The Starwood Community of Communities
We're pleased with our Starwood Village and Community that have grown throughout the years, and we hope you are too! We engage all guests on some level or another - from the little ones and the not-so-little ones to teens and the young at heart to adults and the seniors among us. Magicians, Druids, Drummers, Hippies, Freemasons, Dancers, Witches, Yeti, Technopagans, and the Free at Heart all find something to do and love at Starwood.
This is a year of rebuilding. Now that we have established ourselves in
our new home, Wisteria, we can take the time to re-energize some of the communities
that have helped make Starwood the life-changing and life-affirming experience it
is. We welcome our brethren back into the fold, and encourage those new communities
like the Space Rangers to join the CAWmunity, the Didge Players, the Druids, Babylon,
Faerie, OTO, Fire Tribe, Parents & Kids, and other unique and special communities.
There are plans to create a new Didge structure, an ADF Nemeton, and some surprises
along the way. We hope to bring in speakers and entertainers you like, provide a
stage or venue for you to share your offerings with us all, and help you create homes
within the festival all your own.
From the beginning, the Starwood Festival was designed to be a true
gathering of the tribes, a forum within which people and communities from
many lifestyles, world views, interests and orientations can come together,
share their discoveries, and most important: party! The multi-faceted
Starwood Community has grown organically and wondrously. Here are some of
the individual communities - some loose affiliations, some formal
organizations - that make it up.
ACE/Chameleon Club: The Merry Pranksters of the Neo-Pagan Movement,
the Chameleon Club works through their facilitating organization, The
Association for Consciousness Exploration, to provide events and products
that promote interaction between visionary groups.
Ar nDraiocht Fein: an international Pagan church based on a tradition
of Neopagan Druidism. The grove most closely associated with Starwood is
Stone Creed Grove and the spiritual center Tredara; you'll find their
members and their store on site, and their classes and rituals in our
program. Ian Corrigan and other past and present Arch-Druids are regular
Starwood presenters.
CAWmunity: an established representative group of members of the Church
of All Worlds, one of the oldest incorporated Neo-Pagan churches in the United
States. Among its members are people of various faiths, including the
Abrahamic traditions. Oberon Zell-Raveneart is a regular presenter at
Starwood.
The Church of the SubGenius: a religion disguised as a joke, or perhaps
a joke disguised as a religion. In the tradition of medicine men and Sufis who
spread enlightenment through theater, humor and parody, the Church spreads the
word of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, the Sultan of Sales and the Messiah of Slack. Question
Authority, and Pull the Wool over your Own Eyes! Rev Ivan Stang and Princess
WeiRDoe are both Chameleons and regular Starwood contributors.
Didge Denizens: a conglomeration of players of the Australian didgeridoo
and other fans of the kind of world music characterized by a fusion of different
forms of music, especially spiritual and trance-inducing, from around the
world.
Faerie Folk: The Starwood GLBT Community, which has historically created
its own camping area and provided everything from mixers to workshops to rituals
of special interest to gay, lesbian, bi and trans individuals.
The Fire Tribe: the affiliation of fire-tenders, dancers and spinners
that add a wonderful element of beauty and excitement to the festival,
including the Woodbusters who build and supply the Starwood Bonfire and many
other sacred fires throughout the event.
Starwood Drumming Community: a complex network of drummers that create
the heartbeat of Starwood. This group includes many traditional Starwood drummers
who have attended for decades, several workshop providers and drum circle
facilitators, and many professional and world-renown drummers both solo and band
members of the highest caliber. At Wisteria, they can often be found at the Paw
Paw Patch.
The United Spacerangers Association: an organization focused on uniting
humans through sustainable living practices, the arts and entertainment,
spiritual and scientific study, as well as community and individuality. By keeping
the community's mind open, they nurture a system that encourages all to experience
a diversity of cultures and belief systems, fostering support for each other's
personal search for enlightenment. They maintain a community-kitchen and multi-media
campsite called the G-Spot on the edge of the Bonfire Field.
Virtual Communities
Jumpstart your Starwood experience by participating in any of several Starwood e-mail lists. Each has it's own function and protocol for participation.
StarwoodFestival Yahoo!group - With over 1000 members, this is the best place on the 'net to discuss Starwood.
OT-Starwood Yahoo!group - A more freewheeling list designed for posts considered 'off topic' on the main list.
StarwoodRides Yahoo!group - Need a ride? Wanting passengers? This is the place...
Starwood on Facebook - The Facebook Home of the Starwood Festival
The Starwood Facebook Open Group - Keep informed and be part of the process.
The Facebook 2012 Starwood Festival Event Page - Tell us you're coming this year!
Bonfire
It's big. It's hot. It's the culmination of hundreds of person-hours of labor, preparation and practice, and it's the climax of the festival experience. The Woodbusters that make up the Fire Tribe are among the longest-standing communities at Starwood, and they not only create this fantastic structure, they build and supply wood for ritual fires all around the site, all week long. Join in the building, the procession, the dance. Join the Starwood Community in one of the largest magical rituals in North America!