Shiny Green Festival

Theme: How do we actually live a new story?
The dominant story tells us that the world belongs to us and the reason we're making a muck of things is because we are broken and in need of salvation. It whispers that we are separate from each other and from the Earth, and calls us to consume so that we can "Get Ours" in a world of scarcity. The new stories are in many ways a "full-spiral" return to older stories. The new stories tell us that we belong to the Earth, that we are all connected, that there is abundance, and calls us to be in balance with the rest of nature. Even when we aspire to live a new story our actions and habits are often depressingly out of alignment with our aspirations. So then, how do we actually live a new story?

Values


Shiny embraces science and technology. We disavow the humanity/nature dichotomy and see ourselves and our technology as an integral part of Earth’s biosphere. One way Gaia manifests herself upon the Earth is through Human intelligence and its products. Human technology embodies a huge cost (or investment?) by Gaia of her land, fossil fuels, and the most precious resource of all … species diversity. The shiny aspect of this conference celebrates the achievements of technology and seeks to maximize the return on Gaia’s investment in human infrastructure.

Green cherishes the Living Earth. Green is the color of chlorophyll, the engine of all life on Earth. The children’s book I Can Save the Earth” describes a “Green” as someone who loves and takes care of the Earth. We are going to get up close and personal with Mother Earth, so wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.



Festival recognizes that something special happens when we share “place” with others. Bearing and receiving witness to our authentic selves feels wonderful! And so we gather to share and celebrate our expressions of who we are and who we aspire to be. The festival is especially an opportunity to deepen our connections to members of our far-flung online communities, to hold some private rites (e.g., to mourn the passing of our loved ones who died this year), to share our festival practices with people from other groups, and to recruit people who may be interested in joining our groups.

I'm in ... now what?
Join the meetup group and RSVP for the Shiny Green Festival. Then invite the other people you want to share this time with. You know, the people that most support you to live toward your highest aspirations.

Dates
August 8-10, 2015

Location


Portland Oregon at the Hoyt Arboretum. The classroom has been reserved and there are numerous beautiful outdoor spaces throughout the 187 acre arboretum to hold rituals or breakout sessions, go for hikes, or just sit and meditate. The arboretum is located in Portland's Washington Park that is also home to the Oregon Zoo, Portland Children's Museum, World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, Portland Japanese Garden, and International Rose Test Garden. Trails from the arboretum connect up with the 5,157 acre Forest Park, the largest urban forest in the United States with 80 miles of trails.

Co-Conveners

 * Brandon CS Sanders
 * Ben Sibelman
 * Eric Saumur
 * Shelley Schoepflin Sanders
 * Ted Sarvata
 * your name here?

Co-conveners are responsible for bringing their energy to the event and for inviting other folks they would like to spend this time with.

Format
Imagine a cross between a festival and an Open Space event. We'll seek to be a shinier Oregon Country Fair, a greener Maker Faire, a squarer Burning Man, and a less woo-woo New Tribal Convergence. Each tribe brings a participatory experience to share that powerfully gives a sense for who they are and what they are about. These experiences are part of the festival. For example, the SolSeed Movement will be bringing our Drumming the Eons ritual to share. Imagine kids you care about coming to a future incarnation of this event. What would you want them to be exposed to? What flavor of event will encourage them to find a tribe in which they can authentically and earnestly express themselves in a community of purpose?

Other inspirations:
 * lucidity festival
 * pantheacon
 * bioneers

Schedule for a 2 1/2 day Open Space Festival
As an open space festival, the schedule of sessions will be decided by participants but some of the sessions for which interest has already been expressed are:
 * Participatory activities (primarily targeted at kids)
 * Drumming the Eons
 * Creating a Deep-Time rosary from beads
 * An ivy weaving ritual to acknowledge and honor our losses from the previous year
 * Yoga for Kids
 * Secrets of the Arboretum Scavenger Hunt
 * Arboretum's Tree Buddy Program
 * Walk a scale model of the Solar System
 * Make a backyard birdhouse out of a milk carton
 * Create an insect or archnid from clothespins, construction paper, and pipe cleaners
 * Read The Magic School Bus Gets Ants in its Pants and then Study ant food preferences
 * Camoflage stuffed animals and play hide and seek/warmer colder
 * Build and observe a water clock
 * Pick up litter in the Arboretum and/or Forest Park
 * Bug bait overnight collection on grapefruit halves ... what insects come out at night?
 * Build a bug house and then collect bugs to observe in it
 * Build a compass and use it to find something hidden
 * Make a water barometer and record observations throughout the festival
 * Make air detectors (vaseline on wax paper) and track what is in the air in various places around the arboretum (including close to the road)
 * Group brain storming session to
 * improve the Food Forest concept
 * expand the ideas for the Shiny Green Visions documentary idea
 * discuss Portland eco-village idea
 * Other juicy topics
 * Place making? Temples, shrines, festivals, conventions
 * Finding/founding our tribes ... what are our highest aspirations? what are our unshakeable values? what language/imagery/rituals etc inspire us?

Saturday August 8, 2015 (full day)

Sunday August 9, 2015 (full day)

Monday August 10, 2015 (half day)

Attendees

 * Brandon CS Sanders ... The SolSeed Movement
 * Ben Sibelman ... The SolSeed Movement
 * Eric Saumur ... The SolSeed Movement
 * Shelley Schoepflin Sanders ... The SolSeed Movement
 * Ted Sarvata
 * Sequoia Sanders (age 5) ... The SolSeed Movement
 * Ren Sanders (will be age 3) ... The SolSeed Movement
 * your name here?

Budget

 * Venue ... ~$1900 ... reserved with deposit ... $1,789.00 remaining is due in full by July 8, 2015.
 * Food ... ???
 * Travel and Lodging Scholarships ... ???

The SolSeed Movement will be kicking in somewhere around $2,000 to the budget. This amount may grow and will not shrink.