Wisteria Home   WCSHome   Register   Schedule   News   Camping/Facilities   What to Bring   Workshops   Directions   Merchants   Local Accommodations   Info/Policies   Volunteer   Food  Contact Wisteria Cornstalk Festival 2010 will be held over Labor Day Weekend   September 2 -6, 2010       Register Now  Wisteria Features: Wisteria Stage Bonfire Circle Hiking trails Faerie Shrine Sacred Sites Area Stone Circle Ancestor Mound Turtle Mound Sweat Lodge Many Workshop Sites Caffeina's Cosmic Cafe Resturant and Coffee house Green Man Tavern Swimming Pond Merchant Loop Playground Shower House Cornstalk Activities: Drumming Fire Spinning Concerts Yoga Shopping Nature Walks Kid's Programming Workshops (more soon) Help us spread the word about Wisteria events           On Stage The Ragbirds Ask The Ragbirds how to describe their hard-to-define Folk Rock and World fusion and theyll tell you its infectious global groove. Led by fiery front-woman Erin Zindle (called Highly Impressive by USA TODAY), they put on a show that is designed to engage the audience on many levels - to get people thinking, listening and dancing. As the bands founder and songwriter, Zindle is like a bright excited tour guide through a beautiful foreign world of sights and sounds. Her earthy-sweet voice is the center of the storm of energy around her - the whirlwind of guitarist T.J. Zindle and dynamic bassist Dan Hildebrandt spinning over the ethnic grooves of drummer Randall Moore and percussionist Tim Dziekan. Amidst this blissful, restless energy Zindle skillfully switches between violin, mandolin, banjo, accordion, and percussion in addition to singing lead vocals (all while dancing!) www.theragbirds.com The musical roots of The Ragbirds sound are complex - with Gypsy, Middle-Eastern, Americana, Rock, and Latin influences, all stirred with a Celtic fiddlers bow. In live performances the band incorporates variations on traditional African drum pieces, each member trading their instrument for a hand drum. The Ragbirds craft their songs carefully weaving joy and hope into honest lyrics, while keeping an ear always open to improvisation. The songs carry a positive message that appeals to listeners of all ages. For all the intensity of their live show, this is a band that is not afraid to show their softer side with acoustic tunes that are anything but typical folk. Dawn Drake & "ZapOte" Taking its name from a luscious fruit in Cuba also known as "mamey", "ZapOte" is an original Funk Latin Afro-Beat band lead by Dawn Drake, New York City's blonde bassist/conguera/singer/songwriter and composer, who manages to wear several hats while setting the scene with her own brand of cool. Her poetic lyrics spread messages of universal consciousness, delivered with heartfelt vocals, and are joined with the irresistible grooves of Latin percussion, funky bass, swinging hornlines and virtuosic improvisation.Female-fronted Funk Latin Afro-beat band. Original American melting pot dance music simmering in a palate of delectable Latin, African and Caribbean rhythms. www.myspace.com/dawndrake www.sonicbids.com/dawndrake     Wendy Rule Every so often Melbourne throws up a singular talent, someone previously hidden amongst the well-established musical tribes, someone possessed of a unique vision. Wendy Rule, the vocalist, songwriter and visionary, is such and artist. Beat Magazine, Melbourne With the release of her fifth full length album, The Wolf Sky, Wendy Rule has firmly established herself as one of Australia's most uniquely gifted and prolific artists. Her music is a passionate union of her incredible voice – moving from soaring heights to intimate whispers – and her beautifully dark and visionary lyrics. Wendy’s live performances draw on her love of ritual and theatre, enticing her audience into an otherworldy realm of power and Magic. http://wendyrule.com/      www.myspace.com/wendyrule Brian Henke  composes and performs his music like a painter putting images on canvas, a kind of sonic shaman, drawing his inspiration from the world around him.  An avid hiker, he often brings his guitar along to create a spontaneous response to his outdoor settings.   Mother Earth (Terra) as artist has given an immense living gallery from the humbling spectacle of her natural wonders to the simple, beauty of a treetop against a blue sky. Her majestic legacy and the magical feeling of awe and peace inspire the compositions of this award winning virtuosic fingerstyle guitarist. www.myspace.com/brianhenkeguitar Kenny Klein is a well known musician and author. Kenny has been a presence in the Pagan, Ren Faire and Folk scenes for two decades, and was one of the first musicians to pioneer tours of the Pagan festival circuit. He has seven CD titles available, which include his humorous songs (Maria's Not A Catholic Anymore and Black Widow (The Goth Girl Song), and serious mythic and environmental songs (The Whales and Herne The Hunter). Kenny is also the author of Through The Faerie Glass (Llewellyn 2010) and The Flowering Rod (Immanion 2009). Kenny's newest book, Fairy Tale Rituals, will be available in May from Llewellyn.  