The pan pagan festival is a celebration that brings together various pagan traditions and beliefs from around the world. It is a gathering of people who follow and worship different gods and goddesses, honoring nature and the cycles of the seasons. During the pan pagan festival, participants engage in various rituals and ceremonies that are specific to their respective traditions. These rituals often involve singing, dancing, chanting, and making offerings to the gods and goddesses. They may also include the lighting of fires, the drawing of symbols, and the recitation of prayers or invocations. One of the key aspects of the pan pagan festival is the celebration of nature.

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40 Years of Pan Pagan Festival

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Last week was the 40th annual Pan Pagan Festival. This festival is one of the longest running festivals in America. This year's crowd was about twice as large as last year's and it really was a relaxing and enjoyable festival. Held at the Rising Sun Campground between Know and Winnemac Indiana, it was a time - like with all festivals to renew old friendships and make a few new ones as well. It was a continuation of the festival movement that was founded in the 1970's and continues to this day in many different expressions.

Pagans and neopagans often come from diverse backgrounds and may or may not have others to share with. There are many solitary members and often the solitude makes the ways of their believe and practice such that the lack of direct contact or sharing makes it very difficult to maintain their faith. The festival movement was created to give people a chance to share with one another and to see that a) they are not alone in their paganism/Neopaganism, and b) that one may learn unexpected things by meeting other people of a like mind.

My first Pan Pagan was Pan Pagan 15, in 1991, at Timber Trails Campground near Plymouth, Indiana. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was amazed and surprised at what I found. There were about 125 people, all camped around a larger-than-a-football-field area with fires every so many campsites, rituals, workshops, meals, but more than anything, fellowship. I met some people that year that I still see today. Pan Pagan has provided me a continuity of festival experience but also an annual meeting of people who believed and practiced as I do, but maybe in some different ways. There were Khemetic rituals, Druid rituals, Wiccan rituals, rituals without labels, and they all had one thing in common: all were welcome. Like with Indo-European rites, many of these rituals over the years had fire as a central anchor to their practice. I gave my first workshop at Pan Pagan.

I looked forward to Pan Pagan every year. I did attend other festivals, quite a number of them, large and small, but there was something special about Pan Pagan. Each person was expected to contribute to the group effort by working two hours during the festival. My favourite volunteer activity was registration because it gave me a chance to see old faces first and to welcome news ones as they first arrived. At the time, I was working in Chicago and it was hard for me to take time off of work for the festival. The festival began on Tuesday night, unofficially in those days, and I would drive to Plymouth from Chicago after work on Tuesday night and commune with my friends and the early festival attendees on that first night. Early the next morning, I would drive back to Chicago, stopping at a particular motel along the way where the proprietor would let me take a shower for $5.00 and I would be on my way. After work, I would return back to Pan Pagan. I loved the dichotomy of technology during the day, and the virtual city of my pagan friends at night. It was a magical time.

One of the festival's founders was Stanley Modrzyk, a fixture and host at the festival for many years until his untimely death in 2014. Stanley was involved in the planning, along with the rest of the Midwest Pagan Council, for Pan Pagan, and led many rituals and activities throughout the years. I saw him do huge elaborate rituals that awed me at the time and encouraged me to think about what I could do to enhance and improve my own ritual experiences. After I returned after a few years away, Stanley greeted me like an old friend and encouraged me to do workshops on Druidry, ADF, RDNA, and Isaac. Ironically enough, during one of my workshops on Isaac, I met a young woman who had been doing ADF's Core Order of Ritual at her local UU church for a couple of years yet wasn't an ADF member. Now, a few years later, and that young woman is about to be Ordained as an ADF Priest. Stanley would always include Rhiannon and I in ritual, assigning us a quarter, and he was always understanding when we opened up a gate instead of calling quarter or watchtower. The joy of ritual at Pan Pagan was the joy of doing ritual together.

When Stanley passed away, there was a huge hole in the Pan Pagan family. His wife Doree and his daughter Lizzy stepped in to fill his rather large shoes and I know it was difficult to organize and manage a festival and to be grieving at the same time. This was the beginning of a few of the Pan Pagan lean years. Attendance dropped, people stayed away, and the festival was teetering on the brink of collapse. Then, out of nowhere, magic happened. Some new ideas were introduced to Pan Pagan and Doree, Lizzy, and the council made some much needed changes and Pan started to come back to life again.

At Indianapolis Pagan Pride last year, Doree and Lizzy asked me to do the Main Rite at Pan Pagan 2016. I said "yes" immediately. I am always looking for a way to demonstrate ADF to others like so many other ways had been demonstrated to me at Pan Pagan over the years. We arrived at Pan to beautiful weather, an attendance that had almost doubled, and a relatively drama-free and incident-free festival. The weather was hot but glorious, and I visited the swimming pool a number of times. I gave a workshop, attended a workshop, and spoke to a number of people old and new. Some friends that hadn't been back for a while returned; new people attended for the first time, and some folks from the early days of the festival decided to come back.

