by Kirby Lindsay, posted 9 September 2013
On Saturday, September 14th, from Noon – 10p, the 3rd Annual Goddess Festival will take place in Lower Woodland Park, to raise money for the Wallingford Community Senior Center (WCSC) but also to answer the question, ‘What happens when we as individuals come together as a community and party with a purpose?’
The question, and its answer, are posed by a Board of women – Melanie Hayes, Alisha Malcolm, Bridgid Roney, Lydia Withrow, Sarah Altman, Catherine Opie, Celeste Goulding, Fabiola Reagan, Meaghan Brady, Michelle Searle, and Lisa Lou Gogal – and the Board founder, Tara Shuttleworth.
“It’s like the Fremont Solstice Parade,” Shuttleworth described the energy behind the Goddess Festival, “a group of friends that came together around a good idea.” Also like the Parade, this gathering is open-to-the-public and free to attend (“the music is free,” Shuttleworth agreed, “dancing is free,”) but the Goddess Festival also offers carnival games, a beer (& root beer) garden, donation requests, face painting, henna tattoos, and craft & food vendors – where people can shop and spend and know the money will support the Senior Center programs.
‘An Art Piece’
Shuttleworth does event planning professionally, and she started the Goddess Festival with friends and family in 2011. “I got really inspired,” she explained recently, “It’s really just an art piece.” She wanted to create something beyond the events she plans for clients, as Babette’s Events, and those she coordinates for the Pike Brewing Company.
However, “I thought so big the first year,” Shuttleworth reflected, “I’ve learned it doesn’t have to be big. It’s more in the people that come.” The second year, she reworked the Festival, with her Board of friends, to be less ambitious in scope and more rewarding in delivery. It can now be about fun for all, including her. “I had a good time last year,” Shuttleworth observed and, “this year, I’m going to party with a purpose!”
“You’ve really got to be a humble person,” Shuttleworth said of staging your own large-scale event, “you really throw yourself out there. I have a blast with that.” The first year wasn’t so fun, she admitted, but she learned, (“too many lessons,” she acknowledged,) and can now say about the whole process, “the more and more you work with it, you learn from it and enjoy it.”
“I’m blessed that I like what I do,” Shuttleworth said.
‘The Best Time Ever’
Through her hard work, and that of the others, the community can come together for this party – “a party you can take your children to,” Shuttleworth described. All day attendees can enjoy games and activities, but at 7p a special Evening Ceremony will take place, with four featured singers, a professional dance troupe, a Drum Troupe, and a calling to the four directions: North/Earth (for healing,) East/Air (for thoughts, communication,) South/Fire (for courage, passion,) and West/Water (for emotions.)
“We’re living in really unhealthy times,” Shuttleworth observed, “it’s really easy to be angry at the word.” At the Festival, and in the Ceremony, organizers hope to help with the healing process of our community and the world, at an individual level. Shuttleworth acknowledged that she can preach about healing, but it is up to each of us to heal ourselves and be, “working on being the best human being we can be,” to heal the world.
When describing the Goddess Festival, ultimately, Shuttleworth expressed the most excitement when she focused a little less globally, and a little more locally. “A man came up to me last year,” she explained, glowing with the memory, “and thanked me. He said he was having the best time ever with his daughter that day.”
‘Party With A Purpose’
As to her inspiration to create the Festival, Shuttleworth explained, “It’s my own projection of how much I want to find the goddess in me. We’re all Divine creatures, and when you choose to find that inside yourself, beautiful, magical things can happen.”
“I’m really wanting this to be about building community,” she said, and that beautiful, magical coming together of everyone to share, dance and party with a purpose.
The Goddess Festival will take place Saturday, September 14th, in Lower Woodland – near the entrance of N 50th St at Woodland Park Ave N. Come bring a blanket and a picnic for a day’s outing, or simply walk-in for a few minutes of fellowship and fun. The event is free to enter, and enjoy, although food, beverages and face painting have costs associated, with a portion of proceeds going to help our elders…and, by extension, ourselves!
Related Articles
- Stoking Social Change With The Beard & ‘Stache Festival
- by Kirby Lindsay, February 18, 2013
- FamilyWorks Feeds The Poor
- by Kirby Lindsay, August 8, 2012
©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.