FD flap FAQ
FD Flap FAQ
April, 2006
This document is a follow-up to a Transition FAQ about Firedance that was originally posted in March, 2006. That document responded to questions about Adam Fleischer’s role in what was then planned to be the Firedance Festival 2006, following the purchase of Firedance, Inc. by Raven Marquez. The first FAQ stated that Adam had turned over to Raven full control of the Firedance Discussion list, the Firedance.org domain, and all the assets of Firedance. It became almost immediately apparent that this was not the case, and so the Transition FAQ was pulled after only a few days. We are not reposting that FAQ because much of it referred to the planned Firedance Festival, which is now irrelevant since there will be no Firedance Festival. The FAQ below answers questions about what has happened since the Transition FAQ was posted and pulled, and about what is happening, now that Firedance Festival no longer exists.
1) About the Firedance Discussion Group - what's the deal with moderation/censorship? I thought you said Adam was no longer involved?
Yeah, we did say that in March, and we were mistaken. While Adam had put Raven on as moderator of Firedance Discussion following her purchase of Firedance, Inc, he was still the owner of the group. Because Raven believed Adam’s verbal assurances that he intended to transfer ownership of the Firedance Discussion Yahoo group to her, she allowed the Transition FAQ to be posted which said she controlled the group. In fact, when the Transition FAQ was posted, Adam responded by removing Raven as moderator of Firedance Discussion and changing the group status so that he approved messages before posting. As far as we know, that is still the status of the Firedance Discussion list.
2) What's the state of the contract between Adam and Raven, and how is it different than the last FAQ?
When the Transition FAQ was posted, Raven had signed a contract with Adam in which she purchased Firedance, Inc. and in exchange assumed the corporation’s debts and agreed to repay Adam a sum of money (out of festival registrations into the future) which she agreed was what he had invested in the corporation. However, Raven and Adam could not agree on the definition of “ownership.” When Adam took control of the Discussion list, and further said that she did not have the right to turn the organizing of the festival over to the community, Raven considered that a violation of the spirit of their agreement. Therefore, Raven has dissolved the Firedance, Inc. corporation, so that there could be a total and indisputable break between Firedance and any other event or gathering. The former Firedance Council has dissolved, and reformed in a new configuration as the Fire Family Council. Raven has chosen to let go of the contract with Camp Cutter, and a new contract has been issued to the Fire Family Council.
Because Firedance, Inc. is dissolved, Raven’s contract with Adam is null and void. Note that in order to dissolve the corporation, Raven was required to pay off of the corporation’s outstanding debt. Out-of-pocket cost to Raven to date is approximately $11,000, for a corporation whose debts were accrued before she bought it, and without receiving any physical assets or other corporate property such as the database and mailing list.
3) Does Firedance still exist? Is there going to be a Firedance Festival this year?
Firedance, Inc. no longer exists as a corporation in the state of California. Therefore, there will not be a Firedance Festival this year. However, there will be a new gathering in August arising from the ashes of Firedance, the Phoenix Fire Gathering.
Adam may, if he chooses, continue to use the Firedance name in the future, although he cannot reincorporate using that name until the grace period expires in the state of California. The Fire Family Council emphatically removes itself from any connection with Firedance, Inc. or any future events that Adam may choose to produce using the name Firedance, though we acknowledge his right to do so.
Regarding this, here is part of Adam’s response to Raven’s notifying him that she intended to dissolve Firedance, Inc.:
“Thank you for stating your respect of my plan and rights to produce FIREDANCE Camp, etc., and I will wish you well on any and all fire circle festival endeavors you may embark upon in the future.”
Though at times Adam has made it extremely difficult for us to move forward in our process of creating a sacred west coast fire circle event, many of us wish for him healing and wellness in the future.
4) What is the Phoenix Fire Gathering? Who is involved with it?
Phoenix Fire Gathering is a sacred fire circle event scheduled for August 10-13, 2006 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The event is produced by a group of people calling themselves the Fire Family Council. You will find a list of these people and their background information at http://firefamilygathering.org/bios.
The Fire Family Council does include many people who were formerly involved in Firedance. Nearly all of these people resigned or removed themselves from Firedance when Adam was the owner and Executive Producer – some publicly, some quietly – because of differences in philosophy underlying the management and production of the festival. The intention of the Fire Family Council has always been to build a community-owned and run gathering that will endure independently of any one or few individuals’ money or charisma.
5) How is the Phoenix Fire Gathering different than the Firedance Festival?
