What began as an impulse to honor Earth Day escalated from one to nine days. Melissa Clare has long been inspired by the Bioneers, a group of biologists working to find solutions to ecological challenges, and has dreamed of holding something like the Bioneers conference in Eureka Springs. But this was the furthest thing from her mind when V.E. Kimberlin, a local playwright, first approached her with a request to bring her animal-based plays to Heart of Many Ways (HMW) and combine them with blessings for people’s pets.
Clare said HMW, at 68 Mountain St., seeks to demonstrate a spirit of collaboration among different faiths and spiritual paths, so there was an immediate interest in exploring a variety of teachings about animals. Then musicians from Hu Dost were offering to bring their album release concert about water, and the local native plant group was holding their annual sale with a line-up of speakers.
“The dream re-asserted itself,” Clare said. “There are so many people in our area with great knowledge about our ecosystem, so many with something to teach about the Earth itself, about our Ozark Mountains and the local flora and fauna. The Earth Celebration took on a life of its own with visiting turtles, frog calls, water blessing and a musician from Hawaii… with dances for Universal Peace, and open sharings.
“Eureka Springs is one of those hubs where there is a lot of expertise and many people who care about the Earth and ecology. We want to communicate with the Earth our feeling of gratitude and love. And we want to give people the tools to create a more loving relationship with the planet.”
- Friday, April 19, 6 – 7:30 p.m. Opening event prayer, song and words of wisdom by John Two-Hawks, Grammy and Emmy nominated recording artist, speaker, author and activist.
- Saturday, April 20, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Eureka Springs Community Center, Native Plant Faire.
- Saturday, April 20, HMW, 2 to 5 p.m., arts and nature open forum. Bring your songs, poems and art pieces featuring animals or honoring Mother Earth.
- Sunday, April 21, HMW, 9:45 a.m., interfaith service on the theme of resurrection and restoration. From 3 – 4:30 p.m., Dances for Universal Peace with Rebecca Babbs will be held in the downstairs meeting room. The dances combine sacred phrases from many traditions with simple steps taking a circular form like many of the world’s folk dances.
- Earth Day, Monday, April 22, HMW, 10 to 11 a.m. Aspen Vaught will present morning QiGong and energetic movement. From 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Carolyn Amrit Knaus will facilitate a sharing of our personal and spiritual connections with animals. From 3 – 4:30 p.m. Dr. Robert Beauford will lead a geological walk starting at the Basin Park Spring and ending with light refreshments at the HMW. The talk will introduce participants to the geological prehistory that makes Eureka Springs and the Southern Ozarks the beautiful region it is today. From 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. the Metaphysical Society presents a Rupert Sheldrake video at HMW.
- Tuesday, April 23, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m., HMW, Sufi Healing Circle sending prayers to animal species from all continents.
- Thursday, April 25, 2:30 – 4 p.m., the Buddhist Study Group will do a “live release of earthworms” onto the grounds of HMW. From 7 – 8:30 p.m., HMW, the Sufi Winged Heart Group will do guided visualization to connect with dolphins and whales and the Cosmic Dimension.
- Friday April 26, 7 – 9 p.m., Hu Dost Concert & Album Release: Of Water & Mercy. The music of HuDost weaves a seamless tapestry of folk, world, and rock music.
- Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m. Morning special guests include Mironda Rice with the Sacred Earth Ensemble, speaker Pat Costner “about the soil,” Joyce Hicks with turtles, and Lilia Beatte with frog communications. This will be family friendly. Don’t miss the turtles. From 12:45 a.m. – 2 p.m. there will be a break (there may be snacks but lunch is not provided). From 2 – 4:30 p.m., two animal plays (rated PG 13) will be followed by speaker Lisa Whipplinger with a water blessing. The day will end with songs of the Sacred Earth Ensemble.
- Sunday, April 28, 3 – 4 p.m. there will be Animal Blessings with Rabbi Lennick, Rev. Melissa Clare, Amrit Carolyn Knaus and Aspen Vaught. Please bring dogs on leashes with pads or blankets to sit on, cats and smaller pets in carriers. Keep them close to you and preferably not on the carpeted areas just in case.
Clare expressed gratitude for Charmaine Juban, Eureka Small Biz Consulting, who volunteered her time to help with the website and a poster for the events. For more information, see http://heartofmanyways.org/.