This festival, QuinkFair, starts with two unusual challenges: embracing a new word and a dare.
The first idea is that there is an opposite of trauma: a specific event occurs and afterwards you experience healing or a shift in your life in a more positive direction. We have invented a new word to describe this phenomenon: a quink. Falling in love is often a quink, giving up a destructive habit or toxic relationship is a quink, finding a new hobby you love can be a quink. Spiritual enlightenment is almost always a quink.
The dare is that you will open yourself to experiencing this quink thing. You can increase the chances of experiencing a quink by talking about them, by listening to other people share their transformative experiences, or by putting yourself in an environment that’s different from your usual day to day life. We don’t pretend that this search for quinks is a scientific endeavor, it is far more mysterious than that, we don’t really know how to create quinks, they are more elusive than that. But we do believe there is potentially great value to experimenting with these stories and ideas. This festival is designed around tinkering to spark a quink.
One of the tools we are using is the Dream Alliance. This small group workshop is where you tell a small group of strangers what you really want in life and they give you their advice in two forms. First, they share their advice as though they are your best friend – concerned for your welfare, wanting you to succeed and thrive. Then you get the reckless advice – out of the box thinking, break things and move fast – less concerned about being safe or sustainable. It turns out in post-Dream Alliance interviews, participants say the most useful advice is often a modified version of the reckless suggestions. This is likely, in part, because people can often forecast what the best friend might say. Thus reckless is novel and with novelty there is breakthrough. We are daring you to opt into this type of experience.
You don’t have to be actively on a path of self discovery and improvement to have a wonderful experience at QuinkFair. You can look at the quink idea as a type of frame. Experienced workshop facilitators are asked to discuss their own transformative journey that inspired them to share the content they are offering. Books that changed people’s lives will populate our tiny library and someone you have connected with might press one into your hands. Because of its proximity to many intentional communities, including income-sharing ones, a piece of the festival is introducing participants to this unusual and sustainable lifestyle.
We believe that the more we recognize quinks and we talk about quinks, the more we create the opportunities to have them. In this way our lives can become richer and deeper and far more satisfying.
It is important to point out this is a celebratory event. We are not serious folks. There are parties, dances, bubble machines, riddle gardens, bonfires, and adult high consent spaces. There is great food (we feed you!), fun kid activities, spiritual readings, and drum circles. Dedicated volunteers help usher in a safe, joyful, and supportive environment for the weekend.
Who is making this happen? Artists, transformative festival organizers, and folks who live in intentional communities. We are organizing the fourth QuinkFair event, which starts July 20th at the Conference site of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia. Get your tickets at quinkfair2023.eventbrite.com/, and join us July 20-24, 2023.