#barterfaire

[selfdestruct007]

[pondering-star]

I have been so good, saving this until Xmas. Art supply exchange with fellow odd assemblage artist @ephraimbrownanomalies #whatsinthebox #artistsoninstagram #barterfaire #ephraimbrownanomalies https://www.instagram.com/p/B6hWyTMJmQ-/?igshid=1vkuqemkh3hl5

[naturepunk]

Continuing the goofy saga of me snuggling kittens at festivals... #kitty! #kitten #okanogan #okanoganbarterfair #okanoganfamilyfaire #barterfaire #myoffice #taxidermist #naturepunk #cat #tabbycat

[angelionne]

#barterfaire #tonasket #okanoganfamilyfaire #okanogancounty #2011 #off #on #onlyinwashington (at okanogan family faire) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoyLmvMBUVT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=b5tc0m7ob0vy

[heididuty]

#puravida #Bialetti #VetSafe #vegetarian #heidihaus #barterfaire (à Liberty Lake) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIjOdWThtjqsB1DlfWWXOO9qekHw_AvdXg1I840/?igshid=2uihv0fb0eu9

[jjoshuadittz]

Songer/songwriter @pappylebeau_music check out guitarist Richie Audino's soaring guitar solo as @cosmicserenitymusic performs at @okanoganfamilyfaire 2019. . Photo: @alienaftermint #jjoshuadiltz [Dm for Booking/tours] . . . . @cosmicserenitymusic @stageandstudio #alienaftermint #concertphotography #tours #assignment #art #culture #music #entertainment #portraitphotography #portrait #artistsoninstagram #singer #songwriter #concert #guitar #guitarist #okanoganfamilyfaire #barterfaire #2019 #okanoganfamilyfaire (at okanogan family faire) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4CDKflJH3s/?igshid=kzqftz0ujhuk

[cascadiareigns-blog]

