The Gatherings
All Rainbow Gatherings are held with an open invitation to people of all walks of life, and of all beliefs, to share experiences, love, dance, music, food, and learning.
The Rainbow Family is most widely known for its large annual American Gatherings (i.e. U.S. "Nationals" or "Annuals") which are held on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (or "B.L.M.") land. These U.S. Annual Gatherings usually attract between 10,000 and 25,000 participants.
In addition to these larger U.S. Annuals, the Rainbow Family also holds Gatherings throughout the year in dozens of other countries. "World Gatherings" are also held from time to time in various countries. Other Rainbow Family activities include regional Gatherings (or Regionals) and retreats. There are also small, local activities such as local drum circles, potlucks, music related events, and campouts.
Money is not used (or not encouraged), camps set up kitchens to feed people, and there is a circle on the Fourth of July to pray for peace.
The Forest Service Incident Management team cost federal taxpayers $750,000 in 2006 (this cost is for 'monitoring' of the Rainbows), and the team handled the Gathering in Colorado that year and other large events in National Forests. By comparison, the Burning Man festival, unconnected to the Rainbow Family, is a commercial venture that operates each year in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, pays the Bureau of Land Management $750,000 for a permit, and recoups the cost by charging attendees between $210 and $360. The Rainbow Family claims being charged $750,000 dollars to gather peaceably on National Forest Land is a violation of their First Amendment rights, and that the event is free to all members of the public.
After the Rainbow Gathering visited the National Forest near his town of Richwood, W. Va. in 2005, where he is Mayor, Bob Henry Baber stated: "I never saw any one bit of any activity that required any Forest Service legal intervention," He calls the Incident Management Team "bizarre and unnecessary," and adds that his town wasn't put off by the Rainbows or their behavior.
Controversies over the Rainbow Family's 1987 Gathering are discussed in the book Judge Dave and the Rainbow People.
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