I didn't take my camera to my first Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. I knew instinctively that this was an experience I wanted to live. I didn't want to sit on the sidelines and watch, as our modern culture encourages. I didn't want to observe, report, capture, as though Festival were something I could put in a box and take out later, as if Fest were something I could own. Fest, I thought, isn't a butterfly to be pinned behind glass.
I still feel that way (and it's my feeling only, just for me, and just for now). But ironically and contrarily, I also regret the lack of photos.
The Festival's intention regarding photos is this:
"The Festival is full of beautiful images, and womyn often want to record their experiences here on film and tape. If you receive permission beforehand from womyn you do not know, you are welcome to take photos for personal use Please respect others' rights not to be photographed, and do not take random photos or video of the Festival environment, other campers or performers. In the age of YouTube, what plays here stays here.
"Performers specifically ask that you do not tape or videorecord their performances.
"No photo or video can be published or used for any commercial purpose or for public distribution without specific written permission of each person in the photo or video and the permission of the Festival itself. All Festival images are protected property of the Festival."
Even in my few years of Festival attendance, I've been surprised at the number of womyn taking pictures of crowds and parades, despite the clear intention regarding getting permission from all photographic subjects. It's actually made me unlikely to take my shirt off or march in the Butch Strut. I don't want pictures of my free self showing up on YouTube. That inhibition saddens me, in a place that otherwise breathes empowerment.
Yet before I attended, I scoured the internet looking for pictures. I stared at them, I wondered how the Land smelled, how those tents moved in the wind, how that mud and paint felt as it dried on skin under the hot sun. I tried to put myself into those photos.
It's a fine line. Other womyn may arrive at different conclusions. For me, part of the magic of Fest is that it's Avalon. It's Brigadoon. It doesn't exist except when it does.
I wish there were no cameras at all, and that when we sisters are missing Home, we recapture it by calling one another on the phone, or meeting for coffee or a walk in the woods, or getting together for a campfire and music and chatter.
Now that would be magic.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Community
"The [Michigan Womyn's Music Festival] is a communal village created each year by womyn from all over the world, reflecting an amazing diversity of lifestyles and needs. For an ad hoc community -- the largest town in Oceana County for one week -- we do incredibly well. While we have no real "rules," community guidelines have evolved to help our town run safely and with respect for all of its members. ...
"Mostly our community works because we all use good sense. When we're in public spaces such as concerts, paths or other common areas, our behavior becomes public. Those around us are exposed to that behavior, whether they consent to be or not. We can all enjoy the freedom of the Festival, but let's use common sense to make sure that our choices don't infringe on someone else's."
--MWMF program, 2010
I miss this type of community etiquette, where most (not all, but most) people are willing to surrender "what I want" in the interest of "what's best for most of us." Life at Fest isn't about hedonism; it's about community and participation. (This is one reason why we all do workshifts.) And seeing it in action once a year is enough to make me try a little harder to carry that message of community for the other 51 weeks.
"Mostly our community works because we all use good sense. When we're in public spaces such as concerts, paths or other common areas, our behavior becomes public. Those around us are exposed to that behavior, whether they consent to be or not. We can all enjoy the freedom of the Festival, but let's use common sense to make sure that our choices don't infringe on someone else's."
--MWMF program, 2010
I miss this type of community etiquette, where most (not all, but most) people are willing to surrender "what I want" in the interest of "what's best for most of us." Life at Fest isn't about hedonism; it's about community and participation. (This is one reason why we all do workshifts.) And seeing it in action once a year is enough to make me try a little harder to carry that message of community for the other 51 weeks.
Monday, October 3, 2011
A web of womyn
Fernalicious Feminist has posted a nut loaf recipe, too! Hers, more usefully, is trimmed down to serve somewhat fewer than 5000.
~~~
I went to my first Fest solo and single -- but I didn't go unprepared. I'm an introvert's introvert, a reader, a lover of ideas. One of my fears, embarking on this grand adventure, was the terror that I'd feel alone in a crowd. I'm almost 50, I thought -- they'll think I'm the Cryptkeeper. I'm in recovery, I thought. I'll be completely out of place in a big party. There would be me, and there would be 5000 womyn who've known one another for 35 years. This, I thought, is a recipe for disaster. I didn't want to drive for 15 hours and spend all that money to sit under a tree and feel desperately alone.
This is what I did. I had a year before the next Fest. I started to haunt the message boards -- the loving parts of them, where new Festies can get advice and share information. I asked questions. I got to know some names. I exchanged emails with a few generous womyn, and also a few womyn who, like me, were solo and nervous. That way, I started to establish my own "support group" before Fest even started.
I planned my official support activities. There were plenty of recovery meetings, I knew. There were also regular support meetings for womyn alone at Fest, womyn at Fest for the first time, and others. There was the Oasis tent -- the emotional support tent -- where I knew I could just stick my head in and sit for twenty minutes if I felt overwhelmed. In other words... I planned myself a community. I dug around on my regular mailing lists, looking for womyn who were going to Fest. I asked if anyone had friends of friends who were going, and I bit the bullet and sent some emails.
By the time I got to Fest, I knew a handful of people by name. I met some of them at a regularly scheduled meet and greet on Monday night -- then I had some faces to go with the names. I found my internet friends during the week. And every day, I met more womyn. In line for meals, in line at the shower, in line at the Saints concession stand, I met womyn. I didn't go to workshops that first year, but since then I've found that it's a way to meet womyn.
