Fewer than expected showing up for Rainbow Family gathering

KILKENNY — The remoteness of Kilkenny in the White Mountain National Forest appears to be reducing the turnout for the annual Rainbow Family gathering. The gathering officially runs from July 1-7 but members start arriving weeks before to prepare the kitchens, water systems and latrines.

At a briefing with the local community providers group Monday, U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer Hilary Markin said there were about 375 family members on-site that day.

“That is quite a bit lower than what we've seen in the last few years,” said Markin, noting that by this point in 2019 there were 1,000 members on-site at the gathering in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin.

She said the Forest Service believes the Kilkenny gathering will be much smaller than the 5,000 number originally forecast.

This is the first time one of the annual gatherings have been held in the White Mountain National Forest. Markin said traffic on social media indicates some Rainbow Family members are gathering in other states rather than driving all the way to northern New Hampshire.

“I think just the remoteness and the location that far in the corner of the United States is preventing folks from traveling,” she said.

Asked if the forecast for the rainy weather to continue into the holiday weekend is playing a role in keeping attendance down, Markin said it may play a small role but noted rain has not stopped the group from gathering in the past.

Markin said not much is happening at the site which she described as very quiet. She said family members have set up at the southern end of the Kilkenny Loop and estimated the footprint for the gathering is about 300 acres. She said eight camps have been set up and work is ongoing setting up kitchens, water lines and building latrines. The Forest Service has resource specialists taking water samples and providing expertise and guidance.

A closure order is in place making the Bog Dam Road one way to allow access for fire and emergency vehicles. The speed limit has been lowered to 25 mph.

Gene Smithson, commander of the Forest Service’s national incident management team, agreed that the number of people at the site is growing very slowly and said there are not a lot of people there. He said there were no issues or concerns to report at this time.

Gorham Fire Chief Phil Cloutier said there have been no fire or EMS calls from the gathering so far. He said he understood Gorham police had a few incidents with family members at Walmart but indicated they were not serious. He noted the July 4 holiday is a busy one locally given Gorham’s traditional celebration.

Berlin Police Chief Daniel Buteau said there have been no incidents in the city. He said the department has gone around to local stores to advise them of the gathering and none have reported any problems so far.

“They really aren’t causing any problems at this point,” he said.

Buteau said traffic does seem busier and he expects it will get heavier as the July Fourth holiday arrives.

Smithson said there will be some bad elements and the Forest Service has law enforcement on the ground. He said extensive drug use is one common problem with the gatherings, estimating drug-related offenses make up 80 percent of law enforcement’s work load.

Local health care providers said they have adequate supplies of Narcan available.

A loose knit group of people from across the country, the Rainbow Family claims as an unorganized group it has no leadership that could apply for a permit. The family said they use the gatherings to pursue social and spiritual activities and pray for world peace. The peak of the gathering is on July 4 when the community spends the morning in silence, building to a community prayer for peace at noon.

At an earlier briefing, the Forest Service was asked why it was allowing the gathering to take place given that the Rainbow Family has not apply for a special use permit as required. Smithson said they are seeking the group’s compliance but there are simply too many to evict. Instead, he said the Forest Service has shifted its focus to protecting forest resources, mitigating and minimizing impacts to the community and protecting the public and incident responders.

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