mythteller | KG 2009 -- Bittersweet Victories

It's been a couple of days since I returned from my yearly pilgrimage to the fest known as Kaleidoscope Gathering. I've showered, slept, done the laundry, and mostly unpacked the car of my festly accessories.

KG 2009 was one of the best KGs I've ever attended. Everyone brought the best of themselves to share with everyone else. There are dozens of moments that bring me a warm smile, even a laugh when I remember them.

The weather was a bit iffy on some days, but my tent was able to keep the rain out, which made everything else easier to deal with. After a couple of days, I decided to take a short shower. I took the time to dry off carefully and got dressed again. About 10 feet from the shower, the heavens opened up and a cold biting rain soaked me to the skin. I swear I heard the gods say "YOU REQUIRE PROPER RINCING!!"

I swore to myself that this year I would not over-extend myself with activities, events, and running around. I failed epically in this, and although I had a fantastic time, it left me in a bit of a shambles at the end. The worst of it was that I got to spend no real time with those people who mean the most to me, and to them, I apologize for my absence.

The four major highlights for this fest were:

1. Auz and MA gave me a certificate for KG 2010 to recognize my community work
2. Right before the crowning of the Stag King, the Stag King Elders saluted me for my leadership ("Though Hobbes is always the last to finish the swim, he never leaves a man behind.")
3. For the first time in the six years I've been in the Bardic, I won third place for my telling of "Indra and the Blind Shaman". Normally, storytellers never win anything in the bardic, but this year, all three spots were won by storytellers (with LC winning top spot and much deservedly so).
4. The Thornhaven Men's Ritual (see below)

I was asked by the Thornhaven crew to help design and run the Men's Ritual. Dan and I had been chatting about it online for about a month on where we could take this, but the mechanics of the ritual got thrown together about 2 hours before the ritual took place.

It was a simply ritual design, but it struck a deep chord in several of the men who attended, some even to the point of being thoroughly shaken. Three circles were drawn, one inside the other, each representing a different sense of personal identity (outer: job, inner: relationship, centre: core).

Once the men reached the centre, there were stripped of all their identity and they had to face who they truly were devoid of name, rank, title, and responsibility. Who are you when you are left truly alone with no one to call you friend, brother, or lover? When you shout out "I AM" to your gods, to your soul, what do you do with that? These were the questions that the men were given to ponder in this quiet space and it was disquieting to contemplate.

I'll be adding this ritual to my own BOS: it was insanely powerful and I'll definitely want to run it again.

We also broke a couple of classic rules by walking directly out of the circle, breaking through the confines of the ritual space. I was a bit worried about this because it would suddenly leave the remaining men alone and I wasn't sure what would happen (it seemed cruel to me). But instead, the men were able to leave the circle in a similar way, each making a powerful statement.

With KG 2009 behind me, I'm already making plans for KG 2010 at its new location at Raven's Knoll. I'll be helping to get this new land ready for KG 2010 over the next year, which should be amazing.

Thanks to all of you who made my KG 2009 memorable, and to those who couldn't make it this year, I'll be expecting to share a mead horn with you at KG 2010!