Day 46: I Know What You Did Next Summer

[anarchist_nomad]

Two days ago, the Brushwood Folklore Center announced that, after twenty years, it would not be hosting the Starwood Festival -- run by the Association for Consciousness Exploration next year.

Hurm.

That is somewhat unexpected... especially since next year is Starwood XXX!

Hurm.

I first attended Starwood at Brushwood in 1998[*]. Since then, I have not returned every single Summer[**], but I have gone back most years. In light of this breaking news, I am not certain what I will do about a Summer Pagan festival in 2010:

• Should I follow ACE and Starwood to their new -- and not yet determined -- home for Starwood XXX?
  
  
• Should I return to Brushwood for the inaugural year of their new "Summerfest" that they will host instead of Starwood?
  
  
• Shall I go to Sirius Rising at Brushwood the week before instead?
  
  
• Shall I bid farewell to both Starwood and Brushwood and return to the Free Spirit Gathering for the first time in many years??
  
  
• Should I scrap the idea of a Stateside festival entirely and try to find something equivalent in the UK? Does something equivalent even exist in the UK??

Ultimately, the decision will be quite influenced by what other people decide to do. Generally, I do not like to be a conformist... but if a majority of my Starwood peeps return to Brushwood for their Summerfest, then we have the same people in the same place. The only thing missing would be ACE... and I have no reason to feel a particular loyalty to their organization. If there are Starwood people at the Starwood place, then it may not matter what it is called -- it may still feel just like the Starwood I have known and loved through the years.

What do y'all think, fellow Starwoodians? What are your Summer plans for 2010?

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[*] My beloved cheshcat goes back even further -- I think that she first went in 1993.

[**] The way that I have never missed the October Super Sekrit Pagan Festival since I first attended in 1997.

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

As has been our wont for the past ten years or so, we'll be heading off to the Orkney Folk Festival at the end of May/beginning of June. This is one I can heartily recommend and the scenery is stunning :o)

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

I will definitely keep this in mind! It sounds like a very different event from the clothing-optional neo-Pagan super-high bonfire[*] spectacle that is Starwood... but just because it isn't a suitable replacement doesn't mean I'm not interested in attending!

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[*] Six stories!!