The Clown Town Healing Fest happened in Phoenix last weekend; it was a vision about how we can heal better in community; the culmination of a solid year’s work and a decade-long dream. Clowns, were the vehicle through which we mobilized a communities healing resources to inspire people to explore the many paths available to them to participate in staying healthy.
On Friday we presented a workshop for almost 100 healthcare professionals interested in magnifying their healing power by using “clown therapies”. Those workshop participants became “Truth Fairies” the following day, and spent 20 minutes talking to people about anything they ever wanted to ask a health professional who had the time for such an intimate conversation.
Saturday morning was a bright, sun-shiny day, and the clowns gathered to parade through the downtown streets, finally ending up at Arizona Center where we were welcomed by the Mayor and received a Native American blessing ceremony. The walkways and green areas were teeming with exhibitors, workshops, a main stage with speakers, and clowns galore; there were cardiac resuscitation mannequins, burn and trauma units, massage therapists, musicians, face painters, dancers, yogis, mask makers, pet therapists, nutritionists, Truth Fairies, a blessing booth, and much more. For six hours an estimated thousand people learned, laughed, and played with us. I can’t adequately describe the overwhelming sense of joy that filled the air, but I encourage you to view and read some of the commentary of others to get a feel for its’ impact.
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/humankind/2016/03/02/81198444/
It was worth all the effort, and I basked in that loving energy as the community shared its healing stories. It was the perfect antidote to rancorous Presidential debates that continue to escalate our divisiveness and fears.
When it was all over my grandson asked me how I felt and I told him I felt as if I had taken a leap from the highest ski jump and stuck the landing; I could never have made it without the support of my immediate and extended family. I told my grandson that surrounded by such love is how I want to go when my time comes.
To everyone who participated in making this dream come true I say thank you, and please keep in touch with us for updates, photos and future plans for the next CTHF.
I’m so glad it went so well. Congratulations ! Thanks for your dedication.
So very pleased to hear the initial endeavor was a success! I would not be surprised to learn there was a decrease in the crime statistics for the weekend from the energy created by such an event. Well done!
Dr. H: CONGRATS!!!!!! I’ve been following your writings about this event and so HAPPY to hear it was a success!!!! WE just moved back to California and will be in Arizona much more often. It will be great to celebrate with you in person. Thinking of you ALWAYS and sending so much LOVE…
Congratulations to you, Car, and your team,l for this phenomenal event! Thanks also for teaming up with Patch Adams and I to begin providing Humanitarian Clowning for Veterans of all countries; military service members who have experienced military (life) trauma and moral injury stress. At the CTHF, we talked with the citizens of AZ about addressing moral injury by taking Veterans from the USA and Canada on a pilot clowning trip to Guatemala City in October 2015. One of our Veterans said it all after clowning for the first time in orphanages, hospitals, senior homes, and the streets of Guatemala City – “I would say this week is worth the same to me as the entire program at (the VA) and that’s not taking anything away from them…they are trying their best to help us. The openness to be a child again, to be able to wear a smile on my face 24 hours a day for seven days, is just fantastic. I have a joy inside of me that’s just bursting to get out. I can’t wait to get home and show my family.” This is the kind of success we can have by opening ourselves up to interventions promoting wellness and healing of the spirit versus only treating illness.