Barter Faire/Okanogan Family Fair

I feel like I am just now able to steal enough time to sit and write. So, Barter Faire!! For those who aren’t quite sure what it is: The Okanogan Family Fair is a gathering that was started by some rural hippie farmers in the 70′s as a way to trade homemade and harvested goods at the end of the growing season. It eventually got so big they bought their own land to have it on and it has turned into a family festival (http://www.okanoganfamilyfaire.net/). It has been something that I have heard whispered in my circle of beautiful feral people for about 6 years now. It is on many people in my community’s must attend list along side Subdued Stringband Jamboree, Meltdown, Folklife, Hempfest, Deming Logshow, Rainbow Family Gathering etc. I have always wanted to attend and I have tried on a few occasions but it never ended up happening. But as some of you may have experience the universe has a way of growing the seeds you plant as intentions, only when you stop forcing and let it be. I felt really stuck in life like I wasn’t moving in the direction I wanted too anymore, and that my ideal life/self was not any closer. This last year I had a lot of frustration, anxiety, and depression about this and it was sort of debilitating. One of my best friends came this summer from her homestead in remote AK, and she told me in one of our talks about how I was feeling, “Why don’t you just start living like you want to? Doing the things you can right now to live like you want?”. It seems obvious, I know. But I think I just needed to hear it from someone I loved. I felt something shift in me, and I began creating and haven’t stopped since. I learned to can and bake this summer, have been crocheting, preserving foods left and right. It has felt so good! I never had any intention of attending barter fair this year. I was crafting with the intention of attending the quarterly handmade/homegrown barter event in Bellingham (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1332234776791417/). Which is another barter event I have been wanting to go to for a very long time. People kept asking me if I was planning on going to THE barter fair and I kept saying no. Then it hit me... Why the hell not!? So with a couple weeks notice I got the time off work ( I work weekends) and I crafted and canned and baked my little heart out. We should have left Friday after K got off work, but we left Sat morning. I woke up at 5am to make breakfast sandwiches and pack up Bitchin’ Minni ( our beast of a minivan). K always likes to tell me I over pack, but I AM ON POINT. We used everything I packed and it was comfortable. He went to pick up one of our besties M, while I packed.We went over highway 20 and got to Tonasket, WA in a mere 6.5 hrs ( The gps quoted us 4...!?!?). We didn’t get the address of the actual gathering so we got to Tonasket and asked people at a gas station. They said, “7/8 miles west on 20″. So there we went. K HATES to go anywhere without a set address or directions, and I am of the “let the universe guide us” foo foo. So he immediately started worrying and getting antsy. SInce he was our generous driver I told him to drive as long as he felt comfortable, then turn around to go back to town to find more concrete information. At the point where I was about to strangle him and he said ok Im turning around he turned left to do so and THERE IT WAS. We turned right up the road to the fair. Divine guidance ya’ll ;) We got there and realized it was COLD. I had packed in anticipation of this, and all the snow we saw on the way told us it was coming. But jeez it was cold. We got there and layered the F up. It was already 11am so after exploring a bit we realized we needed to find a family friendly place to camp and K realized he needed to do his run. So he did that and M and I and the kids went to find a good spot and we did. Another divine gift. We found a very large spot right next to “town” and our neighbors told us that a lady had been chasing people away from it all day, but we figured we would set up anyway and talk to her if she came to shoo us. We got enough room to have the van, two tents, our trading table, our fire pit, and chairs. Perfect :) The lady did end up showing just to tell us she had been saving that spot for her friends RV but their friend just canceled when we showed up. She had saved it for us with out even knowing it! This lady and I did multiple trades and it turns out she knew many mutual friends of ours. Our other camp neighbors ended up being folks who live on the same community property as our good friend in Bellingham, and we actually spent Halloween with them. All in all in was a really amazing experience.It was something that I had wanted in my life for a long time. I really believe that incorporating handmade goods and barter into my life can help make a difference. I going to get a little real here so feel free to bow out if you don’t like anti-establishment sentiments or curse words. Why barter? Because fuck the man. Fuck taxes. Fuck consumerism. I want to have less stuff of more quality. I want to trade and say fuck money and fuck capitalism. And when I do give away my money I want to give it to real people, not throw it into the economic abyss and hope some pennies trickle down to my neighbors. I want to drink illegal milk and eat illegal eggs and sell illegal food because fuck the FDA. I want to build community and love people because fuck isolating technology. I want to build a world that I dream up for my kids and their friends, because fuck the oppressive system and culture that keeps us from it. Whew okay I’m done. But really, The Man eats money. Stop giving The Man your money. If you want to make a little bit of a difference you don’t have to light up a J and slap an ANTIFA patch on. I know so many regular joes joining the barter movement because IT FEELS GOOD. Put energy into your craft and put it out there, take the baby steps every day to build your dream life, think about how your actions and your consumption effect others and our environment.

Thanks for letting me share with you,

Cascadia

PS  I keep trying to insert pictures with my words but I can’t figure out how the heck to do it. You can see what pictures I took if you follow me on Facebook. 

[statementofporpoise]

My first sight of the Barter Faire in... six or seven years. Long time. #barterfaire #okanoganfamilyfaire #tonasket #cayusemountain #okanogancounty #itsraininghere #latergram #traveling (at Cayuse Mountain)

[victoriaviveskhuong]

Look how cute! A blanket market with our Instagram names :) • #Village #Tribe #Crystals #Metalsmithing #Crafts #PortableEtsy #BarterFaire #ElementsGathering #ReWild #OutdoorLiving #NatureLover #GoOutside #PlayInNature #EarthSkyPeople #EarthSkyPeopleOrg #IntentionalCommunity #SequoiaNationalPark #SequoiaNationalForest #Sequoia #Sequoias #TribalConsciousness #ComoNuestrosAncestros #LikeOurAncestors #Shamanism #ShamanicRootsCom #PrimitiveSkills #NatureConnection #ShamanicLiving #Earthing #VictoriaVives #VictoriaVivesKhuong

[blackhouseltd]

The Colourflies are in the middle of recording their new full length record with Ken Stringfellow from legendary Seattle band The Posies producing, and it's going to be nothing short of amazing.