While Phoenix Fire Gathering will draw upon the same sacred fire circle traditions that originally underlay Firedance, elements that were specifically developed at or for Firedance will not be part of Phoenix Fire.
Elements of the fire circle tradition that the Council developed or learned from previous experience with other gatherings, will be a part of Phoenix Fire. Examples include the smudge gate, affinity groups, workshops focusing on aspects of the fire circle experience, and so on. And of course, the all-night sacred fire circles.
Phoenix Fire will include an affinity group focused on community organization structure and council process to support future community-building among members of the Tribe on the west coast. There will also be council meetings among the staff, and a heartsong council to which the entire gathering will be invited, to explore visions for the future of the fire circle community.
6) Will Jeff & Abbi be involved with Phoenix Fire Gathering?
Jeff and Abbi have been apprised of our plans and a conversation is beginning about how they might participate. The Fire Family Council does not want to duplicate the dynamics of Firedance, even as we want to honor the work of all those who created that festival. We will welcome Jeff and Abbi to Phoenix Fire should they decide to come.
7) Where can we go to keep up on info about Phoenix Fire Gathering?
Details about the upcoming gathering may be found at www.firefamilygathering.org. The basics of the site are up now, and more will be added in the coming weeks as plans solidify. There is also a new Yahoo group which will both disseminate information about the gathering and be a place for discussion of this transition and the community-building work of the west coast fire circle Tribe. You can join the new group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firetribecalifornia
8) Why should we trust these answers, when there was misinformation in the first Transition FAQ?
Certainly not “because we say so”! Only time and experience will tell. It is our intention to be as transparent as possible, and to move forward with integrity to build an organization that reflects the will of the community. We apologize for the misinformation that went out in the Transition FAQ, and hope that this FAQ will clear up any confusion.
This comment from the Transition FAQ is still true: “The evolution of this festival away from a single owner-operated model towards a community-owned model will be a process, not an event. Any member of the community who shows up reliably, takes responsibility, and demonstrates that the greater good of the community is their priority will be able to be a part of the decision-making process going forward.” We hope that many of you reading this will take us up on it, and we ask that anyone who has any questions or concerns bring them up directly, and we will do our best to address them openly. To contact us, email info@firefamilygathering.org.
April, 2006
This document is a follow-up to a Transition FAQ about Firedance that was originally posted in March, 2006. That document responded to questions about Adam Fleischer’s role in what was then planned to be the Firedance Festival 2006, following the purchase of Firedance, Inc. by Raven Marquez. The first FAQ stated that Adam had turned over to Raven full control of the Firedance Discussion list, the Firedance.org domain, and all the assets of Firedance. It became almost immediately apparent that this was not the case, and so the Transition FAQ was pulled after only a few days. We are not reposting that FAQ because much of it referred to the planned Firedance Festival, which is now irrelevant since there will be no Firedance Festival. The FAQ below answers questions about what has happened since the Transition FAQ was posted and pulled, and about what is happening, now that Firedance Festival no longer exists.
1) About the Firedance Discussion Group - what's the deal with moderation/censorship? I thought you said Adam was no longer involved?
Yeah, we did say that in March, and we were mistaken. While Adam had put Raven on as moderator of Firedance Discussion following her purchase of Firedance, Inc, he was still the owner of the group. Because Raven believed Adam’s verbal assurances that he intended to transfer ownership of the Firedance Discussion Yahoo group to her, she allowed the Transition FAQ to be posted which said she controlled the group. In fact, when the Transition FAQ was posted, Adam responded by removing Raven as moderator of Firedance Discussion and changing the group status so that he approved messages before posting. As far as we know, that is still the status of the Firedance Discussion list.
2) What's the state of the contract between Adam and Raven, and how is it different than the last FAQ?
When the Transition FAQ was posted, Raven had signed a contract with Adam in which she purchased Firedance, Inc. and in exchange assumed the corporation’s debts and agreed to repay Adam a sum of money (out of festival registrations into the future) which she agreed was what he had invested in the corporation. However, Raven and Adam could not agree on the definition of “ownership.” When Adam took control of the Discussion list, and further said that she did not have the right to turn the organizing of the festival over to the community, Raven considered that a violation of the spirit of their agreement. Therefore, Raven has dissolved the Firedance, Inc. corporation, so that there could be a total and indisputable break between Firedance and any other event or gathering. The former Firedance Council has dissolved, and reformed in a new configuration as the Fire Family Council. Raven has chosen to let go of the contract with Camp Cutter, and a new contract has been issued to the Fire Family Council.
