held in the United States and Great Britain, and several EF Groups exist for planning and implementing more in the future. Ideally, someone from each country/state/province/region will step up and act as coordinator to make the Merry Meets accessible to every member of EF.
The second wish is probably the most difficult to realize, but it is doable -- we need only find a place to hold it, start advertising it and encouraging Enchanted Folk Members to attend. There are several ways to go with this one -- a summer-season camp-out over a weekend, or renting space in a large hotel with areas for huge gatherings/dancing/sitting around and talking. Of course, travel is getting expensive, and the word's economy seems to be rather shaky at the moment, but if we all pull together, we CAN make this happen.
That leaves the third wish -- and again, it is doable, but will require both money and planning. Older used school buses, with plenty of miles still left on them to go, are available in many places at reasonable prices, which can then be retrofitted to meet the needs of a 'traveling art gallery/roadshow' Part of the space could be converted to living space for the driver and performers, the art gallery can be safely stored along with a huge walled tent for setup at various sites as `they travel, and once up and running, can travel from place to place using donations or admission fees to pay for gas, food, and occasional hotel stops (Just because a good bed and a hot shower or bath is a good thing to help keep things running smoothly). Performers can be swapped out on a regular basis, as can artworks. Ideally, we set up such a vehicle for each continent where EF members are plentiful enough to make this workable, meaning a minimum of three vehicles (Europe, Australia, and North America).
How do we do this? Through volunteerism and donations! It may take time, bue each of Be's three wishes can be made a reality with just a little effort on the part of the membership of EF.
So what do you say? Want to help make these wishes come true?
So last Monday, two friends and I headed off to the Four Quarters Interfaith Sanctuary for a week of camping, building a 40 foot tall Wickerman, and enjoying an east-coast version of the Burning Man celebration this past week...
Travel took about six hours due to Interstate Road repairs to get there, so I was very happy we started early. We set up camp and moved inside the tent just as the skies opened up and began a 40-hour drizzle. Needless to say, the build on the Wickerman was rather wet...
But by Wednesday Morning, the skies had cleared, the sun was out, and we started making new friends from all around the country.Of course, I mentioned the Enchanted Folk website to all of them, hoping to add to the membership. The three of us all tried new things, like face painting, henna tattooing, and 'High Tea' with a crew of pirates. I also managed to brave the chill river waters for some skinny-dipping (or more appropriate in my case, 'chunky dunking'...) with a crew of other hearty souls. Other activities ensued throughout the rest of the week, like fire-spinning workshops, wine and mead tastings, drum circles, ecstatic dancing, and water-gun 'assassinations' -- though the weather was warm enough to entice people into begging to be 'killed'.
The Burn itself was spectacular, with fire-spinning displays and fire sculptures by the Ohio Burn Unit and others. The Man himself went up quickly, with eighty-foot flames and showers of sparks, all topped off with Mother Nature getting into the act with a thunder-and-lightning-storm just as the Man toppled.
The trip home was uneventful, taking far less time. I'm tired, and a bit worn from all the activity, but can't wait until next year...
Well, my deadline to purchase the bus has come and gone, and I was not able to raise the needed funds. Guess I'll keep trying to find another and hope for the best...
Rather than involve Be and Drew in an international legal nightmare (just the paperwork is staggering!), I'm taking full responsibility for the purchase and operation of the North American version of the Art Bus. However, anyone else in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) who wishes to donate to the realization of this idea may do so by contacting me at " rdehwyll (at) yahoo (dot) com". At heart, this is still Be's dream, and full credit goes to her -- I'm just shouldering the legal responsibilities. With luck, I'll be able to drive the renovated bus to the EF Wordmeet in Pipestone, MN next September...
After much research, dozens of phone calls, hours combing the internet, and a manic weekend of negotiations -- I've got a line on a Bus! It's used, but in very good condition, and the price is within budgetary concerns. The current owner has agreed to withhold from selling it for six months, to allow us to raise the capital needed for the purchase and renovation. That'w where all of you come in -- please, please,PLEASE consider donating towards making Be's third wish of an Art Bus to tour around displaying member art come true! I have a start towards it, and have invested $250 of my own money as a down payment on the bus -- the reason the owner has agreed to hold it during fund raising. Now I need to raise another $4500 dollars for the purchase, and about $1000 for the retrofitting. I've already agreed to cover the cost of insurance and licensing, but any extra we can come up with will be set aside for the operation of the vehicle.
I've been combing the net for ideas and suggestions on remodeling the bus for use as the EF Art Bus, and came across this site that details a lot of what we will need to do to get the bus ready -- when we get it. Hop on over and take a look, and consider donating to this worthwhile project...
"EF Tour Bus & EF Art Exhibition – FAEspace all over the place!!
Just one more, & this is a really wild one I know – I have a dream of a Bus (thinking ‘Summer Holiday’ here ;) that can tour each country, so that EF can come to you in your place! I’ve had a long-held idea of a movable Exhibition of EF Art… in all forms, together with music, storytellers, demonstrations/classes & more…
But, again, if I don’t share this with you all, then no one will know my thoughts or be able to offer the EF community their magical bus - like in the movies!!
(*This last part is my very bravest wish, please remember you heard it here first, fore like so many others, I’ve had enough ideas taken from me these past years to keep me wary & feeling a bit broken, sorry.*)"
So after months of searching, I've stumbled upon a used school bus, selling for US $5,500.00, that could be 'retrofitted' to fit the criteria needed to fulfill Be's wish for about US $1,000.00. I have several volunteers to help with the retrofitting and repainting. I'll be happy to stand for the insurance and licensing. I even have a volunteer to DRIVE the bus all over the country! What I DON"T have is the funding to purchase the bus and do the retrofit.
That's where YOU come in... I would love to see every member of Enchanted Folk commit to a donation of just US $5.00 a year -- that would pay for the bus, pay for the retrofitting, even pay for the gas to get to places. It might even be enough to add a large display tent to set up and protect the artwork -- and make a FaeSpace where musical groups from EF could volunteer to play and raise funds to keep the entire shebang going for year after year. There are almost 3,000 museums and art galleries in the USA alone that would be more than happy to 'host' a weekend showing -- and all of the artists could sell prints (or originals), the musicians could sell CDs, and maybe we could even divert some of the funds to our favorite charities!
So what do you say? Do we make this wish become a reality? Let me know your thoughts on this through postings here and in your blogs on EF...