More updates soon.

#grunge #alternative #posies #seattle #pnw #punk #noise #rock #garage #lofi #subpop #blackhouse #mudhoney #art #fuzz #bigmuff #underground #experimental #barterfaire #vinyl #uk #cd #cassettetapes #comingsoon #news #music #update #musicnews #blog

[pondering-star]

So the best thing I bartered for at #barterfaire was a collection of art from Skatebird designs. He turns old skateboards into badass jewelry, magnets and art. I got a necklace, a pair of magnets, a wall hanging and a pink bat for my kiddo. He got a painting, some stained glass / assemblage pendants, and a Poppet. #barterfaire2019 #art #skateboardart #skateboard #bartering #pnwartist #okanoganfamilyfaire (at okanogan family faire) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4MfrttJpRn/?igshid=87wvwg1p9593

[naturepunk]

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A post shared by Sarah Bartell (@naturepunk_)

Flaming metal horses? Yes, please! Another wild art installation at Barter Faire in Tonasket. #barterfaire #fire #artinstallation #burningmanstatus #burningman #flames #horse #horses #mythology #kelpie #wildfire #okanoganbarterfair #okanoganfamilyfaire #festival #thisismyjob

[angelionne]

#vendorbooth #treasures #fossils #skull #stones #turtleshell #barterfaire (at okanogan family faire) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpKMwQ4lCU_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8zgpeeq4920p

[jjoshuadittz]

@sickdonkeyrecords own @bluejay_aka_dj_sticky crushes a performance with rapper @fogeymusic as @okanoganfamilyfaire celebrates Fall Festival 2019 in Tonasket, Washington. . [Photograph 2] is an archival find from @okanoganfamilyfaire Fall Festival 2018. . @bluejay_aka_dj_sticky along his beloved Twyla return from a day browsing the many vendor lanes at @okanoganfamilyfaire fall festival 2018. . Photo @alienaftermint #jjoshuadiltz . . . #alienaftermint @stageandstudio @cosmicserenitymusic . . . #barterfaire #2019 #218 #sickdonkey #donkey #twyla #memorial #photography #concert #concertphotography #seattle #art #culture #entertainment #portraitphotography #portraits #music #musician #nikon @nikonusa #okanoganfamilyfaire #okanoganfamilyfaire (at okanogan family faire) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4B_aW2pi-u/?igshid=o4gu3gs92mbs

[cascadiareigns-blog]

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A post shared by Merrylynn Duarte (@cascadia.reigns)

Who's''s your mama?? Italian herb rolls. #domesticAF #barternotbuy #barterfaire #homesteaderwannabe

[openmymindup-blog]

