ConFest Ethos

The product of 30 events, a distinct community ethos has gradually coalesced resonating the broader concerns of the alternative sector. This ethos has several aspects.

First, participants are expected to adhere to several rules or agreements, normally conveyed in the newsletter and information sheets handed out at the Gate. These rules generally cover health and safety issues, environmental responsibilities, and the contingencies of 'living together'. Participants are informed that they should observe: alcohol and drug restrictions in certain zones; the 'no pets' policy; fire and car free zone regulations; and the instructions for taking home non-compostables or separating garbage for recycling (according to the Toc IV fact sheet, 'rubbish is Very Bad Bad Karma', as is, for that matter 'sneaking in'). They are also encouraged to: avoid using biodegradable cleansing agents in or near waterways; use ground wood or firewood provided rather than damage trees; and drink/cook with drinking water only.

In the main, DTE is concerned with the gentle encouragement of appropriate behaviour as opposed to the oppressive discouragement of inappropriate behaviour. There is a tendency to avoid blanket prohibitions, as the ticket message 'alcohol and other drug abuse is not welcome' (rather than 'no alcohol and drugs') indicates. And what are popularly regarded as appropriate behaviours are encouraged, especially in new-comers, by the example that is set by many. I think this lies at the heart of the ConFest ethos, and is revealed in the information communicated to entrants. For instance, a handout 'ConFest Agreements' states:

We care for all children - especially near the river ... We consider the needs of others and allow them their own space. We don't make loud noise late at night. Those of us who smoke and drink consider others (we don't smoke in workshops or enclosed public space). We take communal responsibility for observing these agreements and for the work involved in running ConFest.

This last theme is perhaps the most critical measure of a successful event. After all, ConFest, in all of its stages (planning, building, operation and dismantling), relies upon the input of volunteers, upon people taking responsibility. Therefore, along with the expectation that participants observe the various rules listed above, everybody is encouraged to contribute their skills, labour, and interest to the unfolding and maintenance of the ConFest community, and, thus, assume equal share in the ownership of the event-space. Volunteering is promoted as a crucial and, ultimately, rewarding experience as conveyed in the statement:

[r]elax, volunteer, participate and enjoy every minute of Your ConFest. [It's] a labour of love. Volunteers are the lifeblood of ConFest. Volunteering is a unique experience. Everyone is granted the privilege to volunteer. (Toc IV 'fact sheet')

Volunteering engenders a sense of belonging and purpose, a fact exemplified by Graham, a long time ConFest worker and director. Formerly harbouring 'a feeling of worthlessness and lack [of] ability', his involvement with ConFest provides him refuge and proved to him that his skills and abilities were valued. Indeed, ConFest's rewards are immediate and of the immanent kind - they are not delayed or transcendent, as a Maleny maxim 'all volunteers go to heaven' (Lewis and Dowsey-Magog 1993:203) would suggest.

DTE, as they are keen to stress, is not a service provider 'putting on' an event, and participants are not clients. Indeed, participants are reminded upon entry that:

[a] ConFest is a self governing, self starting, self generating, self organising group of people ... The ideal ConFest site development is to do nothing and let people develop what they need ... Facilities develop as people get together and plan and start the work' (Toc IV 'ConFest on a page' gate hand out).

Accordingly, 'despite breakdowns in organisation, the people themselves create ConFest and overcome difficulties. The people themselves are the most powerful ingredients for a ConFest' (Sage). As such, ConFest Committee members and other ConFesters are generally indistinguishable from one another.13 New processes coalescing in DTE - devolved powers of responsibility, horizontal organisation, interdependence, the championing of an 'organic' group process - provided the nourishment for processes on-site.

In their commitment to specialised tasks, many ConFest Committee members and other workers demonstrate a noble ethic of selfless service, often emulated by others. Indeed, some ConFesters modify their own behaviours as they are swept along by individuals' enthusiasm for making 'it' happen. There are those who are inspired by the random acts of kindness of those who care more for the realisation of a successful ConFest than any personal recognition for their laborious contributions. Laurie is a notable illustration of this. He conveyed to me that, at his first ConFest, it took him twenty minutes to find 'the emitter of the pattern', David Cruise. Three years later Laurie was a director and a key site crew member. Instrumental in establishing Earthlink (Community Food) and committed to garbage recycling, his desire is to see others adopt such duties, to find his own replacement: 'you just make sure ... the thing carries on going. It's not dependent on you as a structure. And that's the hardest thing to do when you play these roles in ConFest, is not to get people dependent on you'. A selfless, transitory custodian of the organic process and the Spirit of ConFest, Laurie desires to see ConFest reproduced such that the experiences of novices are not unlike his own.

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