Tag: Sacred Harvest Festival

Karina Besnett Graduating Le Cordon Bleu Saturday

Karina Besnett

Karina Besnett is graduating from the baking and patisserie program at Le Cordon Bleu on November 3rd.  She has grown up in our Pagan community, has worked security at Sacred Harvest Festival, and played the maiden Goddess for a COG Beltane.  She was awarded two scholarships during her time at Le Cordon Bleu.  One was a cooking competition where she took first place.  The other was a merit scholarship awarded on the recommendation of former employers and teachers.  She currently works as a waitress at Fat Lorenzo’s in Minneapolis and is the lead baker at Brasa in St. Paul.

Restorative Justice II at Sacred Harvest Festival – Editorial

Thursday, August 9th, the second community Restorative Justice (RJ)  circle was held at Sacred Harvest Festival,  a year after the first. The festival was a lot different place this year, it was observable that an immense amount of grief resolution and healing had taken place over a year. A focus on the festival theme of the sacred in our lives, and the power of love, had seemed to replace a sense of anxiety, hurt, grief, and fear that many had felt a year ago.

The Circle was much smaller this year, down to 15 participants, with 6 having their first experience with RJ at this circle. The feelings of the nine who returned were softened,  and reflected a feeling of a return to normalcy, which in this case is defined by the tribal sense of family this festival has generated based on the feedback of thousands of individuals over fifteen years.

Crystal Blanton had offered to facilitate this RJ circle again.  Crystal began with establishing a talking stick. This year she used a personal Phoenix tradition piece because:

“What we are doing in this community. We are rising from circumstances, regardless of what those circumstances have been, and where everybody falls in that. Taking where we are at, and using it as a catalyst to grow into something beautiful and bigger, and in some ways unimaginable.”

Crystal solicited;  “Any questions before we begin?   None were asked.

Crystal Blanton

Crystal:

“We open with two pieces to set the tone for where we have been, and where we are going :”

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence, when mindfulness embraces those we love they will bloom like flowers. “

And from an article: “Contact beyond the Gods”

Crystal read a quote about the spiritual importance of connection, and the connection we all have with each other. Acknowledging the importance of the process we are in, how we integrate the lessons we have learned into our spiritual being, and into the path before us. Not only learning how to work in community, but teaching how to work in community, for our children. Preserving what we have worked so hard for here.

Crystal begins the RJ circle offering two values she brings, asking each participant to state a value they bring to the circle.

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Kirtan from the Heart – Gift to Sacred Harvest Festival

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A Kirtan in Sanskrit means  “praise, eulogy” . It originates in India and has spoken only forms and the more “liberal” Eastern Indian sung forms.  It is a call response form of expression of devotion, and is at its essence a ritual to the Gods.  It is from a world of 100’s of millions of Hindus and some forms of Buddhism, who celebrate their spirituality through the Kirtan. Alliances between these forms of spiritual Pagan expression are flourishing on the West Coast of the USA. Polytheists find more similarities in their worship than the vast cultural differences between Eastern practice and Western Pagans. Relatively new to Midwest Pagans, but becoming increasingly popular in “New Age” and Yoga based communities, the Kirtan movement is growing. Neo-Pagan connections to call and response, and voice based devotional ritual seems a logical extension in the range of Pagan practice.

Sacred Harvest Festival guest, Yeshe Rabbit, brought this workshop as a taste of this form of expression. The workshop guided participants through, “… a magical progression to align body, mind, and spirit.”  I was drawn in and enthralled by the magic of this workshop.  The power of Rabbit’s voice was inspiring to festivants as the sound drifted through the village. The workshop participants were ecstatic afterwards, and bliss enveloped the village for the week. Jai Maa!  *

Gift yourself seven minutes, close your eyes and join in the song as you hear the culmination of what was  over a 90 minute ritual Kirtan.

Listen to Kali Mata – Kirtan From The Heart

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Jai Maa : This is a call to the Divine Mother, ‘Maa,’ a singing of Her glory. Literally, ‘jai’ means ‘victory,’ although we often translate it as ‘hallelujah’ or ‘praises.’ Speaking ‘Jai Maa’ in puja (worship ceremony) is an affirmation of the Divine Mother’s blessings, a chant of gratitude for all Her gifts and the challenges She provides that help us grow spiritually.

Nels Linde

Sacred Harvest Festival – rebuilding, changing, and staying the same

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Harmony Tribe, the group that produces Sacred Harvest Festival (SHF), a Pagan camping festival held in SE Minnesota, celebrated their 15th year last week.  While the festival experienced ups and downs over the years, most recently a split in Harmony Tribe in 2010 resulting in the board resigning en masse, it appears to be back on the upswing with higher attendance and new and returning merchants.

In 2011 the festival faced several challenges.  A wounded community tired of drama, a new zoning restriction on the park which limited night time drumming, and lack of board continuity and experience.  These challenges showed in the attendance numbers.  Approximately 150 people attended SHF in 2011.

To meet these challenges the board brought in Crystal Blanton, author, mental health counselor, and High Priestess in California to hold a Restorative Justice circle and begin the healing at the 2011 SHF.  The success of that move, which rippled out through the community after last year’s festival, can be seen in this year’s festival numbers.  Although final numbers won’t be out until Sunday, Harmony Tribe Council Officer Judy Olson says the numbers topped 200.  Ms. Blanton returned to SHF this year to continue the community healing that was started in 2011.

Crystal Blanton, Cara Schulz, Judy Olson, and Heather Biedermann

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Sacred Harvest Festival – Shrines Unveil the Sacred

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This years Sacred Harvest Festival ended Sunday and down came at least twenty five festivant shrines expressing worship and devotion to deity. Festivants were asked to bring shrines and they sprouted like fall mushrooms after a rain. I am sure I didn’t photograph them all, they had to be sought out in both public and hidden spaces. Some shrines had a clear focus, others were a reminder of our diversity. These photos on a windy day give a casual look, at night they transformed and were all lit and tended, and offerings of incense and libation graced many of them. Some grew as the week progressed, others disappeared or re-appeared in new forms. The theme of the event was “Unveiling the Sacred, Immersed in the Luminous Light of Love”, and shrines were an important aspect of this years festival experience.
Enjoy!

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Nels Linde