We are headed home from CultureFest in Pipestem, WV.
As we drive down the road, I can honestly say that it was a wondrous, magical experience for me and Thom. I am sure that part of it was the fact that we were surrounded by people who were open-minded and believed in the diversity of people and how they live. There were numerous discussions and workshops with everyone having interesting input on many different subjects. However, I believe it all goes back to Lori, who was the organizer. You can tell that she has put her heart and soul into this festival and it shows in everything that is there. There were things for everyone to enjoy, from the small children all the way up to the great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers that were attending. We met farmers, faeries, dinosaurs, fire dancers and dragons. We sold items to people in overalls and tie-dyes. So many people came by our booth just to play Beverly, our Awakening Drum. There were morning jams with guitar, hand pan, flute and drums. There were afternoons and evenings filled with many different styles and types of music. There were late night drum circles around a huge campfire.
We enjoyed sunshine and rain, drizzly mornings and cool evenings. There were no shoe times and boot wearing times. The days flew past. It seemed that we would open the booth at 9:00 and then it would be 6:00 in the evening. There was lots of laughter and love. There were smiling faces and happy people. Lori was everywhere, doing everything. If you needed something she was always able to deliver. She is one of the best event organizers that I have ever met. At our motel on Sunday night (the first time we had slept in a bed in 9 days), the desk clerk raved about Lori and how she had helped Mercer Street in Princeton, WV become such a wonderful experience. She has boundless energy, makes tough decisions with a smile, and keeps things running smoothly all at the same time. This not to say that she doesn’t have help keeping the event running, because she does. Her volunteers are wonderful, they sleep in shifts and cover everything that goes on with a smile. They do what needs to be done and I believe that they keep coming back to help because Lori shows her appreciation to them in many different ways. It is obvious that she understands that by taking care of her quality volunteers, they will continue to return each year, which makes each CultureFest better. She does this by taking the time to make sure that the volunteers are given adequate rest time plus some time to enjoy the event that they are helping to create.
So hats off to Lori and everyone who made the 11th Annual CultureFest a success! I wish I could name you all. We appreciated meeting each and every one of you and wish we could have met everyone; the kitchen staff, the guards, the parking and gate people, the clean-up crew, the stage hands, the bonfire builders, the set-up crew, the fund raisers, and everyone else involved.
From a new vendor and workshop teacher, it was perfect!
Thank you for a wonderful experience.
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