PaganFest aims for awareness and acceptance

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on July 5, 2022.

Herald photo by Justin Seward Laurie Henry looks at the jewelry while talking to Dream Chasers owner Judy Schacher at the PaganFest on Saturday at Galt Gardens.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

It’s a non-profit society aimed at promoting tolerance and acceptance and on Saturday, the Southern Alberta Pagan Association was at Galt Gardens spreading its word.
After a hiatus because of COVID-19 restrictions, the association was able on a cool and cloudy day to finally stage its festival again.
The mission of the association is to “promote Pagan acceptance and awareness throughout Southern Alberta by organizing and providing an annual PaganFest for the community,” says the organization.
Its mission is also “to promote equality all Pagan faiths, spiritual paths and belief systems represented by the members of the Southern Alberta Pagan Association through the celebration and exploration of traditional Pagan holidays.”
Ariella Hughes of the society said Saturday morning “we are a non-profit organization that is working to educate and raise awareness and acceptance of the Pagans of Southern Alberta. The festival is just our yearly event to let the community know that we’re here,” she said.
Educators were scheduled to go on stage to talk about smudging or shadow work, she said. And musical entertainment was also planned.
The definition of “Pagan” depends on who you’re talking to, said Hughes.
“A really broad definition is anything that doesn’t fall under the five world religions. But if you want to narrow it down, generally people who follow a Pagan belief system follow the cycles of the earth so we honour the seasons, we honour the moon cycles. Different times of the day are also very powerful for us as well and we just try to honour the earth.
“But it’s a highly individualized practise. Some people may incorporate witchcraft into their practise, others may not but Wiccan would follow under Paganism,” added Hughes.
“I don’t feel like we can promote without acceptance without accepting other faiths as well. So if other people are coming and they’re trying to protest, I welcome conversations because it’s how we educate.”
Saturday’s festival was the association’s fourth. The first was staged in 2017 and the association itself was founded in 2018. The first festival was staged by one person and after he left the province, a group of his friends decided to form a non-profit organization, Hughes said.

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