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Feature Articles - Pole of Hope

Pole of Hope

Pole of Hope in Grand Forks, BC

When J.J. Verigin, executive director of the USCC (Doukhobor - Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ) here in Grand Forks, asked if I would help pull together an opening ceremony for the Festival of Freedom at the Forks, held on July 25-27, 2003, I was given a file of information on a Peace Pole. He had been to a Peace Pole ceremony in the South Slocan and found it very moving.

As I looked through all the information, I saw that over 200,000 Peace Poles have been erected in 180 countries around the world. The file even included specifics on the size and shape of pole; usually eight feet tall, an obelisk with the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in many languages painted or engraved on the sides.

But the Festival of Freedom at the Forks has more than world peace as its focus. The theme “Building Cultures of Peace and Respect for Human Dignity and Ecological Integrity” calls for more than a Peace Pole.

J.J. agreed to the idea of a Pole of Hope and Bill Dergousoff, who pulled together all the talent for the festival, made mention that Doug Sagal was wanting to volunteer in some capacity. This was perfect. You see, Doug builds log structures. What better way to represent Grand Forks and the Boundary than with a log from the land, carefully selected and prepared.

Within hours of the initial phone call Doug had found a special cedar that he debarked ready. How tall will it be? No idea. It was all to evolve, organically.
Over the next few weeks Doug appeared at my front door to chat, discuss the idea, and brought little models of what he thought a Pole of Hope could be. We talked about the idea of a temporary, changeable, evolving structure that could be added to, taken away from, and remain a focal point to be used for each Festival of Freedom in the future. It was agreed there would be a spiralling of holes around the pole to insert arms to hold ribbons of the colours of the rainbow to blow freely in the breeze, and whatever else in the future the festival may want to include.

As the pole evolved, so did the opening ceremony. Both were organic, fluid. Both were designed to bring in the energy of hope, to spiral love, peace, harmony, respect, dignity and integrity into the festival.

The night before the opening of the festival Doug dug a deep hole and lay the pole to one side. I was given the privilege of being the opening act for the whole weekend on the Friday afternoon and chose to sing the song “Asha”. It is based on four very powerful words taken from different spiritual understandings around the world: “Om”, Buddhist meaning creation; “Shalom”, Hebrew for peace; “Asha”, Zoroastrian for following the path of righteousness or purity in thought, and in Hindi and Parsee meaning hope; “Inshallah”, Islam for God willing. While I sang “Asha,” Doug, along with six volunteers from the audience raised the pole. The Festival was truly underway!

Later that evening Delia Metcalf led 20 drummers with the heartbeat inviting the life force and the heart into the festival. Marilyn James, spokesperson for the Sinixt Nation - the Lakes People, welcomed everyone to the territory; Terry Jacks, known for his multi-million-seller record “Seasons in the Sun” and also known for his environmental work, introduced Sophie Thomas, traditional healer from the Carrier Nation who gave the blessing; Chief White Buffalo Man With Many Feathers brought greetings from the Okanagan Nation; Patrick O’Doherty brought greetings from the City of Grand Forks, and so too Tony Lodder on behalf of the Regional District of the Kootenay/Boundary; Allie Relkoff and Brydie Todd, accompanied by Tracey Garnett, sang “Just One Voice” written by Ann Mortifee; John J. Verigin, CM, OBC, honourary chair of the USCC, brought greetings for world peace; Friends in Harmony, the Doukhobor Choir from Castlegar, sang “Arise New Force” and “Shine On”; Lydia Sawicki of the Boundary Multicultural Society brought greetings for multiculturalism; six young Japanese dancers, under the direction of Taki Yamamura from Greenwood, performed traditional dances; Ira Rilkoff performed two beautiful songs; Nadine Deschiron brought greetings for the environment; and finally the clear young voices of Clare & Darbye Turner, Io Hanson, Selena Demenoff, Emily Garrison and Catherine Chernoff sang “What a Wonderful World.”

As Clare Turner called out, “Everybody join in,” the audience was invited to sing along with:

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,
Are also on the faces of people going by.
I see friends shaking hands, saying, “How do you do.”
They’re really saying, “I love you.”
I hear babies cry. I watch them grow.
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
(Words and music by Weiss & Thiele.)

Pole of Hope - another view

While everyone sang, Doug climbed the Pole of Hope and was handed the arms and their coloured ribbons one at a time by volunteers positioned around the pole. Each arm was placed in its appropriate hole, spiralling in the energy of peace and hope. Throughout the weekend the coloured ribbons fluttered away in the breeze.

The pole’s free-form structure leant to imagination and creativity. People commented, “Well, you get to interpret it whatever way you want.”

Later, on Sunday evening, as Terry Jacks sang his moving song, “Seasons in the Sun”, we prepared for the closing ceremony. Doug stood ready by the pole and drummers waited in the wings to bring completion to the festivities. Doug had specifically asked that I sing “Perhaps Love” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane”, both by John Denver, as he climbed the pole and one by one handed down the arms and their colours. Each was handed over to a member of the Ladies Committee from the USCC, to honour their hard work over the weekend and their faith in providing the seed money for the festival. The Ladies Committee is now the caretaker of the Pole of Hope until next year.

To close the festival the drummers once again brought the heart beat and Chief White Buffalo Man Many Feathers gave an honouring song and left us with words of love.

So next time you drive by the USCC Community Centre you will see the Pole Of Hope standing straight, without its arms, waiting quietly for next July when once again the grounds will be filled with music, culture, food and festivity at the 2004 Festival of Freedom at the Forks.

For more information visit the Festival of Freedom at the Forks.

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