Heart of WIllamette Pagans ROCK!

Well Wednesday night was simply awesome.  I did the first workshop I've done in Salem (Oregon) and what a blast.  The event was an incense making workshop to benefit Salem's first Pagan Pride Day on October 6.  The room was packed with great people and great energy.  We made incense, we laughed, we talked, and just generally got to know one another. 

Aside from PantheaCon in February, this was the first community gathering I've attended since moving to the Pacific Northwest (and definitely the first one in Oregon).  I've done a fair number of workshops at stores throughout Oregon and Washington, but never before a true community event.  I would say that meeting the Salem community was a pleasant surprise, but it actually was a massive shock.  In 3 years I'd not found a group that felt like the kind of community I left behind in Oklahoma.  Now I have.  Everyone was warm and friendly.  There was lots of laughter, which is always a sign of good energy. 

In fact, I was totally thrown off my game.  I expected 4 - 5 people in an intimate little workshop.  Instead I got more than three times that amount.  There was so much positive energy flowing throughout the room that I zoomed through the workshop in about half the normal time, and naturally forgot about half of the material I was going to cover!  Luckily we still had the venue for another hour, so I backed up and covered those topics as well.  It was the mos disorganized I've been in a workshop for at least a decade, but I don't mind at all.

Meeting this group of people felt very much like a homecoming.  The energy in that room was exactly the energy I used to get at gatherings with many good friends in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas.  I miss those people and those places, but now I know that I have found a true home in my new location.

My thanks to Jade and everyone who came out Wednesday evening.  I hope you had half as much fun as I did.  It was an honor to help raise funds for PPD.  That's something that is near and dear to my heart and I was glad I could help in some small way.  I can't wait for the next time!