Allegheny Almanac

Getting Ready for big camp out in Allegheny National Forest

By Karin Zirk

See Related Article: Rainbow Gathering: 5,000 to 10,000 campers arriving near Tidioute for 4th of July.

A town hall meeting was held from 7:30 to 9:30 PM on June 22  in Sheffield, Pennsylvania at the "Lions Den" ...the local lions club hall. 4 W Main St Sheffield, PA 16347

The purpose of a town hall meeting is for participants inthe Rainbow Gathering and the local community to talk, ask/answer questions, and address concerns.

This is an open meeting. We strongly encourage all individuals in the communities surrounding the gathering to come meet with us and ask what ever questions are on your mind. We strongly encourage gathering participants to attend the meeting. The best way to make sure we have a positive impact on the community is to meet the community face to face. Person to person communication is very effective. As always, no experience necessary.

It would be great if we can show the clean up video and the merchants video at the meeting. Hopefully someone can scrape up the equipment. The hall costs 30 dollars an hour and we have it for 2 hours so we will be passing the hat at the meeting to cover the rental.

We welcome all media to attend the town hall meeting.

Karen Zirk is maintaining a blog for the duration of this year's Rainbow Gathering. You can visit her at East Coast 2010 Gathering.

Karen also writes: We invite everyone to come out on July 1 and stay through July 4 - for the silent prayer/meditation for world peace.
 

Rainbow Gathering: 5,000 to 10,000 Campers near Tidioute for 4th of July

Read current news updates here   See photos of this year's Rainbow Gathering at this link.

 
The summer-time population of Warren County might swell by as much as 40% this July 4 holiday as campers from all around the country hold an annual "Rainbow Gathering" in the Allegheny National Forest. The annual impromptu celebrations are now in their 38th year. The nature and alternative-cultures enthisiasts held their first camping vacation since 1972 in Colorado.

To read about an award-winning film documentary on the eclectic group, visit this link. 

To view a documentary on the local economic impact from the previous Rainbow Gathering in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, visit Warren TV.

Read the Associated Press report here.

Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness write:

"If you are planning a camping trip to the Allegheny National Forest around the 4th of July holiday, please watch for news reports about the upcoming "Rainbow Gathering," and which part of the ANF they decide to camp in.

If you want to have a quiet, uncrowded experience while visiting the ANF, then you will want to avoid this massive campout. There could be anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 people attending the event."

According to the Erie Times, "Allegheny National Forest will be home for more than 15,000 people during the 38th annual national Rainbow Gathering.

The event is held every year in locations across the United States by the Rainbows, as they call themselves. The gathering has been held in Allegheny National Forest twice before, in 1986 and 1999, and will take place this year from July 1-7."

However, anecdotal reports (see comments section below) and a Times Observer article put the actual numbers somewhere between 5000 to 10,000 campers.

The actual location of the campsite was announced this week. It is about 6 miles southeast of Tidioute near Hearts Content in Warren County. The last time they were here, in 1999, the environmentally-conscious group got good marks for cleaning up.

For more information on the Rainbow Gathering, you can visit an article about them at Wikipedia.

Above photo is of the 2005 Rainbow Gathering in Cranberry, West Virginia. Photo in public domain.

See Related article: Getting Ready for Big Camp Out