Festival! for All Faiths and Families
with the accent on "all"
I have an odd view of a festival, that it was a medieval tradition for farm and townspeople who had worked all year. The crop was finally planted or harvested and everyone was ready for a spirit-lifting occasion. Can you imagine relaxing after months of mental cares and dawn-to-dark tasks?
“Festival” comes from the Latin word for “feast”. It implies a generosity of food, gaiety and entertainment for all ages, perhaps a few (or many) words of wisdom and humor, and just being together in the moment.
Last Saturday we had a festival in Transylvania County that was all of these things.
The heart of the poster above is the word “All”. Today the great diversity among the people our nation is under attack, even here. It happened in August at the “Faith, Family, Freedom Rally” where, at a local church, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Robinson mocked some of our citizens, and Republican officials and candidates on the stage with him laughed.
We knew we had to respond to that event with action, not just with words. What would a “Freedom Festival for All Faiths and Families” look like? We had a scant six weeks to pull it together and to get the word out. Our team included local leaders and volunteers who celebrate the freedom to choose one’s religion, personal health and relationship.
It was unspoken from the start that our guests deserved the best.
Because it’s election time in America, we decided to weave family fun into a celebration of our right to vote and to be counted. Why not invite kids to vote?
There were hot dogs with chili and food for all, campaign handouts, and voter registration forms. A bouncy house, a kids’ voting booth, face painting, and community information tables. A juggler, and school supplies donation boxes.
For students and teachers, people brought sets of brightly colored play dough, triangular-shaped pencils for little hands, books, nap blankets, markers, hand sanitizer, and much more. These supplies will soon be delivered to our county’s public schools.
And on the stage, we had music!
Each of our three guest speakers affirmed the same keynote: there is power in standing together for social and legal justice for everyone.
Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward urged the crowd to keep our minds and hearts open to the over-reaching positive spirit we all share as humans, whatever religion or way of life we practice.
Rev. Dr. John Mendez told the story of Plato’s cave, where prisoners in a cave think the shadows they see on the wall are the real objects. Once a person gains freedom, it takes courage and compassion to return to the cave to convince those who remain that reality lies outside. They will resist.
Dr. Pamela Holder spoke for Cheri Beasley, who is our US Senate candidate. When Beasley was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2008, she became the first black woman to be elected to any statewide office in NC without being first appointed by a governor. “Cheri has the background and passion to represent North Carolina well in the US Senate,” Dr. Holder said.
District 11 Candidate Jasmine Beach-Ferrara encouraged serious GOTV (Get Out The Vote) for all our candidates this fall. The votes are there, she said. It’s up to us to convince our neighbors through the phone, the mail and in person, that their voice in this election matters.
Sometimes it’s the small things that you remember.
During a pause in the program, Sam took the microphone, held up his finger and said to the audience, “Be quiet, listen!” Then we could hear children’s excited voices and laughter coming from in and around the bouncy house not far off. It felt like a moment out of time, or from a long time ago, when our worries were few.
And another small thing —
Each time a speaker mentioned the word “hope”, I heard a murmur ripple through the audience. I felt we had been waiting for the qualities of everyday kindness, generosity and hope to return to America. We could relax in the presence of them for just that afternoon.
Then we folded our Big Tent and went out to GOTV!
Love it! Thanks for writing so beautifully about a lovely event!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Deda! Outstanding coverage and photos. So grateful for you and Sam.