Appalachian Gathering 2012: All Ways Free Then and Now

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going?

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going? The consensus was for the White Mountain National Forest (in the Northeast), or the Appalachian states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia. Spring Council selected a site in North Eastern Tennessee.

If you're not familiar with the gauntlet on the road into the gathering, and want to avoid a mandatory court appearance ticket click here.

For the Howdy Folks and directions to the gathering, click here. For the United States Forest Service Incident Command website with groovy maps and updates, click here.

Friday, January 20, 2012

All Ways Free Then and Now

2005 AWF Cover

All Ways Free (AWF) is a Rainbow newspaper that was started a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away to help us share ideas, knowledge, wisdom and visions for the future. Back then (early 80s), most people didn't use the Internet (ARPANET), the World Wide Web had not yet been invented, and most Rainbow information was shared orally, via snail mail or the various other Rainbow publication such as The Mini Manual of Gathering Consciousness and The Rainbow Guide. Smart phones hadn't been invented and I don't think Mark Zuckerberg was even born yet.

In recent years, AWF has shrunk to a shell of its former self. With all the information shared on the Internet, you may be curious as to why All Ways Free is important to this family. Some of our better and longer lasting raps started when someone wrote an article for All Ways Free. For example, "The Lost Tablet" (AWF 1999); "Wherever Two Are Gathered" (AWF 1988); and drawings by our family (AWF Unknown years). AWF has in my recent memory been published the last few days of June and included a basic map of the current year's gathering site. If my experience helping out at INFO these last few years is any indication, people want AWF. All day long people come to the counter at INFO and ask for a copy of AWF (and The Rainbow Guide as well).

AWF Artwork

A friend of mine, Finch, is trying to revive the AWF many of us knew and loved; but like all things gathering related, it doesn't contain Rainbow Magic without a circle of folks. He's been reaching out to many long time gatherers to learn how to proceed and needs our support. And by "OUR" I means a couple of hundred of gatherers plugging in with an article, a couple of bucks or some tech support.

The collections of AWF over the years have chronicled our hopes and dreams, successes and failures and created a legacy for future generations. Now is the perfect time for our younger family (and older ones as well) to start sharing their artwork, recipes, wisdom and hipstories and add to this growing body of work.

To get involved in this effort, email Finch, write to him at
All Ways Free
P.O. Box 438
Santa Cruz, CA 95061

Or check out his call for assistance here.

In addition to printing copies on paper, I know he wants to publish online. I think he's also interested in collecting old copies of AWF so he can scan them and post them. Great ideas, but he needs some help doing the work and also some financial assistance as well. If you've been wanting to do something really amazing for this family, but don't have the time or health to go scouting, the stomach to deal with the US Government, or the time off work to stay for cleanup, this is a great way to plug in a few hours a week. To see the happiness your hard work creates, come by INFO the first few days of July and see how excited people are when they get their very own, take back to camp and share with friends, save and keep for years copy of the 2012 All Ways Free.

For an electronic copy of the absolutely amazing 2005 AWF, click here. Read it, get motivated and plug in to create an even more amazing AWF for 2012. I know there are many talented gatherers out there. Circle Up! The more you plug in, the more fun you have.

7 comments:

Stephen WingJanuary 20, 2012 at 8:37 PM
Thank you Karin! I can only add that if a week or a month every summer is not enough for you, you too can experience the joys of creating a free newspaper without a budget . . . like any gathering, a gathering of Rainbow art and heartsongs takes a circle of folks giving and working and loving it. The more the merrier! peace, love & newsprint -- Wing
ReplyDelete
Replies
ezazcanbeJanuary 21, 2012 at 9:07 PM
I heartily concur w/ all previous. \w/ whistler
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJanuary 24, 2012 at 7:04 AM
drug addiction(s) are very hard to beat
ReplyDelete
Replies
Rainbow HawkApril 16, 2012 at 12:54 PM
https://www.facebook.com/GlobalRainbowGatheringsOfTheTribes
ReplyDelete
Replies
Rainbow HawkApril 28, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Update as of April 26, 2012
https://www.facebook.com/GlobalRainbowGatheringsOfTheTribes
The new Community page is now complete with all Affiliated Groups/Communities acknowledged and links to all made available directly from the page, or comments can of course be posted on the page as well. It is totally open and all members of the various groups/communities are free to share whatever, with whichever, links they so chose (respectfully of course). Enjoy your new sister community page and naturally share/spread the peace with all.

P.S. More groups/communities will continue to be added as they request doing so.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Rainbow HawkApril 28, 2012 at 9:05 AM
https://www.facebook.com/events/207952819306965/
New R.S.V.P. event group for the Global Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes: End of the Mayan Calendar - Beginning of the New Era - Celebration of All Cultures. December 1st - 31st, 2012
ReplyDelete
Replies
Hopewell Archaeoastronomy and ArchaeologyApril 24, 2017 at 9:48 AM
I recall sometime in the early 80s going to a very small regional gathering at a state park in the DC suburbs of Maryland. There was a young brother there named Dale Walker who called himself "Peaceful Valley Walker", since the definition of "dale" is "peaceful valley". As far as I recall, this was where the beginnings of All Ways Free occurred in part, like the decision on the name "All Ways Free". xoxox Tao Changer
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket
Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us, so we can go to the local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans ranging from 90 days to pay $75 to 18 months to pay $25 depending on the hardship cases people have expressed.

If you do not show up for your mandatory court appearance on the date indicated on your ticket, a Federal Bench Warrant will be issued for your arrest. Then the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday. If they do not find you at the gathering, the next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years sentence walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. There are lawyers at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.