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Double Rainbow
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
In July 2009, the American Festivals Project attended the Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest. The annual event, held in national forests across the U.S., grew out of the 1960s counterculture movement and usually draws between 10,000 and 20,000 people focused on peace, love, and respect for nature.
Traditionally, thousands of people meet in the central circle of the Rainbow Gathering camp on the Fourth of July to meditate and pray for world peace. Everyone is expected to keep silent from sunrise on the Fourth to the moment when the prayer circle is broken, sometime after noon. During the 2009 gathering, dark storm clouds broke minutes after the prayer circle ended—and a double rainbow appeared in the sky.
Read more about the Rainbow Gathering on the American Festivals Project blog.
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Brothers
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Brothers dance and celebrate moments after the prayer circle ends.
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Massage Train
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Physical contact is a common sight at the Rainbow Gatherings. Here, a long back massage line has organically formed.
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Two Ravens
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Two Ravens, from outside Taos, New Mexico, is a longtime attendee of the Rainbow Gatherings.
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Bumper Sticker-Covered Van
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A man takes a drag with a bumper sticker-covered van at his back. With thousands of people attending the gathering, the lines of parked cars can stretch for miles in all directions.
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Prayer Alter
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A prayer alter, centrally located in the largest field, is a collection of offerings and pictures of various spiritual leaders.
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Stilt Walkers
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Two women take to stilts at the gathering.
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Mud
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A large drum circle and gathering of people formed in the muddy central field after the prayer circle broke on the Fourth. Here people dance and laugh and roll in the mud for no particular reason.
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Drum Circle
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
"There never seems to be a moment when drums cannot be heard throughout the forest," photographer Ross McDermott writes. "Day and night. The drumming and dancing never stops."
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Wedding
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Rumor has it that at every Rainbow Gathering, a child is born, a death occurs, and a couple is married. Here, a bride and groom pose for a photo with their wedding officiant.
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"Dose Me"
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A young man emerges from the woods at the end of the gathering with “Dose Me” written across his chest.
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Musician
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A man plays his stringed bass in a tent city. Music is an essential aspect of the gatherings; every evening impromptu concerts spring up.
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