Beautiful minds

I was outside on a cloudy day, I remember looking at these wooden carpentry pencils and old rusted pocket knives; they were all red, my grandfathers facorite color. He was a very beautiful man, he would tell us stories about how he could chew a penny open with his teeth, or that we could build air planes out of cardboard; and we tried. He inspired me and my older sister to dream, to think of things even if they seemed hard. He was my favorite out of my whole family. I found this bouncy ball after most of my family gathered at my house to morn his death. I felt hurt, but I didnt want all the hugs, I just wanted to be alone and feel my own feelings. I remember looking up at the sky and something really strong pulled at me, I'll never forget the way it felt because I still feel it to this day. It spoke to me with out words, with out physical apearance. It told me that spirits of people that die dont die with them, that there are other places they go, and suddenly I didnt feel hurt anymore, maybe his absense kind of hits me once in a while, but I always remember that he is out there, and as long as I know this I have no reason to morn. This is when things changed for me. Right after my grandfathers death I started having dreams, I guess I could also call them memories. I have always been able to remember my dreams often, and rarely have a night that I dont dream. I was watching my older sister blow out her birthday cake, we were outside on a cooler day. Her birthday cake was purple and green, I remember how short her hair was and the face she made looking up, but I was standing in mid length looking down at her. I asked my mother about this and she told me I was still in the womb. She was almost seven months pregnant with me. Growing up, even home schooled I had a sensere since of self, of knowing who I was, and the body I have inherited. I never complained about not having toys or getting what I wanted, I had a strong sense of responsibility and love towards others. Although my parents were both mentally and physically abusive I still saw them, not as my parents but as people who were lost, who didnt know what they were doing. A lack of self love was immediatly noticeable to me as a child. None the less I continued to soak up my surroundings and analyze all that I could, all with the same feeling I feel today, like this is all temporary and for some odd reason I was chosen to be here. My first organized facination with being human was the emotion we call love. I recognized all these boys in school as objects of effection, thats not to say I went around loving and falling inlove with everyone. I greatly appreciated people for their characters, I thought they were playful, fun and open minded as most youth seem to be. Each individual person had their own energy and even though I had no clue why I dated them just to see what they were about, not out of deep love or desire more out of curiousity, I kept doing it and the more I did the more I got to see the truth behind human nature. Though youth seem to still be organizing or changing their own charactors, they also seemed to be altered by atmospheric changes or ego. Often those who did not have a keen sense of self would follow crowds or copy what others did just to see where they fit in, or so they fit into a social norm. Which is natural for human nature but its not the defining act that makes us powerful in our own ways. In all the years I spent getting to know all these different characters, watching them grow, do bad things to each other and neglect human connection for human desire, I noticed the foundation beneath all of these activities was a reflection of how people felt about themselves. Boys desired girls strongly. Even seeking revenge for not getting what they wanted; I could assume male hormones at this age played a great part, how ever some of the acts were out of anger and built up negativity from family life, even a social life that was not spiritually promising nore progressive. No one was there to make them think about themselves, just a constant distraction of learning about the world but self last. This is where I learned alot about love and how others go about it. None of them seemed to love themselves this showed in alcohol abuse, self harm, fights, even using meth. I guess logically I have to point out that the atmopshere in which children and teens grow up does influence and play a huge rule in who they become and how they love, how ever most of their stories and actions in future adventures were based on a non-self love attitude which they got from their envirenment. I saw alot of parental abuse, big lashes of bruises and even blood from a fight, this made them feel unloved, unwanted, not good enough and in return it reflected on their desires, the people they hung out with and the drugs they took etc. I delt with alot of family conflict as a child, my father was extremely abusive, I went to school with bruises on my wrist, a black eye from my mother which resulted in divorce. I was what seemed like a problem for my family. I asked too many questions or on projects I wasnt allowed to do things on my own, so I started to do things with out asking becuase I knew if I sat around and waited my turn no one would let me have it. So instead of asking to get my training wheels taken off I took them off myself, instead of asking what cloths I could get I got them myself, instead of asking if I could stay out and party all night I did it and never felt bad for one minute of it. I knew safety, I knew that I was supposed to take care of my body and those around me. At 13 I started disapeaing from home and even spend months at a friends house, some of them I even reffered to as mom and dad because they played better roles than my father did, my mother disapeared from the picture at the age of twelve. I was the one driving my drunking friend