KINDLE CASCADIA GATHERING 2020 POSTPONED

A message to the Kindle village

Long before anyone’s memory, people have been gathering together on the solstice to honor the darkness and welcome the light, sharing connection and crafts around a common fire. Solstice is the time to be with the shadows, but to tend the fire through the night so it is not lost. For twelve years, Kindle Cascadia has indeed kindled our spirits when we came together to share this time, leaving us a hot bed of coals to keep us warm through each winter and on into the next year with intention, reflection, gratitude, connection, and strength.

This year (2020) we won’t be gathering in a large group like we have in the past. Instead, it is time to create our own smaller-scale version of winter solstice traditions. As someone who has experienced the beauty and magic of Kindle Cascadia, YOU have the power to channel that energy into your own tradition that honors old ways and bridges new realities to find resonance with the people around you. 

So how are you going to kindle your spirit this winter solstice? Can you allow yourself a few days, or just one, or even one evening, to set aside technology, mind-altering substances, and the rhythm of daily life and sink into the quiet stillness of the season? What can you craft and create? Who can you invite to share this special time with? How will you connect with that deep inner power and wisdom that has been carried by your ancestors and passed on to you? 

We invite you to stay connected by utilizing the Kindle Cascadia Facebook page to share videos of skillshares/tutorials, your talents, and your handmade wares for sale or trade. https://www.facebook.com/pg/kindlecascadia

May the circle be open but ever unbroken

May the love of the circle be forever in our hearts

Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again

Much love,

The Kindle Cascadia organizing team

Abby, Hannah, Hosanna, Jessi, Ilana

Dismantling Oppression at Kindle Cascadia

At Kindle Cascadia, we ultimately seek to create a world free from domination and oppression where all people feel nourished, seen, and empowered through all of their social interactions. We also recognize that this is not where we are as a society, and there is a lot of work we must do before we get to live in that vision. 

Our commitment as organizers

  • We will actively work to dismantle systems of oppression as they express themselves in the organizing, designing, and carrying out of the gathering. 
  • We will do everything in our power to reduce the risk of physical, verbal, and emotional harm that occurs for all participants, recognizing that it is impossible to eliminate this risk entirely. 
  • We will hear and take seriously any feedback from the experience of any participant, past or present, of the gathering

Actions in 2019 

  • Designated Quiet Zone for rest, reflection, processing, and personal sanctuary
  • Mediation Team: A coordinated group of trusted community members, including organizers, who are attentive to the interpersonal dynamics of the gathering and are available for mediating conflicts, listening, helping individuals process experiences or emotions, and taking bold action when needed to uphold Safe(r) Space
    • Note: Some of our Mediation Team has training in peer counseling, mediation, interpersonal work, etc, but they are not licensed therapists. If you need significant mental health support you will have to seek that elsewhere. 
  • Affinity groups: Invitation for any historically marginalized identity group to create a designated space at the gathering (in space or time). Facilitator(s) of this space will set their own ground rules about who can show up to that space and what is allowed there. Organizers/Mediation Team will support the space however requested. Reach out to an organizer if you would like to facilitate such a space. 
  • Accountability dialogue: If we become aware that a registered participant (including organizers and teachers) has a history of violence (of any type), we will investigate the situation and hold confidential dialogue to hear all sides of the story, find out whether that person is in an accountability process, and use our best judgment as organizers to determine the level of participation (or not) that person can safely have in this community space.  Recognizing that both “victims” and “perpetrators” of violence need healing that a space like Kindle Cascadia can provide, we will do our best to creatively address these delicate and complex interpersonal matters without excluding or shaming anyone. However, in the interest of creating a Safe(r) space, arrangements may be made like creating boundaries on where a person can go at the gathering, who they initiate interactions with, the level of leadership they hold, or, in extreme scenarios, barring participation altogether for a year or more. 

This is sensitive stuff! We are all humans, we were all raised in a society where oppression of some sort was the norm, and we are still learning. We will make mistakes. Please talk to us, challenge us, share your experience whether positive or negative, and help us continue to learn.  

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