The bi-annual Mighty Kindness Hootenanny took place on Saturday, October 29 at the Louisville Nature Center. Although this is the fourth year of hootenannies, this is the second fall harvest hoot that has taken place at the Nature Center. Previous years were held in Willow Park of the Highlands. The festival moved to Louisville nature center for the harvest Hootenanny last fall.
The Troubadours of Divine Bliss are a music duo that have made a tremendous impact on the Louisville community. They began the Mighty Kindness non-profit as an outreach of Clifton Universalist Unitarian Church to create more unity in the Louisville Community. They host an open mic every Sunday at the Monkey Wrench titled "Church on the ROcks" that brings people together to "free their dreams" and share poetry, music, comedy or other types of performance. The Mighty Kindness community has grown and has begun to do more fundraising so they can further their community outreach. The festivals serve as an important central location where people can meet twice a year to come together and get to know each other and learn about how to make Louisville a stronger community through better environmental, health, social, and diet practices.
Aim Me Smiley, half of the Troubadours of Divine Bliss duo,leads everyone in a "Can I get a Whooot?"
The Mighty Kindness festival is not like many festivals. There are few festivals you will attend and see people practicing Tai-Chi together or placing prayers on a community altar before enjoying some of Louisville's best musical talent. There is always a Mighty Kidness tent for children, which has even featured fun things like recycling relay races. Nature Walks are also available for families courtesy of the Nature Center. The gathering is an open invitation for people to revel in the beauty of each other and nature.
Hugs are in abundance.
The weather was beautiful for the event, but it was a little hard to get to the hoot this year, because of the traffic leading to the zoo's Halloween party. That didn't seem to deter people as there was still a pretty good turnout for the festival, which featured local musicians, farmers, artists, and crafters. Some of the vendors'utilizing the free booths available included YERT filmmaker Ben Evans, environmental companies such as solar panel providers, glass artists, Magnificent Mushrooms, Mighty Montessori Acorns, Planned Parenthood, farms, massage studios, non-profits, poets, and Tader Head Crochet, a family run business with adorable crochet hats for all ages. There were about 100 vendors at the festival.
Tader Head Crochet makes adorable hats for people of all ages:
The point of Mighty Kindness is to pull together the mighty kind individuals in our community. It focuses on handmade items, spiritual healing, local farmers, and environmental education. Some of the musicians that performed included Andrea Davidson, The Troubadours of Divine Bliss, Kri N' Hettie, Alana Fugate, Huh Robots, The Berries, Tyrone Cotton and many more. The Earth Mamas Dance Co is a long standing HOot tradition, and the Squallis Puppeteers gave a kids' show titled "Food Fight".
Andrea Davidson takes the stage:
Attendees had several options for healthy local food. Local food was available by Morels and Holy Mole' Food Trucks, The Vegetarian Club, and Chef Thomas Ville Q. A big part of the hoot was a central Sacred Community Space where people could bring and place prayers for the community, leave a token of intention, and meditate on peace. The event also included a Mighty Swap where people could leave or take items like clothing, shoes, etc.
Participants have a chance to enjoy nature:
Activists were represented by tables for Occcupy Louisville, Environmental education, and information about single payer healthcare. Some of the sponsors of the hoot include Heine Bros Coffee, Rainbow Blossom Natural Foods, The Green Garage, Shine, Divine Creationz, Louisville Huggers, Taoist Tai hi Society, Cultivating Connections, and many more.
The group set out to bring people together, and that is exactly what they accomplished. The festivals bring together people from all over Louisville and surrounding areas to show a world that many might forget exist based on today's media. The group does a great job in showing that a kindness still exists in our community. If you want your faith restored in humanity, these hoots are the place to do it. More information, networking and unity can be found on their web site. www.mightykindness.org.
Photos supplied by Nick Payne.
