Hi Michael & Donna,

I'm no expert, as my wife and I have only ever made it to two gatherings, but I'd say that the Rainbow Family is made up of all people who are in some sense seeking a new way of living and being. There are all kinds of folks at a gathering, some of whom you'll probably really connect with and find amazing, and others that are on a totally different trip. My feeling is that there are lots of very free, wise, and beautiful people to be found at a gathering and in the subculture in general, and you just have to open yourself and not be put off if you meet some people that rub you the wrong way. A gathering is like a porthole into the world of those on paths towards greater freedom and authenticity, and if you are genuinely seeking then doors will open for you.

Best of luck breaking free of the corporate life. You can do it. There are so many other ways to live. Life's too short to waste it working in an office. A gathering is a good place to get new ideas by meeting people that have found creative and inspiring alternative ways to live outside of the mainstream. Not everyone's path will seem right to you, but you'll find your way.

So gatherings are one porthole into what I've found to be a surprisingly rich and extensive subculture. You might also want to explore some intentional communities. There are all kinds, and you can find out about them on ic.org. We've met some of the most fantastic people that way. Depending on what you're into, you might find this route to be as exciting as we have.

Another way to get started might be to just hit the road for 6 months or a year or two. After 25 years of the grind hopefully you've got a few bucks saved up. Take a low-budget vacation and discover the disorienting, confusing, and exhilarating joy of having free time again. It might be tough at first, but hang in there and you'll come through. Even in the book, The Teenage Liberation Handbook, the author stresses the importance of some simple downtime for those making the break from busy, scheduled, mainstream life, and she's primarily writing to teenagers making the break from school, not to those who've had their noses to the grindstone for so much longer like yourself. You can meet some fascinating characters on the road, and you'll surely get lots of new ideas. Backpack through Latin America, SE Asia, or even India. It doesn't have to cost much at all if you are willing to live very simply. If you're short on cash, or if it seems to bourgeois to you to simply wander and "vacation," you can save money and salve your conscience by doing volunteer stints as you go.

Oh, and if you can, stop watching TV. You don't need any more of that programming. Let books be your friends, use the Internet actively, and hang out with real people.

You might also want to check out Ran Prieur's article, "How to drop out." You can google for it. It's a good read.

I don't know anything about the alternative scene around Kansas City, but surely you can find some connections if you look for them.

Best of luck! I'd love to hear how things unfold for you two!

Peace & Love,

Troy & Katie

Howdy Michael, lots of good questions and I agree there are no simple answers. The Rainbow Family is many things to many different people, likely everyone has a different answer to that question. There is much good reading and many links on www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/ or a beautiful set of pictures here www.billbucolo.com/Rainbow_AR_07/ to get you started.

And yes, we have our suits who take a week out and come home to the rainbow gathering to "recharge". Others are vagabonds and follow smaller regional gatherings throughout the year. Most fall somewhere between those two ends of the spectrum. But after a week or two in the woods, everybody is just a dirty hippie, whatever you were before you got there, really doesn't matter any more.

At the Rainbow, no money changes hands, another great equalizer. There are no tickets, no beer trucks, no port-a-potties, giant stage or sound systems. It's hard to explain the rainbow gathering, there is little there other than dirty hippies and trees. Yet, it is a magical place, a place where just being a human being is enough, no other baggage required.

I don't know much about the Kansas City region, but you're only about 4 hours away from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage www.dancingrabbit.org/ in Missouri. Definitely a place to find some kindred spirits and maybe even find yourself.

Hey, Michael & Donna.

I've lived on the fringes of the RF most of my life, but I know where you're at from personal experience.

The Rainbow Family is an anarchist [anarchism as in personal responsibility/sufficiency, not chaos]collage of mainstream societal dropouts, for the most part--and they collect everyone from anywhere.

I attended my first Gathering in 1982 at the age of 14--well against my parents wishes. My granparents were all rich-as-snot society people, and my parents were mortified by my own choice to go hang out in the woods with a bunch of "pot-tokin' hippies." Nearly 30 years and one hig-fallutin' nursing career later, I'm still drawn the the low, deep sound of shells and drums somewhere beyond the treeline, the smell of soup in the heady pine air, and the kindest, most interesting people hanging out under the trees wherever in the world.

Here's the long and short of it: GOD created us to be happy and to serve Him through service to one another. Some people [read: most that haven't seen the flip side of life] have the idea that one will always be happy in a regimented existence filled with the right stuff in the right neighbourhood with the right people, but not everyone can pull it off. There are those in the world (myself included) for whom the "mainstream" is not just unrealistic and fraudulent, but deafeningly lethal to the soul. A great many of the latter belong to the Rainbow Family in some way or other.

If you've ever dreamed of giving away everything you own and just going out to meet the world face-to-face, then the Family is probably what you're looking for. Just be advised: it is called a cult by the likes of Rick Ross and all his ilk, it is feared by many LEO's as a threat to all gov't order, and it's rejected out of hand by those who believe that anything other than a 9-5 existence is synonymous with lackwitted bummery. Don't be surprised if/when you make up your mind to abandon the wastelands of suburbia your blood kin try to have you commited.

On the other hand, if what you're looking for is to find your most authentic, vunerable self and peace in the world (and your heart), head home to the Gathering.....

Too True . . . that simple questions are not always simple!

In addition to the input you have garnered here already, and in response to your posting/questions ~
here are couple of links you may wish to explore. . .

welcomehere.org/gathering_of_the_tribes/

www.welcomehere.org/gatherin...s/annual/

My partner and I are planning to attend an 'alternate' gathering of kind folks in South Central Missouri (Rippee Access Land Management Area) this year ~ after reading about the road/weather/harassment issues being experienced by those in New Mexico just now.

My first rainbow gatherings were in New Mexico (1995) and Arizona (1998), and the FS/LEO presence was not intrusive or abusive, as it sounds to be now; or as it proved to be dangerously/costly, in Arkansas (2007). We decided that the Missouri event may be worth the shorter drive (and lesser travel expense)...and, we figure that we can't know how it compares to 'THE' gathering (and thus inform others) until we experience it ourselves.

Best wishes to you, in your personal search!