Community Celebrations and Why We Need Them.

Just as a single oak, a single person can be loud, magical, and have a freedom of expression that makes people watch in certain interest. A group of people in this same state, however, carry a harmonious splendor that decorates the environment and adorns the forces of nature, their nature. That inner nature that is set free when we have no obligation but to satisfy the callings from within. And maybe the only reason we do not dance to the fullness of heart is because we are in a grass field feeling the wind alone. There is an encouragement to express self when others are around to join us. There can exist a passionate freedom to be when we are present with others. This is where I stood, a field of grass between a stage and a sound booth. Surrounded by friends, dancers, meditators, ‘theatrists’; a forest of people swaying with the wind. Only a storm hadn’t come in, we were all dancing from an inner breeze that blew to the tune of community, and we could not help but celebrate together.

​I recently attended the festival, Unifier. Located in Southwestern Massachusetts, Unifier Festival fully embraced the concept of Community Celebration. The organizers encouraged self expression through creative mediums and did their best to facilitate an environment where participants felt comfortable to do so. They surely succeeded. Living in what some may refer to as “the grind of life” we sometimes struggle to find time for ceremonial socializing. But the sociological rewards of community celebrations should not be abated and extend far beyond festivals and gatherings. According to professor Smith-Shank from Northern Illinois University, “[celebrations] are the site for affirming cultural identity, for renewing acquaintance with people and customs.” In other words, without celebration to remind us that we are a community, we can quickly lose touch with our social environment. People may even become estranged with a sense of “not fitting in”.

“Celebrations are essential to a culture’s survival” 

​- Professor Deborah Smith-Shank

As Professor Smith-Shank affirms, “Ceremonial rituals provide a reason for cohesion and cooperation which ultimately provides the habitual structure for the community to respond in similar ways to adversity and threat, kindness and acceptance.” So let us dance collectively in celebration; be care free as we swing from Sound Healing Meditation to the Sacred Fire Circle. Let us get a cup of warm Silver Moon Cacao drink and dance the night away to music we have longed to experience. Unifier Festival supplies this necessary space for inner expression that we may see who we are, in self and community. But what is the best way to celebrate community? How do we collectively express our sociological values in a way that is enriching to ourselves and our environment?

I was able to experience, first hand, the vision and mission of the Unifier Festival as felt and portrayed by its organizers. This vision, as I came to collect, is to unify different communities and make sustainability accessible; to support individuals and communities by being thankful for who we are and finding that space in our selves, collectively, where we can creatively express our goals and ideals. As Jason Cohen, the Festival Director put it, “ We feel whole during our creative expression. We are born to live creatively. Many of us feel like we are just surviving and the essence of survival inhibits creativity.” Jason shared with me during the breakdown and clean up of the festival, “Opening [to creativity], we are able to give and receive freely. We are able to be expansive and walk the path of synchronicity with nature.”

I am happy to admit that Unifier does not just talk a good talk, they walk the path paved by their ambitions. Katherine Berglund, the Village Operations Manager told me that their food vendors and festival suppliers are all carefully chosen. 80% of the food served by the festival Chef, Caelum Massicotte, is local to the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley. Outside vendors are minimal, and a careful intent is taken to decide whether the non-local suppliers meet the needs and expectations of the festival. Chocolate was brought in from a coop in Asheville and they gathered a lot of support from local food supply markets in The Berkshires, Leverett, MA, Brattleboro, VT, and Holyoke, MA (to name a few).  As Katherine described it, “There is so much going on at the festival that we can forget to nourish our physical bodies. So we try to advocate a ‘natural nourishment role’ cultivating wholesome nutrition to make sure our staff is fed.”