GUILFORD — Have you ever wondered how you would survive if you were lost in the woods? Or how you'd manage in a global emergency resulting in food shortages?
Combining his love for festivals and the wilderness, Ben Riseman and friends are attempting to address such concerns in a fun and instructive way.
This Saturday, A Community Of Resilient Neighbors (ACORN) is bringing to Southern Vermont a family friendly event dedicated to the promotion of an appreciation of nature and the teaching of primitive survival skills.
On Sept. 27, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m at the Guilford Fairgrounds, the Vermont Wilderness School and Cider Magazine sponsor ACORN Fest, the first outing in what organizers say they hope will become an annual nature and music festival to celebrate community.
Daytime events include workshops, community events, and youth activities. Chris Martenson, an internationally respected teacher of the interrelationship of energy, economy, and the environment, will give the keynote address.
In the evening, a concert of regional music is headlined by Caravan of Thieves. Also playing on the main stage are local favorites Gaia Roots, Gaslight Tinkers, and Heirloom Seeds.
Riseman, one of the fest's organizers, says the name of the event covers a lot of ground. Yes, ACORN is an acronym for A Community Of Resilient Neighbors, but the acorn itself is an apt symbol for what the group wants to achieve.
He notes that the acorn is a hardy fruit, a nutritionally dense power food. And the acorn falls from the oak, often a symbol of strength. Most attendees, Riseman says, have a European heritage, within which the oak was an important wood used in the buiding of ships and churches.
“Of course, many of the skills we teach were ones used by the people who first lived on the land, Native Americans, but few who live in southern Vermont now are able to claim them as ancestors,” he explains.
Riseman, who says he has long been interested in learning about and promoting such skills, has helped gather an impressive roster of experts.
Three sessions of two-hour workshops are set for the day.
“In a lively fun atmosphere, a variety of local and regional teachers will explain ancient primitive skills, like how to start a fire through friction, making tools from stone, medicinal plants, and hunting,” Riseman says.
Other festival workshops topics cover tracking, knife and spoon making, and hide tanning. Workshops will be led by teachers from schools from all over New England, including Wolf Tree Programs, Vermont Wilderness School, and Maine Primitive Skills School.
Riseman says he believes there is a need in southern Vermont for preparedness and skills of resilience, but he doesn't want to give the impression that the daytime instructional events will be terribly serious.
Indeed, local musicians will play during the day, area vendors will provide food and refreshments, and kids will have plenty to do - that was an essential part of the planning, Riseman explains.
Martenson will deliver his keynote address around 5:50 p.m., when the workshops have wrapped up.
A biochemical scientist by training, Martenson is a writer and trend forecaster interested in the economy, energy consumption, and the environment. He is the founder of the website Peak Prosperity.
“Chris has a huge Internet following,” says Riseman. “Although he is essentially an economist, he has a many fans in the survival community. He was one of the few who had predicted the 2008 crash. Chris is great on survival skills and rebuilding community. He will speak on the microeconomics in building a network of like-minded people.”
In the evening, instruction gives way to music.
Caravan of Thieves, the evening's headliner, plays gypsy jazz rhythms on acoustic guitar, upright bass, and violin.
Gaia Roots is an all-female world-music ensemble blending traditional, folkloric drumming and singing with original creations and arrangements.
Gaslight Tinkers combines Caribbean, breakbeat, funk, and Latin grooves with traditional Northern fiddle music.
Heirloom Seeds, a roots reggae collective, brings modern jazz, hip hop, bluegrass, and afrobeat to the bandstand.
The festival will run rain or shine.
“Since we have tarps and buildings in case of unfavorable weather,” says Riseman, “I guess the only thing that will stop us is a hurricane.”