Because Firedance, Inc. is dissolved, Raven’s contract with Adam is null and void. Note that in order to dissolve the corporation, Raven was required to pay off of the corporation’s outstanding debt. Out-of-pocket cost to Raven to date is approximately $11,000, for a corporation whose debts were accrued before she bought it, and without receiving any physical assets or other corporate property such as the database and mailing list.
3) Does Firedance still exist? Is there going to be a Firedance Festival this year?
Firedance, Inc. no longer exists as a corporation in the state of California. Therefore, there will not be a Firedance Festival this year. However, there will be a new gathering in August arising from the ashes of Firedance, the Phoenix Fire Gathering.
Adam may, if he chooses, continue to use the Firedance name in the future, although he cannot reincorporate using that name until the grace period expires in the state of California. The Fire Family Council emphatically removes itself from any connection with Firedance, Inc. or any future events that Adam may choose to produce using the name Firedance, though we acknowledge his right to do so.
Regarding this, here is part of Adam’s response to Raven’s notifying him that she intended to dissolve Firedance, Inc.:
“Thank you for stating your respect of my plan and rights to produce FIREDANCE Camp, etc., and I will wish you well on any and all fire circle festival endeavors you may embark upon in the future.”
Though at times Adam has made it extremely difficult for us to move forward in our process of creating a sacred west coast fire circle event, many of us wish for him healing and wellness in the future.
4) What is the Phoenix Fire Gathering? Who is involved with it?
Phoenix Fire Gathering is a sacred fire circle event scheduled for August 10-13, 2006 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The event is produced by a group of people calling themselves the Fire Family Council. You will find a list of these people and their background information at http://firefamilygathering.org/bios.
The Fire Family Council does include many people who were formerly involved in Firedance. Nearly all of these people resigned or removed themselves from Firedance when Adam was the owner and Executive Producer – some publicly, some quietly – because of differences in philosophy underlying the management and production of the festival. The intention of the Fire Family Council has always been to build a community-owned and run gathering that will endure independently of any one or few individuals’ money or charisma.
5) How is the Phoenix Fire Gathering different than the Firedance Festival?
While Phoenix Fire Gathering will draw upon the same sacred fire circle traditions that originally underlay Firedance, elements that were specifically developed at or for Firedance will not be part of Phoenix Fire.
Elements of the fire circle tradition that the Council developed or learned from previous experience with other gatherings, will be a part of Phoenix Fire. Examples include the smudge gate, affinity groups, workshops focusing on aspects of the fire circle experience, and so on. And of course, the all-night sacred fire circles.
Phoenix Fire will include an affinity group focused on community organization structure and council process to support future community-building among members of the Tribe on the west coast. There will also be council meetings among the staff, and a heartsong council to which the entire gathering will be invited, to explore visions for the future of the fire circle community.
6) Will Jeff & Abbi be involved with Phoenix Fire Gathering?
Jeff and Abbi have been apprised of our plans and a conversation is beginning about how they might participate. The Fire Family Council does not want to duplicate the dynamics of Firedance, even as we want to honor the work of all those who created that festival. We will welcome Jeff and Abbi to Phoenix Fire should they decide to come.
7) Where can we go to keep up on info about Phoenix Fire Gathering?
Details about the upcoming gathering may be found at www.firefamilygathering.org. The basics of the site are up now, and more will be added in the coming weeks as plans solidify. There is also a new Yahoo group which will both disseminate information about the gathering and be a place for discussion of this transition and the community-building work of the west coast fire circle Tribe. You can join the new group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firetribecalifornia
8) Why should we trust these answers, when there was misinformation in the first Transition FAQ?
Certainly not “because we say so”! Only time and experience will tell. It is our intention to be as transparent as possible, and to move forward with integrity to build an organization that reflects the will of the community. We apologize for the misinformation that went out in the Transition FAQ, and hope that this FAQ will clear up any confusion.
This comment from the Transition FAQ is still true: “The evolution of this festival away from a single owner-operated model towards a community-owned model will be a process, not an event. Any member of the community who shows up reliably, takes responsibility, and demonstrates that the greater good of the community is their priority will be able to be a part of the decision-making process going forward.” We hope that many of you reading this will take us up on it, and we ask that anyone who has any questions or concerns bring them up directly, and we will do our best to address them openly. To contact us, email info@firefamilygathering.org.
posted by tempestroyal at 4/05/2006
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