loovebug

what is rainbow gathering anyway? it started in the 1970s as a "call for peace," which is - at its core - what it still is. what that actually means is that it's a weeklong-ish gathering in the middle of a national forest (there are regional gatherings all year long, but one, much larger national gathering over the 4th of july every year). in it's hey day, it garnered about 10K+ people/gathering; now it's closer to 3-4K.

people liken it to burning man, but as someone who has been to both - it is NOTHING like burning man. it is incredibly primitive; i can't emphasize that enough. people set up ovens by building hearths from stone; water lines are brought in to create a drinking water system. there is no electricity, no commerce, no formal "performances." zero money is exchanged - entry is free, food and drink and anything else is all free or traded. phones and cameras are highly discouraged.

so what do you? the best way to engage at rainbow is to "plug in" to one of the camps. i.e., be a contributing member of the pseudo-society that's been created: cook at a kitchen, do first aid, participate in "seed camp" (rainbow setup) or cleanup camp, etc. you spend your time meeting people and connecting in a human way that is truly unlike any other experience i've ever had.

you can chant in the hare krishna camp, dance at the 24/7 drum circle/fire, explore primitive art installations, go on organized plant walks, attend concerts (strain your ears! no sound system), etc. or stand up your own event/activity! there are plenty of drugs, but any amount of alcohol is highly discouraged ("a-camp" is usually in a parking lot just outside the gathering).

what do i specifically do? herbal first aid; this is the whole reason i go. 7song, my herbal mentor, has led the herbal first aid camp at rainbow for 35+ years, and he uses it as a learning tool for his herbalism intensive students (my first year attending was in his herbal program). i learn so much in the week i'm there that it's (eh... probably...) worth the ethical tradeoff of attending (see below).

because everything is free and inclusion is paramount, many people "travel with the rainbow," attending regional gatherings throughout the year with no real homes to speak of - meaning i often treat unhoused folks, van-lifers, or societally neglected people whose ONLY source of medical care (or human tenderness...) is at the national gathering. this can make for some really out-of-the-box and uncomfortable interactions. a few of my herb school classmates thought rainbow was "scary" (eye roll tbh), but i like challenging myself in that way, and i think it's important as a healer to be exposed to people radically unlike myself.

why do people hate it? a lot of reasons, but the main ones:

"unkempt" hippies (and - let's call a spade a spade - unhoused people) raid what is usually a small, rural town that borders the gathering for a few weeks in the summer, many with little funds to contribute to the local economy.

rainbow gathering is illegal, period. they operate without permits, partly because their gathering sizes aren't actually allowed, and partly because, by design, they have no organized leadership - and therefore no one to actually sign a permit (signing on behalf of a group you don't formally lead is illegal!). not abiding by the law is obviously a problem to a lot of people.

ecological destruction is by far their biggest issue. rainbow REALLY prides itself on spending months after every national gathering doing land restoration. my first rainbow (as part of herb school), my cohort spent 1 week with cleanup camp; even in a week, the cleanup achieved was astounding, and folks stay much longer than we did. the idea of there being literal trash left strewn about is blatantly false. the cleanup crew not only picks up trash, they do active ecological restoration, often leaving the land "better than they found it." cleanup is an inherent part of the entire gathering (some people come JUST for cleanup!!!), and there have been official statements from forest services that laud rainbow's cleanup efforts. THAT SAID - it's undeniable that thousands of people descending onto small sections of a national forest is going to cause ecological disharmony and, yes, harm (i mean... the animal populations literally descend when we're there...) - regardless of diligent cleanup efforts.

personally i struggle with this last point a lot. rainbow works with local indigenous tribes (who they ignored in 2024... it was a huge controversy within the community... don't get me started...), they have a system - but again, it's just... you can't wreak havoc on a place with zero lasting repercussions. and i'm a fucking herbalist; these things matter to me. a lot.

but i've engaged with 7song about all of this. to me, there is a value-aligned ethos as well as forms of societal activism alive in rainbow that i think are important to our culture and our world: anti-capitalism, decentralized community care, radical inclusion, freedom of expression and spiritual pluralism, peace/non-violence, consensus-based decision making... etc.