Whats the deal with Rainbow Gatherings?

steelcitybrew

steelcitybrew

New member
Jan 28, 2009
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Vancouver BC
#1
Im wondering what the deal is with Rainbow Gatherings. Seems more of an American thing, Ive never heard about it in Canada. Hear lots about it on here.

Is it just a gathering of like minded hippy's? music? arts and crafts or something?
A gang? haha but seriously...

my road dog last summer (for 2 weeks before I couldn't take it anymore and split) was a tye-dye wearing (literally...shirt, bandana, pack patch) peace sign throwing, long haired, rope sandal wearin', mustached, oogle hippy. I met him at a large 3 day festival in Cape Breton called Evolve, which was pretty cool, but very out of my element, and very full of hippy's, and chemicals ( :) ). But I had an amazing time.

And was able to get in for free because I found a wrist band on the ground!!

But I think he put a bad name to hippys, tried wayyy to hard....and paid 80 bucks for rope sandals made by children hahha. the guy selling them used that as a selling point that kids in like indonesia or something made them but got paid "good" money.... hahah I bet. Selling them from a westfalia no less haha.

just a bit where Im coming from.

Anyways Im not tryin to dish it, just wondering what its about.
 
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#3
I'll be pretty quick to dish it. I have plenty of friends that swear by it, and they're all good people, but I think I mentioned this in the STP chat the other day:
"If I wanna sit in the woods and drink with my friends, I don't have to go to swamp-ass Florida to do it."
Just doesn't really seem like my thing, sounds like a big fat pile of donuts in the eyes of cops, and ya gotta deal with nitrous-yawning burnouts. I don't mind hippies or scumfucs, but I don't know if I can handle spending a week crammed in a 2 man tent with 8 of them, ya know? I'm sure at some point I'll get talked into going to one, and I'm definitely knocking it before I try it, but I haven't heard a whole lot to convince me this is a good idea.
 
#4
A brief summary of every first-hand account I have heard:

Don't go unless you already are into the Rainbow subculture. If you aren't, you will probably be put off by a bunch of not-that-nice hippies and other folk who usually don't have their shit together and are possibly christian. However, it's up to you to weigh that against the probability of free/cheap psychoactive substances.
 
#5
Yeah, you pretty much have it summed up..although I do believe they do it in europe too, I could be wrong though. I've heard mixed things about it. Doesn't sound like my idea of a good time though..Dirty rig had it best, I don't want to go in the middle of no where to have a good time and drink..who knows maybe i will go to one and see for myself what a lmae time it would be..or I might get surprised
 
#6
ive gotten asked ball park estimate above 15 times if i was a rainbow kid......it tends to humor me more than anything but why does every narrow minded yuppie wanna squeeze a sheet of acid out my butt are they really that bored with there lives?



ive never been but i suppose if there are tons of crazzie hippies and scumfuks it sounds good for a laugh
 
#8
I know a couple pretty awesome Rainbow elders--but I also know a ton of incredibly burnt out, nitrous-obsessed fuckheads who go there just to get blazed and sit around all day. I've heard extremes of both good and bad, so that means the only thing I can do is go to one and judge for myself.
 
#9
a friend of mine says that he plans on going this year, and I'll go if he's going, but I can't say that I have high expectations (no pun intended). It's more or less just to check it out and experience it for myself. who knows, I could meet some cool people there, or I could get annoyed by the end of the first day and hitch back home...
 
#11
I hear it's a good place to get molested and - if you're really unlucky - even drugged & raped.

Also, 3 drunken homebums in Land O Lakes, FL tried to start some shit with me for being "a rainbow kid", as I got dropped there hitching N from Tampa up I-75. The irony was that they started telling me how they don't like Rainbow kids bringing them trouble and telling me to get outta town as I was making a new hitching sign. Score one for alcohol.
 
#13
I went to a few gatherings and they can be ok. You can meet some good people there but theres a lot of agro=ass hippies to deal with also. You should always take stuff to trade because you can come up with some really good shit. The people that get fucked up at gatherings usually deserve it ....I saw this kid get strapped to a chair and have all his dreads cut off with rusty ass scissors before being thrown down a hill but he deserved it. And theres always cops


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#16
Given that this is an odd numbered year, the Ocala gathering is probably gonna suck.

I went in '07 by my self, and in '08 with my friends Dani and Ducki. Talking to some of the folks who go every year, they all say the same thing. Even numbered years are pretty good events. Nobody messes with you, and if they do it's good natured, folks seem to be friendlier. Odd numbered years seem to bring out the worthless shitbags.

'08 was pretty good, nobody started any shit, only a few isolated thefts and nobody got jacked up. Even the aggro crusties/dirty kids at the front gate were pretty tame. Yeah, they got loud and a little obnoxious, trying to scare anybody walking in, but other than that they were pretty cool. They really scared the crap out of my friend Ducki and she freaked out, but they apologized right away.

In '07 they were real fuckheads. They were stealing and trashing peoples stuff as they walked in, raiding and trashing people's camps and cars, hell they even tried to burn down the kitchen. And the hippies were a little too motivated, to the point of being aggro. They were all like "So, you'll be at (whatever) circle later right?" "maybe, I might go into..." "RIGHT! *glare* YOU'LL BE THERE!"

'07 everybody was hitting me up for ciggs, cash, drugs, gas etc... '08 about half the people, both hippies and non-hippies, were offering food, drinks and weed. Even the front gate-ers were kicking down food. Plus, in '08, Dani's car got stuck in the sugar sand, two hippies and three front gate kids came to help us out. In '07, I needed a jumpstart, had the cables, but nobody would give me a hand. Eventually this OLD(I'm talking social security old) hippy named Sponge helped me out.
 
#19
I really stand in opposition to a lot that's been said about the Rainbow Gatherings. I AM NOT (I will stress again, NOT) at all similar to a lot of people that religiously attend these gatherings. I don't act or look much like a "hippie", and I don't share many spiritual/cultural viewpoints with the Rainbow people. But honestly, the gatherings are FUN. And not just because I like to get high. I like experiencing new things. And new people. And the people at Rainbow Gatherings are by and large pretty accepting.

I'll be going to my fourth in Feb. in Ocala, and I'm going to have a good fucking time. Really, everything in life is what you make of it, and I tend to be fairly content regardless of where I am or who I'm with. Every time you get large groups of people together there's going to be cause to find fault with the dominant culture, but you can't let that blind you to what every individual has to offer on a personal level. To those that will be there, let's hang.
 
#20
i'm no hippy
i dont enjoy psycodelic drugs at all
and find the crunchy granola vegan types annoying
BUT i love the gatherings
just chilling in the woods for three weeks not worrying about money and mean people
eatting tatters
theres a comraderei you'll find no where else
 
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