Edinburgh festival.. an Open space event

Thu Apr 6 04:38:29 PDT 2006

I guess I must have attended a rogue Potlatch - but they do some funny
things in Alaska.

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Drive

Potomac, Maryland   20854

Phone 301-365-2093

Skype hhowen

Open Space Training  <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com

Open Space Institute  <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org

Personal website  <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com 

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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Chris
Corrigan
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 1:18 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Edinburgh festival.. an Open space event

Just a technical piece...potlatches are about as far from Open Space as you
can imagine.  They are highly structured and controlled events and there is
very little tolerance for anything that lies outside of the control of the
people that are responsible for given parts of the ceremonies.  In fact,
working here on the west ocast of North America, where the feasting culture
is integral to traditional forms of governance, using Open Space sometimes
becomes a real challenge.  

On the other hand, most people i work with who stop to think about it agree
that Open Space resonates on a deeper level and taps something that seems to
lie at the heart of many different traditional and indigenous cultures. 

But potlatches...woowhee...they would drive you around the bend, Harrison!

Chris

On 4/5/06, Harrison Owen < hhowen at verizon.net <mailto:hhowen at verizon.net> >
wrote:

Diane -- Surprise! And guess where a major part of the inspiration for Open 
Space came from? Indigenous Market places! All of which work pretty much the
same was as a Potlatch. Same old, same old :-)

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland 20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com
OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
archivesVisit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html 

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Diane
Brandon
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 12:39 PM 
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Edinburgh festival.. an Open space event

Chris's comment resonated for me. Our family has had some wonderful 
weekends centered around an indigenous pow wow. Usually it's a full
weekend - sleep over two nights - and there are lots of things going on
-- food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, children's games, always the
circle in the center, drumming much of the time, dances of many sorts,
great ceremonial dress, some or all dances open to all (some for
skilled dancers only), story telling, flute playing, sometimes sweat
lodges, sometimes workshops on healing/spiritual topics or on making 
things, and nothing requires attendance! Many people sit around their
campsites, sleep, talk at picnic tables, swim in the river where that's
an option, take care of kids -- oh yes, all ages are welcome and are
there, with a lot of honor for elders (much appreciated by this
grandmother) and for veterans (something I was on the fence about - but
my husband was in the Navy for 4 years in the Vietnam era, and it means
so much to him to dance in the veterans' honoring dance, and I get to 
join him.... so I've warmed to it). Many people camp out in tents  and
trailers, so we live together for the weekend, and the cost is minimal.
There's plenty of room for offering what you want to offer, if not in a 
more formal way, then via your own campsite and conversations there or
as you walk around. (I'm sure if you hang a flag at your campsite about
your topic, you'll attract some interest!) The place-basedness of it, 
and all the preparation that goes into it on the part of the tribe or
tribes or individuals that organize it (they usually include one free
feast, and often a give-away), seem core to the sense of deep
satisfaction people get from going to these weekends. I think it's very 
close to Open Space!

Diane Brandon
Eliot, Maine

On Apr 5, 2006, at 10:22 AM, Chris Weaver wrote:

> on a related large other topic, i am deeply interested in the overlap
> between ost and ceremony in indigenous traditions.  festival life, 
> which
> culminates on a specific piece of land for a specific period of time,
> has
> some fascinating resonance with ceremonial space/time.  a topic to
> explore
> another time.

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-- 
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com
Open Space Resources:  http://tinyurl.com/r94tj * *
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