See over here for a schedule grid.

Saturday:

10-11 am: Opening Ritual: Connecting within Community
Ritual space (room D in the conference area)
Come join us to celebrate the opening of Pagan Pride’s weekend of events. Share hopes and dreams for our communities to take out into the world around us.

11am to noon: Keynote Panel: Thinking, Planning, Doing
Ritual space (room D in the conference area)
Join our panelists from local Pagan groups to discuss projects and goals that go beyond our individual Pagan paths and religions. Our panelists will talk about what they’re doing, why they think it’s important for our community, and what they see as the challenges and needs in the future.

12 to 12:30pm: Lunch break

12:30 to 1:30pm: Meet the Pagans
Ritual space (room D in the conference area)
Our traditional panel returns. Join us to share information about Pagan groups and activities in the area. Got something you’d like to share? Please plan on 2 minutes each to allow everyone time to speak.

1:45 to 2:45pm

Pagan Etiquette presented by Magenta
Room J (3rd floor conference center near door C and D)
Pagan etiquette doesn’t involve what kind of fork to use, but it can tell you what kind of knife to use – and why you should not touch tools belonging to someone else without asking permission first. Join Magenta in a discussion of how to be a *polite* Pagan.

Herbs and Kitchen Magick presented by liz johnson
Room E (3rd floor conference center near door A)
Join liz for a discussion of common culinary herbs and their uses in kitchen magick

Lost Gods presented by Steven Posch.
Room F (3rd floor conference center near door B)
The Craft hasn’t always been a two-deity, God-Goddess system. No, back in the day we witches had a whole pantheon of our own to contend with, just like everyone else: the big, messy, roiling, dysfunctional Family of the Gods. And oddly enough, this most ancient way of seeing fits our postmodern worldview like the proverbial catskin glove. Who are these Divine Others? What have They to do with us? Come find out (if you dare): postmodern polytheology at its most terrifying! Steven Posch is the keeper of the Minnesota Ooser, and one of the grand old men of the Twin Cities Pagan community. Gods help us all.

3pm to 4pm:

Choices presented by Draig
Room F (near door B of the 3rd floor conference center)
Join Draig for a discussion of what to look for within yourself when you search for a group, as well as other things to consider in group work. Draig is a 3rd degree GOTT, Hellenic-Alexandrian Witchcraft.

3pm to 5pm:

1st and 2nd Generation Pagans facilitated by Chad and Bryn Kelly
Room J (3rd floor conference area near door C and D)
Parents and teens – let us join in an exploration of each other’s perspectives and experiences. We have all faced different trials and challenges on our paths; in this discussion let us talk about what those were and how we learned from them. Non-pagan parents, pagan parents, and pagan teens are welcome to share the trials and challenges faced by choosing this path. (Chad and Bryn are also facilitating our teen space during this weekend.)

Ritual: Sorgitzak Open Ritual presented by Veronica Cummer and Janus
Room D (3rd floor conference area, near door C and D)
The Gods of Old Europe want us to remember! Join us for a ritual involving dance, song, and direct interaction with the Gods and Goddesses of the Sorgitzak. The Sorgitzak are Witches of ancient Europe, followers of a path that was all but forgotten. Their Gods wish to reclaim Their place in our history, hearts, and spirits, as well as to aid us in re-awakening the Blood. For the Blood, once awakened, can lead to knowledge, the vision sometimes known as the Second Sight, and to the ancient Witches’ Sabbat also known as Benevento. Veronica Cummer and Janus have been exploring this path for about 14 years now.

Archetypes presented by Kore
Room E (3rd floor conference area near door A)
Join Kore for a discussion of how archetypes can help us better understand ourselves, our view of the world, and the ways we interact with others, our communities, and our Gods.

4pm to 5pm:

Chant workshop presented by Pixii and Brent
Room F (3rd floor conference area near door B)
Come learn some common (and uncommon) Pagan chants and songs. Pixii and Brent know a wide number of songs used within the community. Got one you want to share? That’s welcome too.

Sunday

11am to noon:

Call Me Darren or, When your SO is Pagan, and You’re Not! presented by Ed Eastman
Room J (3rd floor conference center, just inside doors C and D)
A dicussion for non-Pagans who’ve taken up with a Pagan. How to avoid friction, deal with relatives, and other tips to help ensure domestic harmony. Ed Eastman is an atheist who’s been married to a Pagan for over ten happy years.

Seeking Learning presented by Jenett Silver
Room E (3rd floor conference area, just inside door A)
Confused about where to start finding out more about Paganism? Had trouble finding reliable resources or getting books from libraries? Join Jenett (a librarian and priestess) to learn some tips and tricks about where to start and how to keep going without tearing your hair out.

