The Rainbow Gathering is back on the Allegheny National Forest – on a limited scale.

On Friday, the ANF issued a press release announcing that a regional Rainbow gathering has begun and will continue into early July.

“The Rainbow Family of Living Light has chosen the Allegheny National Forest for a regional gathering,” Public Affairs Officer Christopher Leeser said. “The gathering is taking place in the vicinity of Forest Road 339 on the Marienville Ranger District.”

“The event will coincide with the Fourth of July holiday, and participants have already begun arriving,” Leeser said. “The forest will experience the highest concentration of participants during the first week of July.”

National Rainbow Gatherings have been held on the Allegheny National Forest at least twice before – in 1999 in Elk County, and in 2010 in Warren County.

Those gatherings included thousands of people.

This is a smaller event, but there will still be a meaningful increase in the population for a while.

“The Rainbow Family is a loose-knit group of people from throughout the United States and other countries,” Leeser said. “Each summer they hold a national gathering to pursue social and spiritual activities and pray for world peace.”

“Since 1972, the event has taken place on a different national forest each year,” he said. “The Rainbow Family chose Carson National Forest in New Mexico as their 2021 national gathering location. National Crowds range from 2,000 to 10,000 visitors. This year there are also simultaneous regional gatherings occurring nationwide. Attendance could reach 1,000 or more participants at the gathering on the Allegheny National Forest.”

“We understand there may be impacts to our local communities and our forest visitors,” Marienville District Ranger Rob Fallon said. “We will work with our partners to minimize the effects on our neighbors and the environment. All visitors to the national forest are expected to obey federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and we take the equitable enforcement of these laws seriously.”

“An event of this size can have significant impacts on traffic, communities, local resources, residents, and visitors,” Leeser said. “Local businesses can expect to see Rainbow Family participants visiting stores and buying food and supplies along routes to the gathering site.”

“Roads on the Allegheny National Forest in Elk County are expected to become congested during the event. Please travel with caution, obey traffic laws, and consider recreating in less visited areas of the forest,” he said.

The Forest Service has activated an incident management team with experience managing these types of events, Leeser said. The team is working in unified command with local authorities to lessen environmental impacts to the site by providing information and enforcing laws.

Anyone interested in more information about the Rainbow Family gathering may call the ANF incident information line at (814) 313-4525.