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Rick Meredith

ENGAGE! – Sprint to the Finish

By Featured-1, Featured-Home, Goose News

ENGAGE! Sprint to the Finish

On Wednesday, October 28th we had a conversation with Sara Cunningham, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Shawna Bowman.

What kind of world do you want? Vote for it. Get your family to vote. Get your friends to vote. Even if you’re in a “Blue State” or a “Red State,” ENGAGE! It’s not too late. EVERY VOTE COUNTS.

View the event below. LIVE CHAT TRANSCRIIPT  ADDDITIONAL RESOURCES DONATE to support Wild Goose Community events

Jamie Lee Curtis was born on November 22, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of legendary actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. She got her big break at acting in 1978 when she won the role of Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978). After that, she became famous for roles in movies like Trading Places (1983), Perfect (1985) and A Fish Called Wanda (1988). She starred in one of the biggest action films ever, True Lies (1994), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance. Curtis also appeared on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), and starred in Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) as the title role. Her first starring role was opposite Richard Lewis on the ABC situation comedy Anything But Love (1989). In 1998, she starred in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) in which she reprised her role that made her famous back in 1978.

Her paternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants, while two of her maternal great-grandparents were Danish.

Jamie Lee served as an honorary chairperson for the Building Resilience for Young Children Dealing with Trauma program held at the Shakespeare
Theatre – Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C. She was an inspiration for the youth that were celebrated. Curtis was also given anaward from US Department of Health and Human Services KathleenSebelius and National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman for her work on behalf of children through her charities and children's books.

Sara Cunningham, author/activist and founder of the non-profit, Free Mom Hugs. Her journey began in conservative Oklahoma, when her son, Parker, came out as gay. As a woman of faith, she wrestled with the news, until she began to study, research, and reconcile the two worlds. She found herself on a journey “from the church to the Pride parade”, falling in love with the LGBTQ+ Community. In the wake of beautiful, glitter-covered hugs, and heart-breaking, horror stories, the mission of Free Mom Hugs began. Now a movement across the country, and the world, Sara is going Beyond the Hug, to educate and advocate. She has recently been seen on the Today show, spoke at the 2019 GLAAD Awards, and is in partnership with Jamie Lee Curtis to make a movie about her story. Her passion is to change the narrative so that we as a society, not only learn to affirm the LGBTQ+ community but celebrate them.

Rev. Shawna Bowman (they/them) is an artist and pastor doing ministry with the creative and justice-seeking folks at Friendship Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Shawna is the Arts Integrator at Wild Goose Festival and is Co-founder of Creation Lab, an Arts Incubator and Art Co-op at the intersection of creativity, spirituality and prophetic imagination. Shawna is also Affiliate Faculty at McCormick Theological Seminary and serves on the Board of Directors at The Night Ministry and SOUL (Southsiders Organizing for Unity and Liberation). Shawna is also a national organizer and facilitator with Crossroads Antiracism.

 

Wild Goose Festival Community gatherings are free to everyone. If you’d like to support this community by making a donation, you can do that here: DONATE

ENGAGE! – Every Vote Counts

By Featured-1, Goose NewsNo Comments

ENGAGE! Every Vote Counts

On October 14, 2020, Wild Goose Festival Community hosted an online conversation with Jacqui LewisJulian DeShazier (JKwest), and Doug Pagitt on “Goosing Out the Vote” and ways to stay engaged until Election Day.

View the event below and click here for additional resources to help you stay engaged.

Wild Goose Festival Community gatherings are free to everyone. If you’d like to support this community by making a donation, you can do that here: DONATE

TIPPING POINT – Are We There Yet?

By Featured-1, Goose NewsNo Comments

On June 23, 2020, Wild Goose Festival Community hosted an online conversation with Valarie Kaur and Otis Moss III  on TIPPING POINT: Are We There yet?

View the event below and scroll down to additional resources below the video.
If you have more anti-racism resources to add, please add them in the comments section.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Black  Lives Matter Opening music

See No Stranger Closing Music

Video Chat Transcript Chat transcript from the live event

Anti-Racism Resources A list of books, podcasts, articles, videos, films, TV, and organizations

More Anti-Racism Resources  New material organized in a way to meet people where they are at in their anti-racist journey

Wild Goose Festival Community gatherings are free to everyone. If you’d like to support this community by making a donation, you can do that here: DONATE

The Racial Reality of America

By Featured-1, Goose NewsOne Comment

 

On June 2, 2020, Wild Goose Festival Community hosted an online conversation between Brian McLaren and Jacqui Lewis on The Racial Reality of America.

