THE WORLD'S BIGGEST FAMILY REUNION

As Many As 10,000 Folks Will Gather In The Woods Of West Virginia In A
Campground Of Diversity

MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST, W.Va. - Hundreds of hippies camped out in
the woods. Thousands more on the way. No one in charge. A prevailing
distrust of authority running through the gathering.

What could possibly go wrong?

Not much has - at least not in the early days of the 34th annual
gathering of the Rainbow Family of Living Light. The family is a loose
collection of hippies, peace lovers, tree huggers, anarchists, punk
rockers, pacifists, activists, vacationing professionals and pretty
much anybody else who decides to show up and pitch a tent in this
giant campground of diversity.

By Saturday a fternoon, an estimated 1,400 people had arrived at the
gathering site in Pocahontas County, W.Va., about a three-hour drive
from Roanoke.

The number is projected to reach 10,000 by next weekend, when the
event culminates with a mass prayer for world peace on July 4.

"This is like an alternative culture," said Tommy Huck of Texas, who
has attended a least a dozen Rainbow gatherings over the years. "We've
got to do something; the world can't keep going the way it is."

There are no leaders here, no organizational structure, and precious
little membership requirements. "If you've got a belly button, you're
Rainbow," Huck said.

But with this tent city soon to surpass the population of Pocahontas
County, the U.S. Forest Service has been watching the group closely.

Several hundred squatters were forced to move from an unapproved
camping spot near Elkins last week because of environmental concerns,
and rangers have found themselves at odds with a population that
frowns on laws prohibiting marijuana use and public nudity.

"You've got a gathering where the standards for behavior are pretty
wide," said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Steve Stine, who estimated
that about 320 citations have been issued so far. Many of the offenses
have involved unapproved group camping, leaving fires unattended or
letting dogs run at large.

Stine said the service's National Incident Management Command issued
more than 2,000 citations at last year's gathering.

The annual event is usually held in a national forest. So far, there
have been no major problems or disturbances at this year's event.

"I've been pretty favorably impressed by what I've seen so far," Stine
said Saturday as he made his rounds through the 1,000-acre site.

Around him, Rainbow members in various states of dress and undress
basked in the sun or sought shade in the wooded campsites at the edge
of a large mountain meadow. Outdoor kitchens with names such as the
Green Circus (as in both forest green and marijuana green) and Shekina
Cafe served free fire-cooked meals to whoever wandered in.

Later this week, when construction of the Granola Funk Theatre is
completed, there will be live performances nightly. Other activities
include a Yoga Camp, the Center for Alternative Life Medicine and a
Kiddie Village.

A constant theme running throughout the so-called "intentional
community" is the participants' dependence on both nature and one another.

"This is such a great use for nature because we're not just here
hiking for the day," said a woman who identified herself only as
Celery. "It's so much more. People are learning how to survive in the
woods, and survive in a healthy way."

The gathering does not officially start until July 1. "We have a lot
of people who like to show up early because they have nothing else to
do," said Rob Savoye of Colorado.

Yet all is not totally peaceful among this peace-loving crowd.

Many Rainbow followers grumbled Saturday about what they see as
heavy-handed tactics by a government agency they call the Forest
Disservice. "We feel like a bunch of Native Americans who just got
forced on a reservation," Savoye said of the Forest Service's decision
to move them off their preferred site in the woods near Elkins.

Others talk of more sinister actions meant to break up this family
reunion for peace.

"At your family reunion, the cops don't show up with tear gas and riot
gear," said a man who would only give his name as Poncho.

"Actually, sometimes they do," a man sitting near Poncho
interjected.

The way the Rainbowers see it, even the government's insistence that
75 or more campers must obtain a group permit is an infringement on
their right to assemble.

"The national forest is our land," Huck said. "The First Amendment
says we have a right to do this. So we say we don't need that permit,
because our permit is the Constitution."

Besides, Savoye said, there's no one in charge to sign the
paperwork.

On Tuesday, dozens of the campers will have their day in court. Rather
than require the family members to drive to the federal courthouse in
Elkins, the Forest Service has arranged for a temporary courtroom in
the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center, which is adjacent to the camping
area.

Even that has been met with skepticism.

"As many gatherers are camped in the woods without any consistent
method of being contacted, the court's last-minute movement seems to
be a trap to issue 'failure to appear' warrants to gatherers," family
member Karin Zirk of California said.

In an e-mail, Kirk said the "unduly unauthorized unrepresentatives" of
the Rainbow Family plan to hold a "disorganized press conference"
outside the nature center Tuesday to voice their concerns.

Stine said the Forest Service is just trying to protect both the
campers and a natural setting that is not the best spot for a crowd of
10,000.

"I think the concern is that when you bring in that many people,
you're creating an instant city," he said.

"Since the Rainbow Family seems to have a dislike of government and
feels that regulation is an impediment of their First Amendment
rights, we run into problems where they just come in and plop down,"
he said.

Rainbow members say they work hard at cleaning up each gathering
sight, leaving it in better shape than before they arrived. Thousands
of campers can have the same positive effect on the forest as a
wildfire does, they say, such as clearing away underbrush and deadwood.

While insisting that everyone is welcome, it seems that this group is
also asking for some privacy.

"We're just a bunch of peaceful people in the woods," Savoye said. "If
they left us alone, we wouldn't bother anybody."