We enjoy welcoming new and old faces to our festivals every year! This year we have a little of both.
Come join in their workshops or hear their amazing music! In no particular order, please meet our honored guests...
ANA WINTER
Ana Winter has spent years in
hiding – as a singer-songwriter, touring the folk circuit as a
‘girl-with-guitar’, in Toronto and across Canada. Her spiritual side
was always kept very separate and private from the music. This got
tedious. There were so many songs about the elements, mysticism and the
spirit, that never quite fit into a rock or folk modal. This got
frustrating.
Vocally, Ana never quite fit in – not quite the folksy voice; not
quite the rock voice; and not quite the pop voice, her theatrical and
classical training always emerged strong – and not quite right for the
place she was trying to fit in.
So….
Ana became the changeling – very slowly, morphing into herself –
pulling elements of her that were disjointed – writing (air), passion
(fire), music (water), business (earth) and spirit (akasha) – emerging
as a whole being in 2009. As you may or may not know, “those who know don’t say, and those who say don’t know”, her true wiccan name remains known only to her coven and confidents, but an element of it transformed into “Ana Winter”.
The ethereal-clear timbre of her voice, floats above the raw din of
an earthly electronica – elements of ‘Sarah Brightmen’ and ‘Tori Amos’
come through the rich fabric of music, rhythmically layer upon layer,
inviting you to come dance in the woods, and listen to your true heart.
Do Your Will
KEVIN GARDNER
Professor Kevin Gardner has been counseling people for over 30 years,
and teaching both in person and via correspondence for about 20 years.
He has spent more than 7 years as a Correctional Officer, doing Pastoral Counseling
with inmates on a near daily basis. A student of the Wiccan Faith since
the early 70's, Kevin Gardner was formally trained through, and a
graduate of, the Church & School of Wicca. In 2009 Kevin was
formally consecrated as a Bishop through Apostolic Succession and was elected into the Bishop's College of The Church of Seven Planes (www.sevenplanes.org), where he was assigned the states of Ky and IL to work with
and assist CSP Ministers. In 2008 Kevin accepted a Bishops appointment presiding over the Wiccan Diocese with Four Winds Fellowship and another Clergy/mentoring position with the Federal Prison System
in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is also enrolled with Vista Care as an
Interfaith Minister working with Hospice patients. Currently Kevin is
the High Priest of the Temple of Ishtar, located in rural Indiana, and a Professor of Spiritual Studies on staff for the "Interfaith Seminary" where he specializes in Wicca, Alternative Spirituality and the Paranormal.
Books
by Kevin Gardner include the Amazon Best Sellers "A Handbook For Wiccan
Clergy" and The Wiccan Minister's Manual, A Guide For Priests and
Priestesses. And Just released on September 21rst of 2009, "The Pagan
Clergy's Guide For Counseling, Crisis Intervention and Otherworld Transitions" Published by Waning Moon Publications.
Kevin has also had articles published in Circle Magazine, Fate
Magazine, Pan Gaia, and The Blessed Bee. In addition to this and his
teaching, he often gives lectures at local Pagan Gatherings, & New Age stores.
Kevin will be presenting two workshops for us this weekend. One for area Clergy and one for the public. Please see the Schedule of Events for more information!
RIO & RIVERFIRE
Niki and Brennan de Soto, better known as Rio and Riverfire, are the
co-founders of the WytcheHaven Pagan Festivals, the largest and longest
running in Arkansas.
Both are ordained interfaith ministers and Reiki Masters in the Usui
Shiki Ryoho method, and live on their 43-acre sanctuary, Pyrth Annwn,
in the Ozarks. Called to the path by Hearne in his early teens,
Riverfire is a third degree
in the hermetic tradition of Xohox and continues to study Celtic
Reconstructionism, High Ritual Magick and Norse traditions. He is also
an accomplished sculptor and enjoys communing with nature and the Fey.
Rio is a third degree high priestess in the Xohox hermetic tradition
and is the Dar of the Laughing Dragon Clan Coven
in Arkansas. They are parents to an eclectic family of furry children
and enjoy meeting new people and experiencing new places. Rio and Riverfire will be presenting workshops for us during the weekend, and if you have never heard them before or been in their wonderful presence, you are in for a treat!
Guests 