View the event below and scroll down to the anti-racism resources below the video.
If you have more anti-racism resources to add, please add them in the comments section.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Anti-Racism Resources A list of books, podcasts, articles, videos, films, TV, and organizations

More Anti-Racism Resources  New material organized in a way to meet people where they are at in their anti-racist journey

Dianne Reeves – Endangered Species Opening music

Tituss Burgess & Friends | Middle Church – We Shall Overcome Closing Music

Video Chat Transcript Chat transcript from the live event

Wild Goose Festival Community gatherings are free to everyone. If you’d like to support this community by making a donation, you can do that here: DONATE

Festival Postponed to 2021

By Goose NewsNo Comments

Tuesday,  May 5, 2021

There’s no easy way to say this, so here it is.
With great sadness, we must announce that Wild Goose Festival is postponed until summer of 2021.

This morning we received word that the town of Hot Springs has passed an ordinance prohibiting festivals through the end of the year.

If you’ve already purchased a ticket, we realize you may need that money now more than ever. We’re committed to providing refunds to those who need them, but we’re also committed to keeping Wild Goose alive and soaring.

Our small staff is working on exciting ways to keep us all connected throughout the year and to continue planning for 2021 – and to do that, we could use your help. If you have the means, we sincerely hope that you’ll consider donating all or a portion of your ticket value, and/or making a tax-deductible donation.

Even if you haven’t purchased a ticket, please consider a donation to help us remain operational.

All ticket holders will receive an email soon with details concerning three options – donation, rollover to 2021, or refund.

If you’ve been accepted as a co-creator, vendor, or partner, we’re rolling you over to 2021 unless you’d rather opt out. For volunteers, we’ll be starting over. You’ll receive more details soon.

Together, we’ll get through this – and we’re already looking forward to seeing you in the summer of 2021.

2020 Postponement

By Goose NewsNo Comments

Festival Postponement – What We Know and What We Don’t Know

We’re not ready to say “It’s Over.” But we know we can’t have a festival in July. 

So for now, we’re postponing. We’ve narrowed it down to two possible dates: September 10-13, 2020, or July 2021.

What are the chances of an actual September festival? We don’t know. We know we’re looking at a “new normal” for a long time. We don’t know what that will look like in September.

Why don’t we just cancel? Because we don’t see any downside to leaving the September possibility open while “the new normal” evolves. So much of our planning for this year is already complete, it allows us to work with a shorter go/no go lead time.

We do know this, above all else: We will not have a September festival unless we can meet all the criteria of “safe.”

So, please save the date but write it in pencil, and keep your eraser nearby.

We hope you’ll hang in here with us while we sit this out. We’ll make a final decision on the September dates early this summer. At that time, we’ll offer several options for those who have already purchased tickets.

For now, we’re working to develop the Wild Goose Community, an online experience of conversation, music, 24/7 drop-in spaces, scheduled sessions, and whatever you can think of – kind of a Do-It-Yourself Goose. We want this to be heavily community-driven – we’re building the highway but you have to drive on it! CHECK IT OUT HERE

Please keep yourselves safe. We still have a long way to go. Hang in there.

 

 

Year-Round Conversations

By Featured-1, Goose NewsNo Comments

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For many of us, the thing we love most about Wild Goose Festival is the conversations in which we find ourselves spontaneously and unexpectedly engaged. It seems as though they’re always derailing us from our carefully planned agendas.

Can we make this a year-round experience? Imagine you’re walking down Main Street or through the campground. You encounter a lively conversation around a couple of picnic tables. In true Goose style, someone calls out, “hey, come join us!” People scoot over on their bench to make a little space for you. You’ve never met these folks before but there’s an immediate trust and openness and acceptance. The conversation flows. When you leave, you feel a little lighter. A bit transformed. Even energized!

Details - Wild Goose Festival Community Page

Let us know what you think. Please leave your comments and suggestions below.