from a party who stole her step parents care at 3am, taking care of her step brother and sister, I did everything I could to take care of those I loved and at my own expense, mean while still drinking and smoking pot. I went a few years with out contact of that force that pulled at me that one day, and I had a very human journey, but love still grew inside of me deeper than the ocean and I knew with my actions I would speak the loudest of them all because everything I did was to nurture myself or nurture others, nothing ever done out of revenge or hate towards others not even my abusive parents. The time and space I gave myself away from others was to heal, people got mad yes, but I knew what healed me and I knew what was good for me and what was not. The only reason I loved really broken people was because I knew their stories and I knew they needed a positive roll model, even broken and hurt as I was, I stayed for their sake, and in this I broke myself some more, but I knew it would happen, it was love that got me in and love that got me out. I was never able to verbalize the things I felt, the things I heard in silence. I could feel pain in someone while they were smiling. I could feel the desire to run away in feet that stuck around. I knew what they wanted, but no way to say it, no way to let it out. It wasnt until fall of 2013 that I discovered how to do it. I went to a barterfair with a friend of mine who was going to fry on mushrooms with me and basically baby sit me. I remember the rustic taste in my mouth, it reminded me of the dirt that was left on the leaves of the vegieables that I would eat straight out of my mothers garden as a child. A very earthy taste. Even through my nervousness, my bloody nose that followed, my heart told me it was right. I needed to do this for me. I ate a little bit and walked over to this group of people all talking, a weird sensation that I had peed my pants was strong, even asking if I had pissed my pants. I sat down and everything slowed down, I remember every one talking and I was watching their mouths move but the sound seemed to be mute. Something in the woods was calling me, alot like that pull I felt from the sky, just more stronger, more full of love. I sat up and I started walking, as I was on my way to a patch of woods I felt my knees get weak, a pain inside of my chest I needed to feel filled me to the very ends of my toes. I felt a love so strong for earth, for the grass and trees, I felt one with it. After making it to a safe secluded area of woods away from people I dropped to my knees and I pulled at the grass, crying my eyes out and I remember saying repeatively " I'm so sorry" over and over again. When I look back on it I know why I felt that way. Humans are parasites, very neglectful, self satisfying creatures who destroy earth for personal gain, this was what I was feeling. Apologetic to the needs of earth hit me like an astroid. I spent a good two hours in the woods talking to the trees and petting the grass in my own love for earth, for having compassion in what matters most. When I made my way out of the woods I whiped my eyes dry and walked around the fair, looking at rocks and different peices of jewelry that people were selling. I felt connected to all the people I spoke to, they were in their own energy, I could feel them thinking their own thoughts, and the ones walking around with broken hearts and sad optimism. I sat down with a friend I went to high school with and I started telling him about himself, about his striving character and how all people are like dirty dish clothes, they are all used up but thats what makes them so beautiful. I remember saying that to alot of people, and I felt so much love and compassion for them it has never been so clear in my life as to why I am here, I was a mirror and when people can see themselves not through judgement but through truth they can change out of self love. I wanted to be that mirror. I think empathy and judgement can be mistaken for one another. While some people are out there telling people they are broken in some sort of method to destroy someones spirit or make them feel worthless, there are those of us who can see a broken heart and instead of telling them with hidden agendas we tell them out of love, and once someone knows that they can be seen, they feel naked, they feel that someone understands. Depending on how open the person is, they can either take it as judgement or an option to open up and make changes. I have often been told that by observing the human race I am also making judgements, but let me ask you when you hear me speak, who am I speaking for? If I make a broken mass about my own desires, that I dislike it, that I hate people for being the way they are, that is judgement. You will always hear me say that I hope really good things for those who have wronged me for I am the one who suffers when I harnis negative energy against them. I can look at a man and say "he is wearing a pink shirt" -that is an obervation, a judgement often times sounds like this "wow, he is wearing a pink shirt, he doesnt look good in it because pink is an ugly color" not only is it not my part to say what he looks good in, but I would be harnising a resentful energy against someone I dont even know, and for what? Humans are conditioned to self serve, which can be out of ego or out of love. When we truly love ourselves and forgive those who have hurt us we not only nurture our spirits but we nurture others as well. The drive to nurture others is based on our desire to take care of ourselves and the knowledge we obtain during the journey of self love is so intense and uplifting that to hold it in would be wasteful if we didnt show others how we got to where we are. You will know you have reached your most loved self when it becomes harder to hold in all that information that got you into that self love state.