|
|
Crescent Shadows
On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan
Network, Inc. |
2001 Events
Beltane was wonderful! It was held April 29 at Peebles Park in Cohoes!
There was dancing, a crowning and general merriment. This year's King &
Queen are Randy & Donna. Click HERE
for photos! Greg Anderson (age 9) was our photographer.
HVPN University was Terrific! It was held at Russell Sage College
in Troy NY on June 9. This year's theme was Holistic
Studies: Nurturing Mind, Body and Spirit. To get a gander at what you
missed, click here.
Midsummer was a blast! We met at Allan & Randy's on June 23rd.
While the weather was a bit of a bummer, we still had a lot of fun, talking,
eating, drinking, eating, playing games, eating, playing in the rain. And
did I say we ate? Our ritual had us dancing around the fire pit, thanking
the Sun for all its gifts and making offerings to show our appreciation. Thanks
Allan & Randy for once again providing a great space!
At the July Community Meeting Andrea Stoeckel gave a presentation on Similarities
and differences in Pagan and Christian Traditions. Andrea is ordained in the
The United Church of Christ. A copy of her presentation materials is available
HERE in Adobe PDF format.
Our Paganic was held on July 15 at the Six Mile Waterworks. We had
a great time, played volleyball and had water fights (definitely one sided
- the kids had all the water toys) - and of course, ate mounds of food in
HVPN tradition!
On August 5th 2001 HVPN celebrated its annual Lughnassadh festival.
This year’s event took place at Hudson Shore’s Park Pavilion in
Watervliet. The event itself went very nicely...though the weather that day
was extra hot!! About 25 attendees participated in the event and seemed to
genuinely enjoy themselves despite the heat and humidity. Participants gathered
at about 12N and the games began about 1pm. The committee had decided on a
variety means for the attendees to display their talents, all in honor of
Lugh as Lord of Skills. There were all kinds of competitions ranging from
arts and craft displays to races, singing, and marksmanship target shooting.
The many winners of the day were honored with ribbons during the ceremony
that followed the competitions. The two champions of the event, Shannon Clegg
and Greg Anderson, each won the right to claim the Champion’s Portions
of the feast which concluded the event.
Between the competitions and the feast we were led through a beautiful retelling
of the story of Lugh’s coming to Tara and his leading of the Ancient
Irish Gods into battle against the dark forces of chaos, the Fomorii. Our
talented players for the mystery play ceremony were Steve Ekey as the Shanachie,
accompanied by Randy Simpson as Lugh, and Susan Grace Moore as Erin and Balor.
This event was such a success it is my intent to attempt a repeat but expanded
version of the general theme for next year…with more advanced planning
and more opportunities for the HVPN Members to show their stuff. I (Allan
Patnode) will be looking to form the committee in January or February of 2002
so that early promotions will allow people to plan well in advance for their
contest entries.
The Warrior special interest group held its Warrior
Weekend was held at the Pittstown State Park on September 1 and 2. To
see what they did, click here.
As far as we know, everyone came back with all their parts.
HVPN Psychic Fair was held on September 14th at Professor Java's.
We came together with a plan to raise money for the HVPN Witches' Ball fund.
Little did we know what we would eventually accomplish. Because of our efforts
both as individuals and as a community, we are proud to announce that we earned
a total of $450.00 for the organization's Witches' Ball. But that's not all.
Despite the emotional impact of this weeks national tragedies in New York,
Washington, and Pennsylvania, every member of this committee came together
Friday evening and worked their hardest at making our event a great night
of entertainment for those who attended, no doubt a much needed respite from
the
heart wrenching news of the week. The profound spirit of Community that was
demonstrated Friday evening was truly inspirational. Jenn made and donated
red white and blue ribbons which we sold to benefit the victims of
the terrorist attacks earlier in the week. HVPN, through Jenn's efforts, was
able to donate $63.00 to the IAFF Disaster Relief Fund to provide for families
of fallen firefighters. Thanks to all who participated!
This year's Mabon provided laughs, a gourd hunt and performance.
Held on 9/23 at Grafton Lakes park, we re-enacted the story with Mabon, complete
with sound effects, drama and physical intrepetation. The winners of the gourd
hunt got nifty prizes and the feast was wonderful, as usual.
"2001: A Spaced Out Oddity" was the theme for the 9th Annual
Witch's Ball. Held on October 27 at 8pm at the Capitol District OTB Teletheater
in Albany, we rocked to the tunes of DJ Andy and took our chance with the
ever popular Penny Social (some of the prizes included a portable alter, cloak,
statuary, smudge set, books, and Halloween Barbie). There were Trekkies, aliens,
part of the cast of Star Wars (Princess Leia and Darth Maul) and Agent Scully.
The costumes were absolutely great this year, with Donna finally breaking
Randy's winning streak. Way to go Donna! A great time as usual! To see all
the mayhem, click HERE.
This year's Samhain event was held at Jenn's in her front yard! Don't
worry - her neighbors didn't mind! The October 28th event was a little chilly,
and more than a few of us were still a wee bit tired from the Ball the night
before. As we gazed into the scrying mirror to rededicate ourselves, the Wild
Hunt roared by. A mystical magickal evening.
Yule was held on December 16th at the Ukranian Club in Cohoes. Steve
and Susan kicked off the event, portraying St. Nick & Black Peter, blessing
the feast. The feast was followed by the wrap-around, which was able to reach
all participants at least once. Performances by Stephanie, Lee, the Chanting
group, Jim, David, Mandi, and many others followed. The night was capped off
by our tradition - Pagan Caroling!
Return
to HVPN Home Page
This page visited 
times.
Last Updated:
February 27, 2002
Copyright 2001-2002 - Hudson Valley Pagan Network