The Main Rite was a Lughnasadh rite, and the deities of the occasion were Lugh and his foster mother, Tailtiu. We included three people from the festival (including Doree) to call the Kindreds, and there was a special working for the Ancestors, including the ancestors of Pan Pagan. Offerings were made, blessings were received, and the waters of life were shared with everyone. I was assisted by Amber, the woman I had met in my workshop a number of years earlier, and everything seemed as it should be. Forty years had passed and I pray that the next forty years will be equally productive.

I am pleased to have been part of the Pan Pagan experience, starting with Pan Pagan 15. I hope to be part of this small community and the larger community that it spawned for many years to come. Let me encourage everyone to visit Pan Pagan and to participate in this continuing part of the festival movement as brings people together to share, to learn, and to be part of the pagan/neopagan community for years to come.

Reflections on Pan Pagan

My first Pan Pagan festival happened sometime between 1990 and 1991. I attended my first pagan festival at Lothlorien, in central Indiana, in 1989 and I fell in love with festivals. Festivals, and the Festival Movement, were a way to meet other pagans in a natural setting and share what it was to be pagan with others of a like mind.

That first Pan Pagan festival took place in Plymouth, Indiana, self-proclaimed Blueberry Capital of the world. It was four days of sun, fun, ritual, workshops, and sharing. Pan Pagan was sponsored by the Midwest Pagan Council and the host was Stanley Modrzyk.

Every attendee was required to donate two hours of their time to the festival, and it was its own little community for four glorious days. Over the years, I attended time and time again, and I can probably count on one hand the number of festivals I missed. It was home from home.

One of the key aspects of the pan pagan festival is the celebration of nature. Many pagans see the natural world as sacred and believe in the interconnectedness of all living things. At the festival, participants may partake in outdoor activities such as hiking, plant identification, and nature-based crafts.

Living in many worlds

During the 90s, I was working in Chicago, in the Loop. When Pan Pagan rolled around and after work, I would drive from Chicago to Plymouth and spend the night, only to return to my Loop job the next morning. I found a local motel that would let me shower for $15 and I would arise, go to this hotel, shower, and then drive the two hours to work. I was commuting to and from a pagan festival!

Over the years, the venue changed, and the festival continued. It retained the distinction of being the longest running pagan festival in North America. Over time, the venue changed several times and the attendance also changed. Gone were the days of large, Pan Pagan festivals and these were replaced by equally vibrant festivals of lesser people, but equal intensity.

They may also hold workshops and discussions on topics related to sustainability, environmentalism, and herbalism. In addition to the celebration of nature, the pan pagan festival also serves as a community-building event. It brings together people from different pagan traditions, creating a sense of unity and camaraderie among the participants. There may be opportunities for networking, forming new friendships, and sharing knowledge and experiences. The pan pagan festival often takes place during significant times of the year, such as the solstices and equinoxes. These are times when the natural world undergoes noticeable changes, and pagans believe that these changes reflect spiritual shifts as well. By coming together to celebrate these moments, participants hope to align themselves with the energies of the seasons and enhance their spiritual connection to the world around them. Overall, the pan pagan festival is a vibrant and inclusive gathering that celebrates the diversity of pagan traditions. It is a time for pagans of all paths to come together, honor the gods and goddesses, and connect with nature. Through rituals, workshops, and community-building activities, participants seek to deepen their understanding of themselves and their place within the world..

Reviews for "The Role of Pan in Modern Paganism"

1. Jane - 1/5: The Pan Pagan Festival was a complete disappointment. I had high hopes for a unique and interesting experience, but it fell flat. The organization was chaotic, with long wait times and disorganized event schedules. The workshops and activities promised were either canceled or poorly executed. The overall atmosphere felt forced and not genuine. I would not recommend this festival to anyone looking for an authentic pagan experience.

2. Mark - 2/5: I attended the Pan Pagan Festival with the hope of being enlightened about pagan beliefs and traditions. Unfortunately, the event did not live up to my expectations. The speakers lacked expertise and their presentations were dull and uninformative. The vendors' stalls were limited and offered generic items unrelated to paganism. The festival seemed more like a money-making scheme than a genuine celebration of pagan culture. I left feeling unsatisfied and would not attend this festival again.

3. Sarah - 1/5: The Pan Pagan Festival was a complete waste of time and money. The advertised workshops and rituals were either canceled or poorly organized. The vendors' stalls were nothing more than cheap trinkets and merchandise aimed at making a quick profit. The lack of organization and coordination ruined any potential for a meaningful experience. I would not recommend this festival to anyone looking for an authentic and well-executed pagan event.

4. Michael - 2/5: As someone interested in pagan traditions, I was excited to attend the Pan Pagan Festival. However, my experience was quite underwhelming. The workshops offered were basic and lacked depth, leaving me feeling like I didn't learn anything new. The overall energy of the festival was lacking, and it seemed more like a social gathering than a place to explore pagan beliefs. The event could have been much better with more engaging speakers and more thoughtfully planned activities. I would not go back to this festival in the future.

5. Emily - 1/5: I found the Pan Pagan Festival to be disorganized and poorly executed. The workshops were overcrowded, making it difficult to fully participate and engage with the topics presented. The festival lacked a cohesive theme or purpose, resulting in a disjointed experience. Additionally, the event was overcrowded, making it difficult to navigate through the crowds and enjoy the festival comfortably. Overall, this festival was a letdown and did not meet my expectations. I would not recommend attending.

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