The main outdoor stage at the Raw Spirit Festival. All of these photos were taken by Mark Conrad, so a big thanks to him for so generously sharing them. Unfortunately, when I was preparing for the trip I failed to do anything so left-brain as remember my digital camera and USB cable... : ) I managed to pack five pairs of shoes though ; )
At the Get Fresh stand with our Canadian distributors Janette and Alan of Zen Zero, an optimum health centre in Courtenay, British Columbia. We shipped 1,000 copies of Get Fresh to the festival and sold 990. Many who bought it were doing so for the first time and there was clearly some serious bedtime reading going on, as on days two and three people kept stopping me to say how much they were enjoying it!
This is Cafe Raw Bliss in Sedona, where we had lunch on our last day. I'd have happily had one of everything on the menu. Until we drove out here all I had seen of Sedona was the one mile stretch of highway between my hotel and the festival. That was wild wild west whereas other parts were just like being in a cartoon!
With Raw Food Coach Karen Knowler (left). She had a coconut smoothie, a carrot and ginger soup and a spirulina salad. I had a 'Garden Of Eden' salad and a big ole slice of banana cream pie. The cake counter at this place was something else and out back they had a chocolate room. And a cute little garden with wheatgrass instead of flowers on the tables.
Lunched up and full of life force, here we are outside the cafe with photographer Mark.
Then, with little over an hour until we had to head back to Phoenix to fly home we hiked up to the Cathedral Rock vortex. There is information about Sedona's energy vortexes here. I used to naively believe anything anyone told me, the crazier and more 'new age' the better. Not anymore. Call me a sceptic but when I read that some of the vortexes have masculine energy and some feminine I burst out laughing.
After a half hour climb, as we sat looking over at the view you see in this photo, we all agreed we felt a subtle pulse of energy. I felt it actually in my body and it could have been the result of the rapid ascent. But as this feeling was different from what I feel after a workout in the gym, it was more likely to have been the altitude than the exertion; Sedona itself is at 4,500 feet even before you start climbing. Did I feel energised after my vortexperience? Yes, but I'm not sure what I felt was any different from what I feel any time I am in an area of breathtaking natural beauty. So the jury's still out for me...
The question on everyone's lips now is: as the raw food revolution continues apace, what will the Raw Spirit Festival look like next year and will there be a venue large enough to continue it in Sedona? Already this year it took on Woodstockian proportions and as all of us in this field can tell, this is just the start. The next Raw Spirit Festival will be in September 2008. See you there!
Stop it, stop it....SO wanted to be there... Sarah, many thanks for such an interesting and detailed account of Sedona, and wonderful photographs (you and Karen look like sisters!). Any plans for a Fresh Network Festival this year?
Sarah responds: You're very welcome, Debbie! Yes, there are big plans under way for the next Fresh Festival. I wish I could say more... All I can say at this stage is that it won't necessarily be in 2008 but it *will* definitely be beyond spectacular : ))
Posted by: Debbie Took | October 17, 2007 at 11:20 AM
you were so blessed too that you and karen managed to get there through customs..unlike kate wood eh. appreciated the reports on the fest.
Sarah responds: My heart goes out to Kate. I'm thankful we passed through without incident and extremely sorry she didn't. She was sorely missed at the festival.
Posted by: shine | October 19, 2007 at 04:08 PM
Beautiful post. How can we say that feminism has done its work until each of us can walk on the street alone without fear, annoyance, or embarassment?
Posted by: Lu | May 09, 2010 at 03:09 AM