Fest is all about the networking. Between Fests there are camping trips, dances, concerts. There are mailing lists and other ways to keep in touch and make friends. By the time my second year rolled around, I was surprised to realize that me -- the introvert's introvert -- always knew at least one person wherever I went.
It's the sisterhood of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. The magic started to happen when I put myself out there... and it really blossomed the more I went back. The web expands. The circle widens.
What a gift!
~~~
I went to my first Fest solo and single -- but I didn't go unprepared. I'm an introvert's introvert, a reader, a lover of ideas. One of my fears, embarking on this grand adventure, was the terror that I'd feel alone in a crowd. I'm almost 50, I thought -- they'll think I'm the Cryptkeeper. I'm in recovery, I thought. I'll be completely out of place in a big party. There would be me, and there would be 5000 womyn who've known one another for 35 years. This, I thought, is a recipe for disaster. I didn't want to drive for 15 hours and spend all that money to sit under a tree and feel desperately alone.
This is what I did. I had a year before the next Fest. I started to haunt the message boards -- the loving parts of them, where new Festies can get advice and share information. I asked questions. I got to know some names. I exchanged emails with a few generous womyn, and also a few womyn who, like me, were solo and nervous. That way, I started to establish my own "support group" before Fest even started.
I planned my official support activities. There were plenty of recovery meetings, I knew. There were also regular support meetings for womyn alone at Fest, womyn at Fest for the first time, and others. There was the Oasis tent -- the emotional support tent -- where I knew I could just stick my head in and sit for twenty minutes if I felt overwhelmed. In other words... I planned myself a community. I dug around on my regular mailing lists, looking for womyn who were going to Fest. I asked if anyone had friends of friends who were going, and I bit the bullet and sent some emails.
By the time I got to Fest, I knew a handful of people by name. I met some of them at a regularly scheduled meet and greet on Monday night -- then I had some faces to go with the names. I found my internet friends during the week. And every day, I met more womyn. In line for meals, in line at the shower, in line at the Saints concession stand, I met womyn. I didn't go to workshops that first year, but since then I've found that it's a way to meet womyn.
Fest is all about the networking. Between Fests there are camping trips, dances, concerts. There are mailing lists and other ways to keep in touch and make friends. By the time my second year rolled around, I was surprised to realize that me -- the introvert's introvert -- always knew at least one person wherever I went.
It's the sisterhood of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. The magic started to happen when I put myself out there... and it really blossomed the more I went back. The web expands. The circle widens.
What a gift!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
"Tuesday night is nut loaf"
The womyn line up at the kitchen, weaving between the string-and-post guides. And on Tuesday night, a serenade from a grinning Amazon with apron and spoon. Sing it with me, sisters! (Think Queen. Think "We will rock you." And there it is.)
Modify as needed:
Cook:
400 lb brown rice
Chop:
425 lb onions
310 lb mushrooms
400 lb carrots
400 lb yams
105 bunches parsley
Mince:
13 lb garlic
Cube:
400 lb tofu
Blend:
1.75 lb thyme
1.75 lb marjoram
1.33 lb sage
Measure:
55 lb walnuts
55 lb peanuts
90 lb sunflower seeds
3.5 gal vegetable oil
Grate:
150 lb sharp cheddar cheese
Roast nuts in light oil, stirring constantly. Saute onions, then carrots, then yams, then mushrooms.
Add garlic and herbs; stir through. Add tofu; bring everything to a slow boil and simmer.
Combine veggie/nut mixture with rice and grated cheese.
Note: Make a pot without nuts.
Serve with 7680 pita bread halves and 168 lb tortilla chips.
--Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, 1991
Modify as needed:
Cook:
400 lb brown rice
Chop:
425 lb onions
310 lb mushrooms
400 lb carrots
400 lb yams
105 bunches parsley
Mince:
13 lb garlic
Cube:
400 lb tofu
Blend:
1.75 lb thyme
1.75 lb marjoram
1.33 lb sage
Measure:
55 lb walnuts
55 lb peanuts
90 lb sunflower seeds
3.5 gal vegetable oil
Grate:
150 lb sharp cheddar cheese
Roast nuts in light oil, stirring constantly. Saute onions, then carrots, then yams, then mushrooms.
Add garlic and herbs; stir through. Add tofu; bring everything to a slow boil and simmer.
Combine veggie/nut mixture with rice and grated cheese.
Note: Make a pot without nuts.
Serve with 7680 pita bread halves and 168 lb tortilla chips.
--Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, 1991
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Belonging
"[Womyn] leave the Land knowing they have a place in a matriarchal culture with rich traditions. The Amazon culture built at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival is a unique culture based on feminist principles, socialist/egalitarian values, and womyn's spiritual traditions. ... It is a culture where womyn's lives, bodies, and experiences are reflected in the art, music, and literature of the culture. It is a culture rich with symbols, myths, and rituals that heal womyn's minds and bodies, unifies them across lines of difference, and empowers them personally in their everyday lives."
--Laurie J. Kendall, The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival: An Amazon Matrix of Meaning
--Laurie J. Kendall, The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival: An Amazon Matrix of Meaning
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