V's Version

a.k.a.
WWTMC
(We Want The Music Collective)
a.k.a.
Michfest
as in michfest.com
a.k.a.
"Camp"
because it's summer camp for grown-ups
a.k.a.
"Festival"
(as if there were no other festivals!)
a.k.a. simply:
"Michigan"
(as if Michigan does not represent
the entire state!)

People in my family and my outside-of-Michfest circle of friends often ask what I do every year. How could it be so important that I would give so much of my time and resources - year after year for over 20 years? Well - today's blog will be a tribute to the work I have done at Festival. This is not a look at the festival or the culture or the politics - just an overview of what I have personally done.

The festival runs for a week but it takes all year to plan it (that is done by a team of women in California) and then roughly 4 or so weeks for a core group of women to set up the basics and then a week or so for a larger worker community to set up the festival stages and village before the gates open. Festival runs for a week. Then it takes a solid (and exhausting) week to take it all down and pack it up for the next year. Some women stay longer to finish up all the loose ends. I went as a Crafts Woman in 1987 (at the age of 21) and a "Festie-Goer" in 1988. Since 1989, I have been part of the worker community - missing only a few years when it was impossible to return home.

I worked (did I mention that this all-volunteer?) Security / Communications, Belly Bowl (the Workers' Dining area), Recovery Support, Gaia Girls Camp, Worker Support, Raffle (since 1997) and Flex Crew at Inventory, Set Up / Strike and Sprouts Toddler Care. I have also worked as a Crafts vendor, lead workshops and volunteered in Brother Sun Camp and as an emergency seamstress in addition to my normal work hours. Plus I quilt (of course) and perform in the No-Talent show almost every year.

Security / Communications was hard for me. I really really appreciate what we did (patrol the borders to keep us safe inside, mediate the rare conflict, co-ordinate emergencies, escort vendors, monitor the gates 24/7) but back in the 80s - I was 23 and lonely and new and bored out at the gate. I think they have come a long way and that it is an amazing crew now.

As far as workshifts go - Sprouts Toddler Care is super fun for the young at heart. It means pudding and rocking chairs and shade trees and dress-up and pure joy at the swing and the water play area. It means trucks and balls and cuddles and care. Patience is a must. I LOVE to get my baby fix there and to do things like build playhouses and make mud cakes. Holding an infant in a rocking chair is my absolute favorite. There are also the less glamorous jobs like setting it all up and taking it all down - safety fences, cribs, potty chairs, play equipment, food areas, diaper changing areas...

I did quilting and beading workshops at the Gaia Girls Camp (where I was also a staff member) and at Brother Sun Camp (even before I had a son of my own). What an honor to be part of the village that raises the next generation. Empowered girls and boys are surrounded by the evidence not only of what women can do (in theory) but HAVE DONE (in reality). To watch them grow up year after year (many of them now in college and beyond) is profound. With the boys 5-10, there are hikes in the woods, Uno Games, an awesome fire pit, badminton, ball sports, a slip and slide, a tire swing, arts and crafts and really good food when you are on shift at Brother Sun. Best of all - there are the most amazing group of boys who are so grateful (even when they don't always show it because they are trying to be "cool") that you would take the time to come visit them. Unlike Gaia Girls who are able (and should be!) to enjoy Womyn-Only space - these boys do not see a concert - do not shop at the craft mart, do not get a fudgcicle - do not go to a workshop. Don't get me wrong though - they have the time of their lives on field trips and around the campfire.


Back in the day, the Sober Support (before it became Recovery Support) was a 24 /7 space where meetings of all kinds (12 and 13 step meetings, co / peer counseling..) were held. We dug pits and made coffee and hung signs for meetings. It meant listening and being friendly and supportive. There were (and still are in the Oasis area) lots of places to sit and talk, rugs to sweep and a fire to stoke. Oh - unless there is a storm. Then there are shovels and trenches and tent flaps - but that goes for any area.

When I worked in the Belly Bowl (the dining area for workers) it was under the reign of Maxine Feldman (RIP) of Amazon Womon Rize fame. It was also open 24 hours a day (what?!) and there were a lot of bagels and raccoons but not a lot of toasters and no sink yet. Those were somewhat different times. Now the area is merged with Gals Diner (Worker Kitchen) so that it is one food service area. I really loved being the coffee gal. We kept milks (soy, whole, skim) stocked and juices made and coffee flowing and all the food areas clean and stocked with cereals, bagels, rice cakes, cream cheese, peanut butter, jelly, soy margarine, condiments.


For three years, I worked in the Heyday of Worker Support when I was one of five who shared the roles of "Cruise Director" / "Mediator" / "Librarian" / "Manicurist" / "DART (Differently- Abled Resource Team) Tent Set-up for workers" / "Compassionate Listener". We rugged and set up a place for workers to chill after a long day - where they could do their nails or read women's surf magazines or play trivia games or check out a flashlight if they forgot one in their tent. We set up elaborate games and beach / laundry outings and parties and herstorical tours of the land. We set up a circus and a prom and were generally there as morale boosters. We had a place where women could boo-hoo for any number of reasons and could find a mirror and a hair dryer. We had arts and crafts supplies and a nicely swept area. We had a place for workers to take a nap or eat their meals in the shade. The tent and the library were decorated with leopard print chiffons in the theme of "It's All About the Love" with hearts prominently placed and a comfy couch for lounging. With less workers and more streamlined crews and less stress (in general) - there isn't the need for all of that but it sure was fun while it lasted. Now I think Worker Support is merged with all of Staff Services: Healthcare / Massage / Mail delivery / Banking / Payroll / worker DART / Newcomer Orientation....

I have loved the dirty, tool intensive jobs on my flex crews. Inventory is the place where workers get their worker storage (available to long-time workers for a fee.) Something like 6 women haul in an unbelievable amount of stuff from chairs and tents to coffee pots and area inventory to brooms and rakes and hammers and bale twine and 1000s of nails and washers and screws and spikes and lanterns and props. It's phenomenal. This is where workers go to check out their tools for the day (or half day or hour) and where crews can get the miscellaneous things that they forgot to put in their yearly inventory request list or the consumable items that it takes to run an area (like poster board and markers and batteries) It's kind of like the hardware / office supply store once areas are tented and rugged. It is a lot of physical labor and truck hauling and problem solving and calming ruffled feathers.

And Raffle. What can I say about over a decade of Raffle? It is - far and away - the hardest job I have ever done at festival. I love it for so many reasons but it is INTENSE. The best thing - of course - is that the generous craftswomyn give beautiful gifts and all the monetary donations given by workers and festies go directly toward the production of the festival - the hay bales, the twine, the blueberries, the lights and the portajanes (oops - the "comfort stations"!) Wearing new costumes every year (we each bring our own by the way) and getting to hear some of the concerts on shift are definitely a bonus. Getting to see all parts of the land is another bonus. The adrenaline of a rush of flying tickets and pens is super fun. The walking walking walking and talking talking talking is both lovely and tiring. The fun part is flirting and the tough part is when someone oversteps the boundaries of flirting. Ick. What mostly happens though is the life-sustaining honor of hearing stories - answering questions about festival - raising money for the Land I love and being able to have a flexible schedule that accommodated being a mother.

I wrote to my festival community this year: