I attended several great festivals this summer, all countercultural in nature, and came away with this observation: The counterculture is more politicized this year than perhaps any time since the sixties, and has developed some powerful forums for coming together to nurture and celebrate political resistance and cultural renewal, while having a great time doing it. Rolling Thunder is a recent attempt to make politics more enjoyable by mixing in music and other festivities, but many other events incorporate a similar mix, some of which have been occurring for decades.

The first big festival of my summer was the Rainbow Gathering (http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/index.html) in early July, about an hour east of Mt. Shasta in Northern California. Rainbow Gatherings have been taking place in national forests somewhere in North America during the first week of July for over 30 years. There are no admission fees, recognized leaders, paid staff, or formal organization or infrastructure; it's a nonhierarchical, volunteer-run, minor miracle of free association and cooperation where all decisions are made by full consensus among whoever chooses to participate in the decision-making process. Somehow it all works.

The Rainbow Gathering is different than the other festivals I describe here in that there are no vendors or professional musicians; without performers or audiences, everyone's a participant. No food is for sale, but everyone gets fed by volunteer kitchens sprinkled throughout the gathering site, each with its own special character. There is no exchange of money of any kind, except for voluntary donations to the "magic hat," which is used to supply all the kitchens. Everyone is expected to pitch in and help out--erecting temporary structures, hauling water, digging latrines, preparing food, or whatever. This year's gathering was estimated at 20,000-30,000 people. If you've never been to a gathering of this size created on the spot by volunteers where everyone's needs are met without monetary exchange, it's, well, pretty mind-blowing. Anarchy in action.

On the morning of July 4 everyone gathers in a big circle of silent prayer for peace on earth. Way better than celebrating "bombs bursting in air" with fireworks.

The big downside this year was that the scouts who had identified the gathering spot had not checked in adequately with the native people of the area. Turns out we were gathering and digging our latrines amid their ancestral burial grounds--tragically ironic for a gathering that bases some of its philosophy on native wisdom. The local native elders were understandably very angry and came to meet with Rainbow elders and organizers during the gathering. To their credit the Rainbow folks listened carefully, humbly accepted the shaming doled out by the local elders, and did everything possible to mitigate the situation. The Rainbow Family is still learning.

The vision council at the end of this year's gathering agreed by consensus that next year's gathering will take place somewhere in the "greater mid-Atlantic bioregions." You can bet they'll be more careful in choosing the specific site next year.

After Rainbow, I headed north to the Oregon Country Fair (http://www.oregoncountryfair.org), held near Eugene July 9-11. In its 35th year, the fair is another magical miracle of countercultural consciousness and exuberant celebration, except in this case at a permanent festival site complete with an infrastructure of funky vendor booths and stages. A strong political consciousness always pervades the fair, but this year it seemed stronger than ever--my favorite expression of this was a t-shirt I saw there (also seen at Rainbow) sporting a picture of Bush with the words, "Bet you'll vote this time, hippie." I've been attending for 20 years and highly recommend the event to anyone not allergic to hippie culture.

I missed Rolling Thunder this year because I was at a three-day wedding celebration for two close friends in Port Townsend (a festival in itself, but that's another story), so my next festival was the Vashon Island Earth Fair (http://www.islandearthfair.org) during the first weekend of August. This wonderful little festival seems not to have been discovered by many folks on the mainland yet, which is a shame because it has a lot to offer: renewable energy demonstration projects, holistic healing, booths representing a variety of political and environmental causes, good music, and on-site camping. It's been cozy and mellow in recent years; with a few hundred more people it could be exciting and powerful. Check it out next year.

The Festival in the Forest (http://www.dancingdragons.org), held August 20-22 at Horning's Hideout west of Portland, was in some ways my favorite festival this summer. Billed as a "party with a purpose," this was the maiden voyage of the Dancing Dragons, a group of veteran festival organizers who are working toward buying land in Washington state to host something akin to the Oregon Country Fair here in our state, as well as hosting smaller events through the year. Key themes for the festival are "New Economies, Environmental Sustainability, Green Technologies, and Global Roots."

The Dragons were ambitious in their first big effort: three days of entertainment on four stages, plus lots of workshops, booths for nonprofits and vendors, art installations, and more, all in the spectacular venue of Horning's Hideout with its ponds and small lake in the forest with peacocks everywhere. For a first festival, it was very well organized with great attention to aesthetics and ecological concerns: recycling containers abounded; most of the food was organic; eating utensils were not only recyclable, they were compostable; parking was free if you arrived in a hybrid or biodiesel vehicle; etc.

Although the intentions and level of organization were great, attendance was meager and the weather was downright lousy (undoubtedly connected), as a storm very unusual for mid-August blasted through the bioregion. Nevertheless, despite the 24 straight hours of torrential rains on Saturday and Sunday, and despite the huge financial losses incurred, spirits remained high among organizers, volunteers, vendors, and ticket-buyers alike. It seemed everyone knew they were in on the beginning of something very special.

Once again, political consciousness was very high. Listening to the songs and commentaries coming from the main stage, it almost seemed more like a political rally than a festival sometimes. Among the artists: David Rovics (http://www.davidrovics.com), Jim Page (http://www.jimpage.net), Joules Graves (http://www.joulesgraves.com), Clan Dyken (http://www.clandyken.com), Laura Piece Kelley (http://www.piece.be/), and Anne Feeney (http://www.annefeeney.com). No mindless ditties coming from that bunch.

All the festivals in this article are annual events, so even if you missed them this year you can plan for next. As Emma said, revolution and dancing go great together!