Life Among the Neo-Pagans
In the summer of 1997, | performed at the 17th annual Starwood
Neo-Pagan Festival in Sherman, New York—Amish country on the border near Ohio and Pennsylvania. This event—a female-oriented celebration of the sensual and the spiritual—took place on private campgrounds, where clothing was optional. Many women were bare-breasted, and several men and women walked around fully naked, a practice known as the “sky clad” experience.
Instead of camping out, | stayed at a nearby bed-and-breakfast place. Downstairs in the living room, | asked a woman—falsely assuming that she was the proprietor—where the key would be left if | came back late at night.
“|don’ t know,” she replied. “I’ m here for the festival.” “Oh. In what capacity?”
“I’m in the craft.”
“Which craft?”
“That’ s right,” she said.
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