Neo-hippie ‘Rainbow Gathering’ triggers backlash from residents of remote Vancouver Island location

A backlash appears to be building in laid-back British Columbia against a movement of what might be called neo-hippies.

The Victoria Times Colonist reports the B.C. government and RCMP monitoring the so-called "World Rainbow Gathering" at Raft Cove Provincial Park on northern Vancouver Island, with the possibility of shutting down the month-long event.

Participants began trickling in this week and estimates of how many will come between now and the scheduled wrap-up Sept. 6 ranges from several hundred to thousands.

Raft Cove is a remote park near Cape Scott, reachable by only a logging road.

“B.C. Parks is currently exploring all options to ensure concerns are addressed, up to and including closing the park,” said an Environment Ministry spokesman, according to the Times Colonist.

The event is organized by something called the Rainbow Family of Living Light, whose roots are in the counterculture of the 1960s.

[ Related: U.S. counterculture group plans Vancouver Island gathering ]

"Some say we're the largest non-organization of non-members in the world," says the group's U.S. web site. "We have no leaders, and no organization.

"To be honest, the Rainbow Family means different things to different people. I think it's safe to say we're into intentional community building, non-violence, and alternative lifestyles. We also believe that Peace and Love are a great thing, and there isn't enough of that in this world.

"Many of our traditions are based on Native American traditions, and we have a strong orientation to take care of the the Earth. We gather in the National Forests yearly to pray for peace on this planet."

Rainbow Family's Facebook page uses a little dystopian imagery to describe its mission:

"When the earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, and who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. They will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow -- Old Native American Prophecy."

The Times Colonist said Rainbow Gatherings have taken place since 1972, drawing up to 20,000 people. While they've been generally benign at their U.S. venues, meetings near Bamfield and Gold River on Vancouver Island a decade ago triggered complaints from area residents about mountains of garbage and human waste.

Gaby Wickstrom, a town councillor in nearby Port McNeil, raised concerns about the gathering on social media, sparking worries the small provincial park and its beach, which is a popular surfing spot, would be wrecked.

"Currently there’s about 200 people out there," Wickstrom told the Globe and Mail. "They’ve already started clearing some salal [small shrubs] and digging a latrine. They have a kitchen set up, and have reportedly had bonfires."

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Port McNeil resident Terry Eissfeldt, who set up a Facebook protest page, said she was frantically alerting authorities to the gathering.

"Raft Cove is this tiny little place, and it’ll just ruin it," she told the Globe.

The event sparked a furious debate on the Global Rainbow Gatherings Facebook page.

"The North Island is under a fire ban, Raft Cove is accessible only by an active logging road," Jacqui Engel commented.

"There are only two outhouses. Fresh water is extremely limited due to the lack of rain. There is no internet/cell service in the area. This seems like a very, very poor choice for your gathering, please re-think this decision as the well being of people and this environment are at risk."

Brian Texmo echoed Engel, though in stronger words.

"This is supposed to be about earth and mother nature, but yet by doing this your going to destroy a place so many people see an a iconic destination for locals and tourists combined," he wrote. "Give your head a shake and find some other place to ruin for your hippy fest."

But Rainbow supporters like Brandie Freeman Nestman said the gathering seems to run into opposition in B.C. no matter where the venue is. The initial plan was to stage it in the Kootenays, apparently.

"From all that I have seen of the folks up that seem to be in an endless bickering match on the inner/inter-regional levels and who seem to love trashing each other, who appear to be thee most unwelcoming and inhospitable folks on earth, who don't want people to be able to Gather in peace and harmony...." she wrote.

The negative attitude isn't new. People who view the Sixties' counterculture through a smoky haze of nostalgia forget there was a lot of antipathy towards the hippie movement back then.

B.C. writer Tom Hawthorn wrote a piece for the Globe two years ago for the 40th anniversary of Vancouver's so-called Gastown Riot, the culmination of ongoing clashes between police, hippies and activists attending a marijuana-legalization smoke-in on Aug. 7, 1971.

Eissfeldt issued a veiled warning that there might be trouble if the government doesn't close the park.

"Most people here don't want to be anything except law-abiding citizens, but, if something significant doesn't happen, I think something will come up from the grassroots," she told the Times Colonist.

There's a good chance would-be attendees will be hitchhiking to get to the site, which makes the RCMP's new public-awareness campaign about potential dangers on the road quite timely.

The poster campaign is aimed at women and advises that if they must accept rides from strangers to take precautions, such as ensuring they have a mobile phone, avoid less-travelled roads and letting people know of your travel plans.

"We’re not endorsing hitchhiking as a means of travel, but we're merely recognizing that for a lot of people there are no other means of travel," RCMP Superintendent Tyler Bates, director of aboriginal policing and crime-prevention services, told the Globe. "Are we ever going to make hitchhiking safe? Well, no."

The Globe said the Mounties developed the campaign in partnership with the Native Women's Association of Canada in the wake of anger from First Nations over the long list of missing and murdered aboriginal women, many who disappeared while hitchhiking.