Thursday, May 26, 2011

the boss




This morning, sky, patrick and I went on a cville foodscapes job together. it was fairly straightforward. patrick was the lead, so we followed his direction to weed, till and top-dress 4 large raised beds.

this afternoon, i was host at alexander house. a guest arrived while sky was in the house. he sent me over to check her in; hanging laundry, sky asked where i'd like him to be, did i want him to finish cleaning the house?

The new guest asked me if i was in charge, if this was my place. and i realized that of course it looked like i was the manager, taking over for the peon cleaning person. this is a very cool feature of collective endeavors; you can selectively deem people boss.

turns out, even in a collective venture we don't all need or even want to be bottom line responsible all the time for everything; its actually very freeing to pass that blessing/burden around. and it feels completely different when it is an intentional choice than when it is an entrenched power dynamic.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Home-grow Entertainment


Two awesome events happened this Saturday; Motleigh Musicalia is a 43 year old private music festival that takes place on a beautiful piece of land next to the river about a half hour from Cville. It's invite only, and completely non-commercial; truely a DIY affair. The extended "family" of folks that created and have been coming to this festival is large, friendly, and very musically inclined. People set up their own camps; each one had a little jam session going on--mostly old time, with a bit of irish, bluegrass, western swing thrown in.

There was a large central tent with a dance floor. Friday night there was a square dance there, and Morris Dancers performed on Saturday.

Morris Dancers!

The land includes a beautiful and delightfully icy river. The land is owned by some lady, and funds for renting it each year come from selling t shirts. The concept is absolutely brilliant. Really, the best part of a festival is the music, good company, and beautiful location, right? Who cares about the lame-o big name bands, the fry truck or the hordes of people. Musicalia takes the best of the festival culture and recreates it on its own terms.


Musicalia! This X 100...

After a blissful afternoon spent dunking in the river, soaking up the music, and sitting in on some jams, I left with a friend to head back to town for a very different, yet similarly DIY scene.

This was a birthday party hosted by one of the founders of Scintillation, our local firespinning/dance crew. The party's theme: Kundalini Mudpit. The host had created an amazing love tunnel as entry to the party by transforming the stairwell into a glimmering tunnel of self-love. Signs alone the way read "Yes!" "Forgive yourself", "You have everything you need" and more. Curtains led to a soft and spacious love tunnel; the tunnel emerged into a harem-like room.


Scintillation on the Downtown Mall

There was a lounge area with cushions and low table, hookah hanging down from the ceiling. People in all manner of brightly colored and uber sexy outfits lounged amist the pillows. A clothes rack held more available sexy and colorful costumes, sky had his little dj station set up in a corner. a massage table was set up, as well. The party had a strong thread of ARE folks who had grown up going to the Edgar Cayce Camp. The vibe was warm, sexy, and lively; antics included a mini burlesque show and some public and communal birthday flogging.

I don't know these folks well, but i appreciate the care and creativity that went into creating an amazing ambiance, fantastic costumes, and good vibes all around. The only sadness I felt at both these events was the heavy reliance on pot, booze and cigarettes. Hopefully these relics of mainstream culture will soon be deemed unnecessary as we create ever more fabulous parties for ourselves! Viva la Cultura Nueva!