So I had this article all ready to go: then I found out that I was going to be one of the keynote speakers! (Awkward . . .) But none of these points are invalidated by the fact that I'm going to be there . . . except . . .. holy cow I'm going to be there! I'm so excited! (Happy dance!) Gaia Gathering: the Canadian National Pagan Conference is happening in Edmonton on the weekend of May 15th to 18th so it's relatively close to me and so long before the invitation, there was no way I was going to miss it. I think everyone should do it at least once; and I know that once you have, you'll want to do it again. Here's why:
13 Reasons Why You Should Attend the Canadian National Pagan Conference:
13. Interesting Speakers: Kerr Cuhulain, Canadian Pagan author and Pagan anti-defamation activist, is going to be a keynote speaker this year. (And so am I! *happy dance*) Past speakers have included noted Pagan scholars, philosophers, and some of the most influential Pagans in Canada and North America.
12. It's not Pantheacon. I think the rest of the blogosphere thinks the only convention we have is Pantheacon. ;) Seriously though, the difference is mainly in size, and that's a good thing. Gaia Gathering isn't anywhere near as big as Pantheacon, I admit, but the small numbers make for a friendly, warm gathering where you almost can't help but make friends.
11. Shopping! It's a tradition to organize a tour to the local occult stores in the host city, which changes each year; and where else are you going to get an opportunity like that? Plus the vendors come from all over the country, and because there's encouragement for cultural events, you can find unique handcrafted items right next to bulk crystals, right next to original sculptures. It's a bazaar of the bizarre!
10. Fabulous Panel Discussions: The heart of a convention is its panels, and GG is no different. These discussions are generally about some of the hottest topics in the modern Pagan world, or about the specifics of the Canadian Pagan experience (if you're from out-of-town you can skip those ones. We don't mind. Don't worry; there's plenty of other things to do!) Canada's Pagan dialogue is not the same as the American one, although there are overlaps, so I guarantee there will be at least one panel on something you've never seen discussed before.
9. Inclusivity. When my husband Erin and I made the trip he was still in a wheelchair. We were in downtown Montreal, which still has buildings in it that were built in the 1600s. The convention-goers carried my 280 lb husband up three flights of stairs so that he could also watch the Dragon Ritual Drummers in concert. I think this particular incident is a great example of one of the best parts of the Conference; a commitment to Canadian inclusivity. Everyone is welcome; prejudice is not tolerated; and everyone who comes gets to play.
8. The Academic Stream: The Conference is presented at universities so that even those who are outside of the world of academia can present papers for peer review and consideration. And the range of education, and fascinating theses, on modern Paganisms is astounding. We've got a very old Pagan community here (Wicca came to Canada before it came to the US) and two of the greatest modern occult libraries in the world, which belong to private people in our community who are happy to share access (but you have to come to their house.) I am not an academic but I speak the lingo, and I learned so much when I was there.
7. Cultural Diversity: Don't forget that Canada is bilingual. Francophone Pagans are so interesting! Because so few modern Pagan texts are available in French, their Wiccanate Paganisms and their Heathenry are more than a little tinged with ceremonial magick and the work of occult orders, so they have entirely different flavours from Anglophone Paganisms and I find it invigorating. The Francophone Pagan influence also means that we have an unusually high representation of African Diasporadic traditions. Montreal is home to one of the oldest Voodoo communities in North America.
6. Amazing Presentations & Workshops: The quality of presentations at Gaia Gathering are top-notch. I never forgot the workshops I attended in 2011. I'm not the only person to say that about the GG workshops either.
5. Travel Subsidies: Canada's REALLY BIG. As a result, the Conference's organizing committee makes an effort to get people to come from the farthest corners of the Continent. The farther you have to travel, the more likely you are to get a scholarship; which is an awesome opportunity, especially if your pockets tend to gather dust bunnies like mine. ;)
4. Affordable Accommodations: The Conference always books at university campuses or the local Y or in recent years, small conference centers at a budget rate, to keep the accommodations affordable (and you can get subsidies for that too.)
3. Support for the Pagan Arts: The best Pagan musical acts in Canada, professional storytellers and a fabulous themed banquet at which something always goes significantly wrong (an inside joke of the Conference; regular attendees show up just to see what it will be this year, demonstrating the Canadian virtue of not taking ourselves too seriously.) There's also an art show for Pagan artists as a standard part of the program; you can get information and submit your work here. And there's a whole music stream to match the academic stream. You'll never find a wider range of chants and music to learn; except maybe at a Bay Area Witchcamp!
2. The Pub Crawl: By tradition, Heathens and witches, Thelemites and Druids, Dianics and BTWs, polytheists and atheists, from the organizers of the event to the panel presenters to the vendors, tromp through the city together, seeking out the finest beer and cider (and we don't mind if you drink pop or coffee or tea, really!) I guarantee you've never had so much fun!
1. The People: You get to meet people from all over the place. You get the inside Pagan track on some of Canada's major cities through the eyes of the people who live there, since every GG has a local grassroots committee at its heart. You get to drink in the pub with the speakers at the event (I was so starstruck at my first conference; I was hanging out with people like Brendan Myers and Dodie Graham McKay and Richard James and Witchdoctor Utu.) You get to hang out with people from an amazing plethora of Paganisms, and the structure is such that no one ends up just talking to their own group.
In 2013 I had the opportunity to interview Dominique Smith, Chair of the Board, about the Conference; this link is here. For more information as it becomes available, check out the Gaia Gathering website. And to book your tickets, check their listing at Eventbrite.