Arts and the craft

Here’s a quick multiple-choice test: What comes to mind when you think of the word paganism?

(A) Fairuza Balk levitating in thigh-high stockings in The Craft.

(B) Pentacle necklaces like the one I bought at Hot Topic!

(C) I don’t know what pagans do, but my minister says they’re all going to hell.

(D) Paganism is a collection of earth-based faiths that predate Christianity and are usually centered in a reverence for the cycles of nature and/or a divine feminine spirituality.

If you chose any of the first three responses, you’re in need of a little cultural education at the sixth annual Pagan Pride Harvest Festival. If you chose “D,” you’re probably already there.

The festival is a part of the Pagan Pride Project, an international effort to increase understanding of pagan religions through community events and charity work. Since the project was launched in 1998, the number of pagan pride festivals has jumped from 18 to 135 annually. Sacramento’s Pagan Pride Harvest Festival consistently has been one of the largest in the country, with more than 2,000 attendees each year.

You can meet the pagans in your neighborhood for the admission price of one non-perishable food donation for the Cornucopia Food Closet. The two-day event begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. In addition to live music, food and children’s activities, the festival offers workshops on a diverse selection of topics, such as storytelling, candle magic and parent-teen communication. (And let’s not forget pagan Twister!) The festival will be held at the Placer County Fairgrounds, located at 800 All American City Boulevard in Roseville. Visit www.sacpaganpride.org for a complete schedule.