Diablo Valley Pagan‘s monthly meet and greet will be held at The Mystic Dream this Friday, October 28, 2011, from 7:00 – 9:00pm. This monthly event, held at 1437 North Broadway in Walnut Creek, is a chance to meet and schmooze with local Pagan folk in the Bay Area. This free event is organized by Del Lavely of Diablo Valley Pagans and one of the only meet and greets of this kind in the Mount Diablo area.

Del Lavely recently interviewed with Pagan Newswire Collective Bay Area to answer questions about the history and mission of the Diablo Valley Pagan meet and great events.

 How long has Diablo Valley Pagans been in existence and what was your motivation for putting together this group?
Diablo Valley Pagans was started in October of 2008. My family and I had recently moved to the area. When I started looking around for ways to become more involved with the Pagan Community out here, I found that there wasn’t very many opportunities for people to meet, gather and socialize. Diablo Valley Pagans was how I hoped to address that lack. 

Do you feel that groups like DVP fill a void in the Pagan community and how do you see these types of gatherings enhance local Pagans?
There are so many ways that different Pagans approach their faith – many are drawn to join (or start) covens, some prefer to practice in privacy – but I think most Pagans can benefit from having the opportunity to meet, network, and socialize with other Pagans. There are something in the neighborhood of dozens, if not hundreds of Rituals, classes, and what have you going on all the time in the Bay Area, but I think that during the structure of a ritual or class it can be difficult to make friends, to have a conversation, to build a community together. So, yes – I think that DVP fills a void by providing that opportunity.

Organizing a Pagan group or gathering can be taxing at times. Have you felt that the local Pagan community has been receptive of DVP or have you had a variety of hurdles in putting these events on and building them with the locals?
There have been many times that people have said that organizing Pagans is rather like herding Cats, and I would have to say that to be true. I’ve found that while many Pagans say that they value the resource of having community, few are willing to put in the effort to attend and be present, to share in the responsibilities, or at the least support those who have the responsibilities. There have been months where people will say that they are coming to an event – and on the day of the event, no one shows. It can be disheartening. There have been other times, where more than you ever expected show up, and they help make up for the days when they don’t. As an organizer, I think it’s important to be persistent and reliable, even in the face of disappointments, and to keep hoping that if you continue to support the community, the community will eventually come to support you. 

 What changes have you noticed in the community of DVP participants from when you began this group and now? 

When DVP first started, there were a few people that drifted in and out of events – coming one month, not coming for several, etc… Now I’d say that we have a semi-reliable core group who usually attend. We also started out at a Coffee Shop, but eventually relocated to have our monthly event hosted at The Mystic Dream in Walnut Creek. Having a location we could count on, and the support of the Mystic Dream has meant a great deal to the stability of Diablo Valley Pagans, and has allowed us in turn, to support a local resource for Pagans and a local small business. 

Are there upcoming projects or events that the community can look forward to from DVP?
There are a few changes being worked on for DVP, hopefully to be completed soon. There’s a new Website in the pipeline, with a community calendar that I’m hoping to launch in the next few months. As time goes on, I’m hoping to extend the leadership to include a committee to help expand on and oversee more events. I’d like to see our current event, The Meet & Greet at the Mystic Dream grow, and perhaps offer more events in the future.

If someone is interested in getting involved with DVP, where should he or she go to access additional information?

The best place to find current information about Diablo Valley Pagans is to check us out on Facebook. If someone wants to become involved, they can send me a message on Facebook to Del Lavely, http://www.dvpagans.com/or an email to Del@Dvpagans.com .