"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.
