Talbin MacGillivray serves as president of Pagan Pride of East Tennessee, which is seeking vendors for its open-to-the-public Broom Closet Trade and Sell on Saturday, Aug. 15, beginning at 11 a.m. The group holds regular meetups, including one on Aug. 14, and is currently applying for membership as a chapter of the national Pagan Pride Project, which would convey 501(c)(3) non-profit status to the group.
Will the Broom Closet Trade and Sell be different than other yard sales?
It will be pretty much like any other group yard sale. We offer it because people sometimes need a place for a yard sale and it ends up also being a small fundraiser for us. One difference customers might notice is hand-made items for sale. We have some very talented and crafty—pardon the pun—people in the pagan community.
What beliefs draw your group together?
I can’t speak for all pagan groups. There are so many paths, each with their own views and practices. Our group generally follows the notion that a pagan or neo-pagan has a spiritual path that involves one or more of these: honoring, revering, or worshiping a deity or deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal, or tribal mythology; practicing religion or spirituality based upon shamanism or magickal practices; creating new religion based on past pagan religions or futuristic views of society; religious or spiritual attention focused on the Divine Feminine or Earth-based spirituality.
Is the Broom Closet title an inside joke?
Very much so. Our community, and most like it across the country, borrows the term from the gay community, and it is apt given the circumstances. Someone who is “out of the broom closet” is said to be generally open about their spirituality.
What will money raised go toward?
Anything we raise after expenses goes to funding other community events, with most of it going towards our main annual event with national speakers: Pagan Pride Day, this year on Sept. 19. It’s a full day event that benefits Second Harvest in Sevierville, and we raise funds to pay for the venue and other overhead.
What’s a big challenge facing PPET?
Beyond actually getting well-organized, our biggest challenge was finding a home for our Pagan Pride Day event and funding it. We’ve had community centers and other venues refuse to even talk to us or return our phone calls because of the name. Those willing to host were often out of our price range or too small. Eventually we found the Sevierville Civic Center, which is affordable and a good size, and the staff has been absolutely amazing. I don’t think we could ask to be treated any better.
How long has the organization been a going concern?
This incarnation of the board, which is far more organized and “official” than past versions, has been together just over thr3ars. Before that, there were much more loose versions that planned the event, but nothing incorporated or working towards full non-profit status, though lessons learned from earlier versions certainly laid the groundwork for our current success.
Is the community pretty active?
Yes. A lot of other organizations out there focus more on the religious aspect, where we focus more on the social, community, and outreach aspects so we keep busy. Even when things are not going quite as planned, everyone pitches in and stays flexible, and sees that everything is taken care of. We also have a former PPD organizer from the Nashville area on the board, and his input has been really valuable. We’re not compensated financially in any way—all of our time and energy is freely given, and we’re glad to do it. And there are intangible benefits. Seeing a large group of community members having a great time or getting big hugs and thanks at the end of an event are definite positives.
What’s one blatant misconception about the group?
The biggest misconception is probably that pagans are all a “bunch of devil worshipers.” There simply isn’t any truth to that. People have a tendency to fear things that are different, causing them to label those things as harshly as they can to justify their fear. The “devil” is a Christian concept that really has no place in our belief system. It’s all very sad, and very frustrating.
How long have you been a pagan?
My grandfather is a retired Baptist minister, so that was pretty significant in my younger years. My mom though, she always worked to let me find my own way. Celebrating and communing with nature was a huge part of my growing up years, and I was encouraged to enjoy the outdoors and respect it, so some of my pagan beliefs were with me from a very young age. I would say I was “unconfirmed,” if you will, but pretty much a pagan by my late teens. By my early 20s I had joined the local community and have been pretty active ever since.
What type of people will be at this or other Pagan Pride events?
I would imagine mostly people like you and me: people who work hard for a living, have families, wear T-shirts and jeans, or maybe even the occasional belly dancer skirt. Pagans look like everyone else, because they’re people like everyone else—people who happen to believe just a little bit differently and perhaps are a bit more open minded than some others.
Are the merely curious welcome at your meetups?
The only thing we ever ask is that visitors be respectful. Beyond that, welcome!
The event, free of charge for shoppers, is Aug. 15 in the sanctuary and on the lawn of Westside Unitarian Universalist Church (616 Fretz Rd.)
For more information about Pagan Pride and its meetups or to register as an event vendor, go to: paganprideofeasttn.org
Rose Kennedy came to Knoxville to work as an editorial assistant on 13-30’s Retail Appliance Management Series and never saw a reason to leave. Her “so uncool I’m cool” career among the alt weekly newspaper crowd has led to award-winning articles on Dr. Bill Bass and the Body Farm and cyber-bullying at West High School, and treasonous food columns about preferring unsweet tea and feeling ambivalent about biscuits.
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