www.kennyklein.net   Corissa Bragg Intense personal experiences with love desired, love gained, and love lost inspire her recent songs. She navigates this perilous terrain with a singular voice, vocalizing intimate passions without succumbing to overblown melodrama or bloodless vanity. Her influences range from Hope Sandoval to Billie Holiday to Cat Power to Patsy Cline and many points inbetween. Corissa was recently selected as one of ten musicians to watch in 2010 by Scene in Cleveland, OH. This Is Everything I Own is her debut album. www.myspace.com/corissabragg KayLouise of Mesmeric Belly Dance Fusion Our focus is on affecting an audience using music, theme & movement.  With unusual music remixes, Artistic Director KayLouise emphasizes precision, muscle isolation and synchronization in the original choreography she creates for herself and Mesmeric.  She considers her performances and  choreography to be ART, not  bound or restricted . . . a creation of movement full of beginnings, endings, mood and theme.    www.myspace.com/bellydancetoledo   Harvey Wasserman:  Keynote Speaker Wisteria is pleased to welcome this legendary American journalist, democracy activist, author and advocate for renewable energy.  Although best known popularly for organizing the famous 1979 "No Nukes" concert in NYC with a host of musician celebrities including Bruce Springsteen, CSN, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt, Harvey's numerous eco-activist and community organizing efforts since the 1960's are impressive and effective.  He helped pioneer the grassroots movement against atomic reactors and also co-founded the Great Blue Heron Alliance which has been instrumental in collapsing environmentally harmful projects in this region.  Wasserman's investigative reporting helped break the major news stories surrounding the disputed results of the 2004 Presidential Election in Ohio.  He edits the NukeFree.org web site, and is senior editor of www.freepress.org.  His articles are posted throughout the internet at www.commondreams.org, HuffingtonPost, Buzzflash, CounterPunch et. al.  Wasserman teaches US History, Western Civilization and Cultural Diversity of Columbus State Community College and Capital University in central Ohio. As well as organizing effective protest against non-sustainable technologies, Harvey promotes solar and wind power alternatives and is author/co-author of a dozen books including Solartopia: Our Green-Powered Earth.  www.harveywasserman.com and www.solartopia.org .   Thursday Night Stone Working Ceremony After dark, with firelight, candles and musicians playing meditative music, come and help add to Wisteria’s Sacred Sites area by putting some sacred time into expanding the Stone Circle’s surrounding walls. You are welcome to bring a stone or more from your own bioregions to leave a permanent remembrance in the circle.  Use this self-guided sober working ceremony to think about future and past, to add good wishes and good intent to our Planet Earth and fellow beings, to bring health and wellness to yourself and others and to help heal the wounds and brighten the future. Stay for only a few minutes or stay for hours -- let your spirit guide you this enchanted evening. Friday Night Candle Labyrinth Follow the labyrinth’s convoluted candle-lined paths for a personal meditative journey of transformation and reflection.  Labyrinths are constructed walking patterns that combine the circle and the spiral into purposeful paths of self-discovery and awareness.  While your interpretation of the experience is your own, many see walking the labyrinth as an active metaphor for life’s journey.  How do you walk?  How do you treat those you meet on the path?  What impressions or ideas do you experience as you journey to the center of your being and back?  How are we all connected during our personal journeys?  Using hundreds of lit candles to define the pathways, the Labyrinth at Cornstalk will glow through the night for journies of discovery and reflection. Rainbow Eagle  Rainbow Eagle is an Okla-Choctaw American Indian. He is a Wisdom Keeper and honored with the responsibility of an Ancient Native American Peace Shield. Now that the Seventh Fire of the Anishinabe/Ojibwa traditions has been lit, he is responsible for teaching the traditions of the Peace Shield. During this time, all of the traditional wisdom and truths which he has been given are to be placed into this Peace Shield to increase its power and restore peace on our Mother Earth. <more> http://www.rainboweagle.com/     Patrick McCollum Urban Survival and Sustainability Presentations.  