17th Annual Kansas City Pagan Pride Day – Harvest Festival and Craft Faire

MERRIAM, Kan. - Aug. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- Join us on Sunday, September 13^th from 10 am to 6 pm to learn more about the often misunderstood religion of Paganism at our Harvest Celebration and Craft Faire.  This event is part of the international Pagan Pride Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of prejudice and religious discrimination through education, activism, charity and community. Hundreds of Pagan Pride celebrations are held annually around the world about the time of the Autumnal Equinox.

The 17th Annual Kansas City Pagan Pride Day 2015, Harvest Festival and Craft Faire, is being held at the Merriam Marketplace, 5740 Merriam Dr, Merriam, KS from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.  This is a FREE event and open to the public.  Come join us to see live music, belly dancing, bag pipes, and a Craft Faire featuring unique hand-crafted items from Pagan artists.  A local Heathen Kindred will host a harvest ritual, and the Heartland Spiritual Alliance will host open and closing rituals.  A huge charity raffle will be held to benefit KansasCityTypeOne.org, a local charity supporting those with Type One diabetes.  A food drive for Harvesters will also take place in celebration of the harvest season.  There will be children’s activities, information booths, food, and other activities celebrating the Autumnal Equinox, a time of thanksgiving in many Pagan traditions.

Paganism is an umbrella term that encompasses various non-Abrahamic indigenous and new religious movements such as Wicca, Druidism, Heathenry, Shamanism and Hermeticism.  Modern Paganism, or Neo-Paganism, is a growing spiritual movement based on combinations of ancient polytheism, modern eco-spirituality, and reverence for the Divine as both masculine and feminine.  This event’s mission is to build community, share our harvest with local charities, and demonstrate to the public what we do and how we do it in the hope of overcoming fear and misunderstanding caused by the misinformation and religious intolerance.

This year’s events will include live music from various Pagan artists to include Peaty Bog Water, a Folk Band with an elven slant; Bran Cerddorion, a Celtic folk singer; Etoile and Friends belly dancers; Voices of Gaia, a choir group from Gaia Community Universal-Unitarian Congregation; and the Blue Pipers, a bag pipe and drum duo.  Over a dozen craft vendors will be on hand to sell various hand-made Pagan crafts and other items.  A children’s area called the Dragon’s Nest will provide children’s activities all day based on various aspects of Paganism to promote diversity and acceptance in an atmosphere of fun.  Various information tables will be on hand from various Pagan organizations, voter registration, and the sponsored charity.  The Pagan Experience information area will provide information on various Pagan traditions and practices in the area.

One of the most important Kansas City Pagan Pride Day activities over the last 15 years has been our charity raffles and food drives which has raised thousands of dollars and pounds of food for local non-profit charities.  Many Pagans observe this time of year as an opportunity to give thanks and blessings -- and because of that, it is also recognized as a good time to give to those less fortunate than ourselves.   The Pagan community of crafters, metaphysical stores, and individuals have also come together to donate some unbelievable items to the raffle in order to help us raise money for a local community charity.  This year’s raffle proceeds will be given to KansasCityTypeOne.org which provides support to those with Type One diabetes.  In addition, we will be collecting non-perishable food and other needed items for the Harvesters Food Bank.

This event is sponsored by Kansas City Pagan Pride Day, Inc. a Missouri non-for-profit corporation and a chapter of the national Pagan Pride Project.

For more information about the event or about Pagan religions, contact Sam Shryock at info@kcppd.com or visit http://www.kcppd.com or http://www.facebook.com/kcppd.