Introduction to the Shamanic Journey presented by Laurie Ford
Room F (3rd floor conference area, just inside door B)
Around the world, shamans have been journeying to the lower and upper worlds to seek advice, help, and wisdom. Even if you have not had a traditional call, these methods are open to all people. This workshop will be “hands-on”, giving an introduction to Harner method journeying, and then doing a short journey, accompanied by drumming. Bring a bandanna or other eye covering, and something soft to lie on.

12 to 12:30: Lunch break

12:30 to 2:30pm

Introduction to Slavic Heathenry presented by Volkhvy
Room J (3rd floor conference center inside doors C and D)
Slavic heathenry is the indigenous cultural and spiritual traditions of the Slavic speaking peoples and their modern descendants. The Slavs currently number about 280 million wordwide; located mainly in Europe, the Americas, and Australia. We will briefly cover their early history, languages, cultures, rituals, cosmology, calendar, and mythology.

Hellenic-Alexandrian Ritual presented by Draig and Our Lady of Celestial Fire
Room D (3rd floor conference area, near door C and D)
Join Our Lady of Celestial Fire for a Hellenic-Alexandrian celebration of life. All are welcome!

Crossing Boundaries moderated by Camille Holthaus
Room E (3rd floor conference area, just inside door A)
Do you identify with more then one non-mainstream group? We all reject some mainstream assumptions, but we aren’t always accepting of each other. This moderated discussion will explore crossing the boundaries between groups. Questions for discussion will include: are the different elements of your identity accepted in all the groups you participate in? How comfortable are you with people who also are a part of a group you don’t belong to? How can we (or should we) be more accepting and supportive of each other? Participants from the 2008 BECAUSE conference discussion are welcome to join us again.

Stepping Into Beauty, Balance and Delight: Creating the Worlds We Wish to Live In facilitated by Donald L. Engstrom-Reese
Room F (3rd floor conference area, just inside door B)
Come join us as we explore the Cultures of Beauty, Balance and Delight. Let us together, dare to take the next steps onto the roads of sustainable joy, abundance, and plenty. We will ask such questions as: What are the Cultures of Beauty, Balance and Delight? How can we actively nurture these cultures? What are the next steps needed to fully manifest them? We will journey into the spirit realms in order to drink deep from the Wells of Inspiration. We will open ourselves to imagination and ingenuity. We will celebrate the possible. Bless the Bees.

2:45 to 3:45 pm:

Ritual Possession presented by Veronica Cummer and Janus
Room J (3rd floor conference area, just inside doors C and D)
A workshop/discussion on ritual possession, also known as channeling or “drawing down.” What does it feel like, how does it fit into ritual, how you can learn to invoke and be invoked into, how you can tell if it is happening or not, how to write good invocations, plus the use of tools and/or other items in conjunction with invocations. We will share personal experiences of ritual possession from over 15 years of practice, both from a male and a female perspective. Janus and myself have both been traditionally trained and initiated and regularly use ritual possession/channeling and I have had a book based off of channeled material from old European Gods recently published.

“Join us at the Center” of The Reiki Circle presented by Maggie J. Sterba and Amanda Gustafson, Reiki Masters
Room D (3rd floor conference center, close to doors C and D)
Welcome to our Reiki Circle!!! Open to the public all Healing paths & levels are welcome. Experience the flow of energy and arrive at your Center. Please join us in the center, if you wish to receive healing energy or join us around the edge of the circle if you wish to send energy “with the intention for Our Highest Good”. Amanda and Maggie offer Reiki Circles at Evenstar Books and Eye of Horus on a regular basis, as well as working with students and other Masters.

Introduction to Tarot presented by Laurie Ford
Room E (3rd floor conference center, just inside door A)
Tarot card images are archetypes, deeply embedded in our culture. Therefore, everyone in our culture is capable of doing basic interpretation, with just a little training. This workshop will be a quick introduction to the images, and a demonstration of how to use the cards to probe for psychological issues. Participants may bring their own cards, and practice using the techniques described.

Dreaming the Sacred Land presented by Robin Grimm
Room F (3rd floor conference center, just inside door B)
Have you ever imagined living in community with “The Land?” In March 2009, Harmony Tribe is going to present a 2-day workshop about how to organize an ecovillage or intentional community, featuring noted author Diana Leafe Christian. We’ll get to the nuts and bolts then, but for now let’s start dreaming! What kind of community would you like to live in? Who is there with you? What would you like to do to generate income? Think big! Dream grandly!

4-5pm:

Without Words : Closing ritual
Join us in sharing music and sound as we give thanks for our weekend and our community. This ritual will use no words – gesture, body language, and movement can say a lot without speech. All levels of mobility and musical skill welcome.