Friday through Monday
Folklife Commons
"The SingPeace! Wagon is the realization of a lifelong dream of Pushkara Sally Ashford to have a traveling symbol of communal tranquility and musical harmony. It has traveled to events and gatherings all over the Pacific Northwest and was hand-lovingly constructed by a community of volunteers. Ashford will eventually live in the wagon as she pulls it along throughout the journey she calls 'Sing Peace! Earth Pilgrimage for Peace and Global Harmony.' ”
The SingPeace! wagon was one of 7000 entrants in the 2010 NW Folklife Festival. Now in its 39th year, the festival attracts anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 visitors each Memorial Day weekend. A full-time staff now administers the festival and 1300 volunteers are on the grounds to support the event.
The concept of the festival is to provide a high-quality public forum where the traditional and ethnic communities and artists of the Northwest Region of the National Park Service (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Western Montana) can present their music, dance performances and crafts. All performers were asked to contribute their participation in an event with no admission charge as an opportunity for community celebration and sharing. As such, it is the largest such festival in the country.
As one of the founders of Seattle Folklore Society, the first producer of Folklife, I performed and conducted workshops in the 70's. When I lost my voice in 1979, I dropped out of the "folk scene." Except for the "25th Coffeehouse Singers Reunion" in 2003, I'd not been on hand for over 30 years.
The inspiration in 2008 to share "Songs for a Culture of Peace," put me in mind of a lifetime of singing and performing folk music. I enrolled in the course in "How to Build a Gypsy Wagon," at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking in May 2009, where I designed and commissioned the building of the vardo or gypsy wagon. At the same time, a team of singers and song weavers from around the region began forming around the SingPeace! Earth Pilgrimage. Some spoke of it as a "movement." I was reassured by their response that this journey would not have to depend upon my singing voice for its success. Emailing old friends still active in the Seattle Folklore Society, I was greeted by a warm welcome. They bridged the gap for my application to NW Folklife.
Laurence Cole and Deborah Shomer, both from Port Townsend, WA, Rob Tobias from Eugene, OR, Sara Tone from Portland, OR, and myself formed the core of our team. These folks generously shared a repertoire of songs that powerfully reflect the culture of peace that we wish to see and be in the world, songs that honor Mother Earth and reminding us of our essential unity and commonality. Mick Dodge, the Barefoot Sensei, added the dimension of the "Earth Pilgrimage," pointing the way to activism: walkable communities, land and old growth conservation, tree planting, barefooting, exuberant play and Earth Gym activities.
A pilgrimage is a quest. It begins with a question. It assumes an attitude of innocence, of not knowing. Indeed, life itself is a pilgrimage. Undertaken consciously, with humility, honor and humor, a pilgrimage is a process of revelation and discovery.
I wondered: "What is a culture of peace? Is it attainable? Is it inevitable?" During my lifetime, the world has seen many wars. Armed conflict as a way of life is intensifying in every corner of the globe. Collectively, we have arrived at the brink of annihilation. With the potent impressions of war, violence and abuse written on the mitochondria, the cellular memory of the body, of nearly every being on the planet, would we recognize and respond to a different drumbeat?
The "Singing Revolution" that took place in war-torn Estonia, occupied during WWII by both the Germans and the Soviets, suggested to me that we may also have an ancestral memory of peace and that singing may be a way to access it. The Estonians had not forgotten their cultural heritage. Without raising a fist or aiming a weapon, they took back their country and their lives, even after decades of violent oppression.
Neuroscience tells us that music and singing stimulates the hemisphere of the brain that recognizes the joy and unity in all things. Words - the songs' lyrics - we know, form sentences and outlooks that shape our attitudes and life experience. Our team's shared a vision of local and regional gatherings - "singing villages" - could, perhaps, bring communities together to collaborate and co-create "Songs for a Culture of Peace."
In the months leading up to the NW Folklife Festival, the SingPeace! gypsy wagon became a meeting place and staging area for such gatherings. Though distant, at times, in hours and miles, we moved in tandem toward learning and strengthening a common repertoire that we would share when we met at Folklife. Our efforts gained momentum as we met in Cosmopolis at Singing Alive, in Port Townsend for the inaugural of the SingPeace! wagon, at the Seattle Folklore Society Song Circle and at Seattle's Interfaith Community Church, at the SFS Song Circle's Rainy Camp in Carnation, at the Yoga Lodge, on Earth Day and for the "Trees and Memories" Trillium Land Purchase arts gala produced by butoh dancer,Maureen Freehill, all on Whidbey Island.
By the time we reached Folklife, our numbers had increased and were enhanced by Melanie Rios and Janice Medvin, Eugene, Yana Viniko, Seattle, Sharon Abreu and Mike Hurwicz, Orcas Island, Dinah Stinson, Seattle, Rick Aydelotte, somewhere up north, as well as, several members of the Port Townsend Songlines Choir, among them, Laura Martin, Gretchen Sleicher and Deanna Pumplin. They are pictured in the NW Folklife Festival photos at the SingPeace! website, along with other folks who happened along - including Dr. Peter Keating and his children who played fiddle and cello on a Russian gypsy song.
At each location, the SingPeace! wagon has seen a steady stream of visitors. This "tiny green home" piques the imagination and brings smiles to everyone's faces. Its small footprint, 12-volt solar voltaic panel, LED lighting, composting toilet and on-demand propane water heating systems suggest a simple, yet, gracious way of life. I keep the names and contact information for those who want to stay in touch and in some way contribute their support to the mission of the SingPeace! Earth Pilgrimage. They will be hearing from me, soon.
I wish to honor and thank Jim Tolpin and Steve Habersetzer, who taught the course, and Steve, who beautifully crafted the wagon to my specifications, Laurence Cole who did the carving, Don Tiller who did the painting, Stan Price and his team at Covenant Glass for the stained and etched glass art, and to Susan Leinbach, seamstress, and Jeanne Moore, Potpourri, both of whom helped with the interior furnishings.
The challenge of towing and moving the SingPeace! wagon about the region has been willingly met by several friends, folks with big trucks who are also competent drivers. Offering a low and grateful bow to Steve Habersetzer, Richard Epstein and his crew person, Gary, to Kevin Rio Kipur and to Steve Swalwell. Hugs, too, to friends Rob Adamson and Jan Swalwell for their loving and playful support!
The SingPeace! wagon awaits alternative technology in a tow vehicle consistent with its "green" message. This is doubly and triply true since the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As I mentioned, for the time being, we are concentrating locally on foot camps and walkable communities. More of this focus in future blogposts.
The SingPeace! website is a place where we can meet and share songs, photos, videos, blogs and event information. I encourage you to join us there and participate in future events.
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