by Sheana » Sun Oct 08, 2006 9:10 pm
Hi flwyd,
First let me say thank you for your interest in my responses.
There are those in the community that would like to see Dragonfest as an organization be more active throughout the year. As I stated in my earlier outline, this was brought up at the 2005 corporate meeting by several people. As I also stated, these are things that I have been thinking about for quite some time, over a decade to be exact.
You stated that “Dragonfest is relevant for location and context, but that relevance only applies at the festival.” This is simply not the case. We are a Non Profit Community Centered Educational Corporation. (Technically, our 501(c)3 status is in Education.) But the reason for Dragonfest is to serve the community and bring it together. (Which it does exceptionally well.) Considering this I think it would be good if we could serve the community throughout the year with small events that would bring the community together for a few hours to celebrate a holiday or two. This is nothing less than what Hearthstone does on a monthly basis, that Grand Coven does on a yearly basis or that Drumming Up The Sun does for us every Yule. These functions are all meant to bring the community together.
The outline that I gave in response to Dona’s question is just this, an outline of ideas that I have. Different ritual ideas and perhaps Dragonfest “sanctioned workshops” and perhaps a Dragonfest “sanctioned” food bank.
In response to the question you asked: “Are you proposing that Dragonfest resources (supplies, funds, official communication, etc.) be used for rituals outside of Dragonfest?” Here is a quote from the answer I outlined for Dona:
“The problem, however, always comes down to money. In order to hold a ritual we would need space. In order to get space we would need to a) buy our own, or b) rent space. The only other alternative is to find someone with a big enough space that would also be willing to donate it to us for a day. Considering the geographic locations of our membership, it is one thing to drive to the mountains in August to spend the week. But it is entirely another thing to drive to the mountains in the middle of winter for an afternoon ritual. Taking this under advisement, a central location will be critical.
Not only that, but big public rituals have costs associated unto themselves. Many times we donate our own personal money to purchase the equipment necessary to put on a ritual. But, if we are talking about a Rite of Passage that is going to take all night, we won't have the convenience of our Entry Fee into Dragonfest to cover the cost of breakfast in the morning.
The bottom line is that we would probably have to charge a small fee in order to attend, but this would serve two purposes.
* Bring the community together throughout the year,
* And contribute to our fundraising efforts.
Which brings us back to Fundraising, thus bringing these two visions together and bringing us full circle.”
As you can see from my response, I did not propose that we use Dragonfest resources.
As for your statement “and I know I won't be any more inclined to attend a ritual if the Board says "Dragonfest likes this ritual." That would be up to you, as an individual, to decide. I can only speak for myself when I say that if I knew that there was going to be a ritual which was also to help raise funds for Dragonfest I would do everything I could to attend.
Thank you for taking the time to respond and I hope that I have addressed any concerns that you may have had.
In Their Service,
Sheana
Walk In The Light