JPPD - what a trip!
Had a great day all-round. Got there at about 7:30 a.m. to set up and while we were the first to arrive, others came almost immediately afterwards. We unloaded the vehicles and my sons helped set up the Welcome Booth tent (pictured above) and Zee's vendor tent. Zee then left to get the drinks and ice and we started welcoming the vendors arriving. My boys were a great help and assisted loading/unloading, carrying, toting, hauling - you name it. We were disappointed that two vendors had backed out the day before (Friday) but everyone else showed and paid.
The day got off slowly, but steadily, and eventually we had a large, happy turnout. The weather was HOT (seriously hot) and once in a while a lovely cool breeze came through. For a few minutes we had a bit of "rain" (more like spit lol) and that was that.
The workshops were well attended and so were the performances. The bellydancers (Belili Moon Tribal Bellydancers) were awesome and everyone loved the "Make your own labyrinth" workshop - definitely want to make that a tradition.
Petunia was very well behaved and got along well with another helper's daughter. CY showed up with her daughter and she took Petunia around a bit. My friend Karen took her with her on a bathroom break (thank Goddess! LOL) and CH & PB (who spent almost all day with us) escorted Petunia to ritual for me, since I wanted to stay at the booth while we were closing up.
All the helpers did a great job. One left early, but she had been exposed to the H1N1 virus at work (a hospital) and had been taking Tamiflu and was really just wiped out, poor thing. The other lady with me made it almost to the very end, leaving about an hour early. No biggie, everything had been taken care of by that point. The other helper had handled a duty that others (us) did not want - supervising the Children's Area. ROFLOL Her 18 yo daughter was in charge of that and did a fabulous job entertaining the kids - mainly by face painting, which is always a huge hit.
The lone protester that showed up was annoying as heck. We've had Christians show up at events before, but they have always been polite and questioning - which we welcome. This one was just an in-your-face asshat. He very loudly confessed that he was an adulterer and a cheater (braggart) and his sins were wiped when "God crushed his only son Jesus on the cross" (not how I remember how the story goes...).
I am very proud of myself that I was able to stay calm and clear headed. I know I did the right thing. Amy and I confronted him politely and asked him to leave and when he ignored us (citing "free speech") I dialed 9-1-1 and calmly explained the situation. After I made the call, I went back to him and told him that the police were coming and when I turned around, a small group of Wiccan high school girls were there. They clustered about me and thanked me, telling me that they were scared. I quickly reassured them and then let the others know that we were NOT to confront the protester and to let the police handle it. We all basically turned our backs on him (while keeping an eye on him) and chit-chatted. He turned off his personal PA system and when a gentleman (who may or may not have been with us) walked over to the corner, followed him. A few minutes later, one of our members who arrived late on the scene decided to go over to him and (against my better judgment) yell bible verses at him. After she left, he left as well. We spotted him again a few times, but he obviously lost interest in us.
A cop arrived a few minutes later, a very compassionate woman who totally understood our fears and concerns and promised to keep an eye out for him. We pressed upon her our fear of him possibly coming back and disrupting the ritual and she told us to immediately dial 9-1-1 if it happened - which it did not, thankfully.
The ritual did go off without a hitch and Jacksonville Pagan Pride Day 2009 was finally over. We totaled up the donations - 200 lbs! The Arlington Community Center receives 140 pounds of it and the Animal Rescue Movement receives the rest (pet food, bleach and cat litter). Both recipients are very grateful and, unlike many more "well-known" charities in town, do not care that we aren't Christian. (Yes, it is true. We have had our donations to others turned down in the past because we are Pagan. Sad, very sad...)
Finally got home around 7:30 p.m. and was completely exhausted. Had to peel my clothes off, literally, totally soaked with sweat. (Felt like I lost 10 pounds just disrobing. LOL) Spent all day yesterday trying to get back "to normal" and finish up last minute notes and downloading pics, etc.
So, today is Monday. Life will be back to normal.
Until Samhain. OMGs. I volunteered to do the ritual. My first public one ever. Holy guacamole...
The day got off slowly, but steadily, and eventually we had a large, happy turnout. The weather was HOT (seriously hot) and once in a while a lovely cool breeze came through. For a few minutes we had a bit of "rain" (more like spit lol) and that was that.
The workshops were well attended and so were the performances. The bellydancers (Belili Moon Tribal Bellydancers) were awesome and everyone loved the "Make your own labyrinth" workshop - definitely want to make that a tradition.
Petunia was very well behaved and got along well with another helper's daughter. CY showed up with her daughter and she took Petunia around a bit. My friend Karen took her with her on a bathroom break (thank Goddess! LOL) and CH & PB (who spent almost all day with us) escorted Petunia to ritual for me, since I wanted to stay at the booth while we were closing up.
All the helpers did a great job. One left early, but she had been exposed to the H1N1 virus at work (a hospital) and had been taking Tamiflu and was really just wiped out, poor thing. The other lady with me made it almost to the very end, leaving about an hour early. No biggie, everything had been taken care of by that point. The other helper had handled a duty that others (us) did not want - supervising the Children's Area. ROFLOL Her 18 yo daughter was in charge of that and did a fabulous job entertaining the kids - mainly by face painting, which is always a huge hit.
The lone protester that showed up was annoying as heck. We've had Christians show up at events before, but they have always been polite and questioning - which we welcome. This one was just an in-your-face asshat. He very loudly confessed that he was an adulterer and a cheater (braggart) and his sins were wiped when "God crushed his only son Jesus on the cross" (not how I remember how the story goes...).
I am very proud of myself that I was able to stay calm and clear headed. I know I did the right thing. Amy and I confronted him politely and asked him to leave and when he ignored us (citing "free speech") I dialed 9-1-1 and calmly explained the situation. After I made the call, I went back to him and told him that the police were coming and when I turned around, a small group of Wiccan high school girls were there. They clustered about me and thanked me, telling me that they were scared. I quickly reassured them and then let the others know that we were NOT to confront the protester and to let the police handle it. We all basically turned our backs on him (while keeping an eye on him) and chit-chatted. He turned off his personal PA system and when a gentleman (who may or may not have been with us) walked over to the corner, followed him. A few minutes later, one of our members who arrived late on the scene decided to go over to him and (against my better judgment) yell bible verses at him. After she left, he left as well. We spotted him again a few times, but he obviously lost interest in us.
A cop arrived a few minutes later, a very compassionate woman who totally understood our fears and concerns and promised to keep an eye out for him. We pressed upon her our fear of him possibly coming back and disrupting the ritual and she told us to immediately dial 9-1-1 if it happened - which it did not, thankfully.
The ritual did go off without a hitch and Jacksonville Pagan Pride Day 2009 was finally over. We totaled up the donations - 200 lbs! The Arlington Community Center receives 140 pounds of it and the Animal Rescue Movement receives the rest (pet food, bleach and cat litter). Both recipients are very grateful and, unlike many more "well-known" charities in town, do not care that we aren't Christian. (Yes, it is true. We have had our donations to others turned down in the past because we are Pagan. Sad, very sad...)
Finally got home around 7:30 p.m. and was completely exhausted. Had to peel my clothes off, literally, totally soaked with sweat. (Felt like I lost 10 pounds just disrobing. LOL) Spent all day yesterday trying to get back "to normal" and finish up last minute notes and downloading pics, etc.
So, today is Monday. Life will be back to normal.
Until Samhain. OMGs. I volunteered to do the ritual. My first public one ever. Holy guacamole...
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