Organizing for the Goddesses

Two more months till Gathering the Goddesses
Sept 5-7th in La Honda

I have produced nine Goddess festivals in the woods, but the last time in ‘03 we didn’t get enough women to attend. This has discouraged me. Where is the new generation? Where is generation Z?

I promised myself … No more festivals unless I have a producing staff to fill the beds. “Oh I help! I Help!” They cried. But “they” didn’t know how, and teaching them is the same as doing it. Good will is not enough. You need computer savvy and relentless pursuit of advertising.

Why are women no longer aggressive? I aged out of this category. Back in the younger years I could write and produce at the same time. How does one develop producers? Only by producing. Doing is learning.

I have missed doing those splendid rituals in the beautiful Greek Temple. It’s a unique place in California, on this spot in a sunken earth-bowl; we are allowed to have a scared fire.

There was immediate trouble about the dates. Our old camp was not free for rent. A jazz group was doing events there, So one of us contacted a camp in Santa Cruz, Camp Harmon, where I signed papers, gave them money, we started to advertise.

A couple of weeks later we get a call from the camp. Not the nice woman who showed us around, but an administrator. She said … we were not a good match. They were getting phone calls from our women about alcohol, (we don’t allow any), and this alarmed the administrator, she looked into our website and saw all the witches with full length gowns and torches lit in their hands, and I guess she got concerned.

Tossed out from the new camp, I called back our beloved old camp where I had produced many festivals before, and Miracles! They were available; the jazz group never signed papers nor sent them money. Hurrah!

Big load of stress fell off my shoulders. Because it’s all about location, location. Especially here, a festival is depending on the grounds for mood, for security, for good times. We got the best again!

Now we really needed to put the word out. Many lists have been joined and posted on about the festival. I have started booking the women who would present, contacted old friends who were present at the writing and printing of the “Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries.”

For the theme we chosen the Holy Book, since its rebirth is a kind of miracle too. This book has changed American women’s minds about spirituality. It has introduced feminism and spirituality together, a potent mix of politics and spirituality. When we first published it, it was too early. It was too early to talk about a “woman only” tradition, a feminist spirituality without men. So we printed it ourselves. Helen Hancken (she is coming!) printed it at night at her printing job place; we only made about 750 copies. This was the Orange cover version.

Next we found Peace Press and they printed a hefty 1,000 copies, which came with us to the very first Goddess gathering in Boston, in 1978, and we sold out the lot in half an hour. Two thousand women came to that first gathering, and the Goddess Movement now kicked in full-throttle.

The book was later picked up by Book People, our distributor, and then Book People went belly up after a good twenty years. The Holy Book went dormant for seven years. Weiser Books picked it up finally and brought it into today’s audiences, in a new stunning cover.

After 36 years of revolutionary work, the Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries has been reborn, via Weiser and into the world.

I invited friends to teach loosely from chapters in the book.

This has taken a lot of volunteer work, arrangements, some women live to far and it’s a hardship to get here, expensive.

However now we have to fill the beds. We have about 40+ women signed up already; most of them are flying in. And the details never stop.

We need to make arrangements to pick you up at the airport, and drop you off without missing your connecting flights.

I opened up our files from ‘03 and found our old bus service lists. Back then it costs us only $400 dollars to pick you up and deliver you back, so we could throw that in for free. This year I think it will be more $1500 dollars for the same service because of the gasoline prices and inflation, and bad male (bushies) management of the world. So I am sorry to say we cannot afford to throw that in for free anymore.

So listen up:
We pick you up at 1 pm in the San Jose International baggage claim. Information desk at the baggage pick up. There will be a sister with a sign “Z Budapest” and a t-shirt, we gather there. When she got everybody on her list arrived (make sure you tell us if you need a ride!!) there we move out to the spot of pick ups and call for our bus. We pile in and come to the camp. It’s an hour plus drive through the redwoods. I booked a big bus for 45 women.

Home pick-up is at the camp at 2:30 pm and it will take you back to your terminals.

Make sure you book your flights so you can make these times, homewards planes should be booked after 5pm just to make sure.

My festivals are very social and interactive. Nobody is just lecturing you passively, you have social connections to do, invocations to create, and talk about your life experience in the particular age group you are in now.

We don’t ask you to do security, and help cook food, or do dishes we give you magical assignments. All the rest is taken care of.

But you need a ticket which costs $300 bucks. For this small amount you get everything, food, lodging, program. The airport pick up will be extra $25 bucks a head.

Don’t make us wait for your decision; I don’t want to deal with money once we are on the land.

I am spelling for the new generation to take over the ”filling the beds” part of the production.

And you know there will be gnashing of teeth, and beating of chests. Oh Z, we need a gathering, we need good circles, we need the movement move … where have all those women’s festivals gone? We are the only one still standing.

I agree.

Unless the generation Z women reveal themselves, and step up to produce, this is the last festival for me. We will video tape as much of it as possible.

Go to the website and read all the details. I have finalized the program, I think it is easy to follow and fun. And of course this festival’s last day is my Tryst with Bobbie. A witches wedding! Jumping the broom.

See you in September.

ZBudapest.com