Our 2009 Festival is produced by

We celebrate and demonstrate sustainable activities with a local focus -- a gathering of, by, and for the Mendocino community.

CasparFest fills the old school house with dancing and the Village Square with music, artists, crafters, and "green" enterprises – all sharing traditions that connect with the sun, the planet, and the finest traditions of lasting technology from the folk of many lands over centuries. Renowned multi-instrumentalist and honorary Casparado Joe Craven leads Gertie, Caspar's reclusive Gorse Monster, on her annual procession amongst the booths, local musicians jam on the outdoor stage, and babies dance in the grass. Beautiful handmade objects are admired and change hands. Delicious locally-grown food is prepared and shared. From the top of the slide and the swings, children can see the ocean.

Caspar has evolved a consensual, inclusive form of governance that has achieved amazing success, including preservation of our lovely bit of ocean bluff and the Caspar Creek riparian habitat. Residents have adopted the goal of preserving and enhancing the quality of all life in Caspar for (at least) the next hundred years.

Caspar has ambitious goals for a small settlement, and to acheive them we have taken up partnerships with other local organizations that share our goals: we want to establish a comfortable place to gather, and we want to share it with our conservation partners to help them reach their goals. We want to create a village within a region where our children, and their children, will want to live, a place that will be kind to its elders and all living beings for a very, very long time. The proceeds from this Festival help us, and our partners, take our annual steps toward these goals.

Thank you for helping us celebrate.