Patrick McCollum is an internationally recognized spiritual leader in the Wiccan faith that has in recent history gone where no Pagan has ever gone before.  He was recently selected by the United States Commission on Civil Rights to advise Congress and has been active for more than two decades in the areas of human rights and social justice. Patrick is an expert in wilderness and urban survival techniques and specializes in teaching how to survive catastrophic events.   He has taught survival for both Search and Rescue and for several law enforcement agencies and has shared his knowledge on this subject nationwide.  Patrick's approach to survival is "Hands On", with deep spiritual undertones, encouraging participants to understand the fundamentals of survival and sustainability as applied to all aspect of the modern world while honoring our planet. Patrick is author of COURTING THE LADY, A WICCAN JOURNEY, available at  www.courtingthelady.com   Bonfire Drumming and Dancing: Since the dawn of time, humans seeking spirit-vision, purification and ecstatic celebration have drummed, danced and chanted around the fire.  Bring your drums, voices and percussive instruments as we celebrate our diversity and union throughout the festival. Wisteria has three designated drumming circles: Stone Circle (sober), Pawpaw (wooded tribal drumming), and Bonfire, the large community gathering place.  At all times of day or night, people drum and dance at their campsites making joyful dancing rhythms.  Come find your authentic, ancient self and join the ecstatic revelry!  Also Coming To Wisteria Cornstalk . . .  Adam Hoyt Yoga Every Morning Walking with the Trees -- Breathing with the Earth -- Bending with the Wind Spend some time this week connecting with the Earth and Spirit through Yoga, an ancient spiritual exercise tradition that forms healthy mind-body-spirit connections .  Take meditative walks through the forest, and sit and listen to Spirit and Nature. more James Kelly Demonstrating Artist  Introduction to Forging  Blacksmith O'Kelley has been fabricating and welding metal crafts using modern methods for 16 years.  He has been demonstrating traditional coal-forge blacksmithing at Renaissance Faires in Michigan and Indiana for five years.  He also forged at Wisteria's Summer Solstice earlier this year.  It was his first Earth based festival and he looks forward to returning many times in the future.  His interest in blacksmithing has evolved into an effort to pass knowledge of the craft on to others in order that the art does not die.  He attends the Unitarian Church in Huntington, West Virginia with his wife Vallorie and his daughters Sierra, Rowan and Catie.  One of his goals is to learn more about his Celtic origins, particularly their forging techniques. Wisteria Cornstalk Festival A Magical Convergence of Spirit, Earth, Art and Music Blending the Earth-loving, Magical and Fantastic for five days of blissful entertainment, camping, celebration, workshops, demonstrating artists, and eco-educational presentations and exhibits. Photos from Wisteria Cornstalk Festival 2009 Video from Wisteria Cornstalk Festival 2009     For more photos and videos visit Adam's Blogspot: http://wisteriaeventsite.blogspot.com/ Official Wisteria MySpace  www.myspace.com/wisteriaeventsite  Check Back As More Artists and Performers Join Us . . . Please visualize the following: 1)  Costumed dancers with swirling glittering wings weaving and spinning on stage to the haunting sound of a didgeridoo; 2)  Fantastic masks and other props to create a ritual enactment of the ending of a civilization hostile to life and nature and the rebirth of one in harmony with them; 3)  Dramatic visuals projected on a screen that reinforce the same theme; 4)  A masterful hand drum percussionists doling out primal and powerful beats that drives the audience into a trance-like frenzy of ecstatic dance; 5)  Fire dancers piercing the darkness with undulating circles of flame; 6)  The thunderous sound of 40 drums gathered in a circle around a huge bonfire, unleashing an all-night session of primitive, free form dancing.      One might expect to encounter the scene just described in the wilds of the West at one of the infamous Rainbow Gatherings of the counter culture. But the great surprise is that all this (and more) will soon be descending instead upon the wilds of SE Ohio at the Cornstalk Festival being held July 29 - August 2 right outside Athens in Meigs County.             Welcome to the show!  We look forward to warm summer nights full of happy people, stars and fireflies . . . Join us for a week of the good life -- immerse yourself in music, art and the divinity of nature.  The schedule is still filling so check back often for updates . . . You can  register now,  receive updates and spread the word