Accessibility at Wild Goose Festival

By Featured-1, Goose NewsNo Comments

When Carrie Craig first attended Wild Goose Festival in 2013, she didn’t know what to expect.

Would there be accessibility? Would there be help if needed? Carrie has been disabled since birth.  She spent her first few years getting around by crawling or being carried on her daddy’s back or shoulders until she was about 4 when she received and began using her first wheelchair.

Being an Episcopal Priest for over 20 years, Carrie was confident that the festival would align well with her spiritual needs, given the attitude of acceptance; the spirit of connecting people of all backgrounds and religious leanings; and the relationship she had with festival planners, but whether or not it would meet her physical needs was an unknown.

Carrie visited Hot Springs Campground, where the festival is held, several days before the start of the festival and determined that it could work.  Not knowing what to expect, she had not planned to stay on site, so she commuted each day back and forth from her home in Asheville, NC. She quickly realized that the plan she had made was not the best way to get the most from Wild Goose and determined to make a better plan for future festivals.

A few months after that festival in 2013, Carrie was approached by members of the Wild Goose Festival team asking if she would be willing to work as the Accessibility Coordinator for the festival, assisting with and consulting on issues around ADA compliance. Given her focus on independence as a priority and her lifelong commitment to accessibility for disabled individuals, this was an easy YES!  

With purposeful intention, Carrie worked on building an environment that was open to consider options for accessibility at the festival. As the contact person she began to develop relationships and saw the community with personal interest in faith and disability grow.  She works hand in hand with Joanne Ciccarello who oversees ASL needs for attendees to the festival. Over the years, other festival attendees such as Heather Morgan, who comes from Canada to attend the festival, have joined in to add their voices and perspectives to the conversation.

Each year, there is work done to improve the festival for those with various types of special needs. The team strives to learn from each festival about what could be improved to make the next year better. Improvements through the years include medical electric campsites, increased organized shuttle service, and a specific ADA site area. The most significant contribution this team makes to those attending with disabilities is the relational aspect.  Knowing individually who needs what creates confidence for festival goers that attendance is not only possible, but that a great experience can be expected.

Writer Stephanie Tait says to others with disability, “You are a kingdom asset, not a liability. The Body isn’t simply tolerating you, we NEED you. You reflect a key facet of our huge multifaceted God – without you, we would see God less clearly, less whole, less true to who God is.” This is a belief wholly embraced by Carrie and her team.

At the Goose, you will find a camping area specifically set aside for those who need to support electrical devices; a team of volunteers ready to help set up campers in this area and available throughout the festival for needs as they arise; ASL interpreters for sessions where attendees have requested this service; and motel space set aside for people who are unable to camp. New at the Goose in 2020 will be increased resources for access, hospitality, information, and a calming space for those who need to separate from the noise and busyness of the festival.  

Marginalized communities are valued at a premium in the space where Wild Goose Festival exists, and this includes those with disabilities. Whether something as simple as directional signs that indicate the easiest path to take, or the implementation of spaces and tents for specific sessions or informational purposes, every year brings something that creates a better experience for those in this community. This year, Carrie and her team are extremely excited to have several sessions led by disabled presenters – expanding and highlighting the voices of those from the margins to our diverse lineup.

If you, like Carrie in 2013, are intrigued by Wild Goose Festival and would love to attend, but have reservations about the space and its ability to meet your physical needs, please know that your needs are a priority to Wild Goose, and there are many working to make sure the festival is as prepared as possible to meet those needs. Please contact Carrie Craig at [email protected] with any accessibility or general ADA related questions or to request interpreting services. 

We hope to see you at Wild Goose 2020 and are working to make sure it is an experience defined solely by the power and tenderness that lives there. #Wildgoose2020

Barbara, Yvette, Brian, Stephanie, Racquel, and Phil – More Wild Goose Excitement!

By Goose NewsNo Comments

Wild Goose #10 is more of what you’ve come to expect –
and a lot of what you don’t expect – that’s because it’s the Wild Goose!

It’s a mix of first timers – Racquel Gill and Stephanie Tait – and regulars and “near regulars” – Barbara Brown Taylor, Bishop Yvette Flunder, and Brian McLaren.

And Wild Goose musical favorite Phil Madeira has a new album and Wild Goose has Phil!

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