Opening Ceremony Speech Ojai Day 2025

River giving speech for opening of Ojai Day 2025. Note: Video is only half the speech, the rest is written below.

We are here to celebrate our lives, lived together here in the Ojai Valley on this beautiful day.

We recognize and acknowledge that we inhabit the stolen land of the Chumash people, the first peoples of this land.

Because of genocide, violence, appropriation and bigotry we are sharing the privilege of living together in this sacred valley. We acknowledge the Chumash people, past, present and future.

The colonization of the Chumash people has enabled us to live and work within the abundance of the Ojai Valley and experience the blessing and power of their homelands. Even though we recognize the harms of the past we must acknowledge that people in the Chumash communities are still experiencing harm and discrimination. I enjoin us to share the loving intention for the healing and thriving of the Chumash people.

In recognition of this energy exchange and the debt of gratitude we acknowledge and support the Chumash culture, traditions and people. We commit to the ongoing and evolving understanding of stewardship of the land and to the physical and spiritual heritage it embodies.

As we celebrate the spirit of community today, we seek to live side-by-side in mutual respect and support. May we be guided by unifying principles so we may live in love, peace, freedom and harmony. Together we are better.

We are gathering round the fountain with the the Ojai Day Mandala, largest public art piece in Ojai, painted around. One of the teachings inherent in the mandala is that it is impermanent and points to the ephemeral nature of life. Nothing lasts forever, forms are always changing, in different ways and at different rates.

This year the 33rd annual Ojai Day Mandala lived in full colorful glory for about 33 hours. It came to life, with four “water diamonds” coming off the sides of the fountain, like waterfalls, and with four large hummingbirds, flying in with the winds of change. It came to life with the rain, the blessed rain, the life-giving rain, the first rain storm of the season bringing water to our parched land.

The Mandala is just as beautiful, faded and a bit different, as what was painted on top of other paint was washed away. Its form is still strong and its beauty and message are here to be enjoyed by those who look and see.

Thank you to the City Of Ojai for sponsoring us this year, thank you to the Mandala Medicine Movement team members who joyfully served the community at our painting event. Thank you to the painters and thank you to the observers. It takes a village!

Our method of community engaged art is based on 13 connective principles:

Inclusivity,  Respect,  Honesty,  Love,  Humility, Creativity, Generosity,  Spirit of Place,  Cohesiveness,

Freedom & Improvisation,  Peace,  Wisdom and  Legacy.

In Legacy the seven generation principle guides us, that in our actions we consider their effects on the next seven generations. The Mandala Medicine Movement, which comes out of our 30+ years in Ojai, has been created to bring our method of community engaged art to other towns and cities. Our mission is to share this way of making mandalas as points of connection, beauty and peace and to teach the next generations.

Ojai has been my home for 47 years and in that time I have witnessed the intention renewal of the Chumash language, songs and culture. I have seen the hawk populations soar, as well as pelicans flying over the seas again, and the condor coming back from the brink of extinction.

I spent time with Grandfather Semu, who worked to revive the Chumash culture.  My beloved friend and auntie Roberta Cordero, who passed way earlier this year, was a Chumash Culture Keeper and helped to revive the old songs.

When I worked with Illusions Children’s Theatre in the 1980’s I had the privilege of learning the Chumash Welcoming song from Vincent Tummamait, our current elder Julie Tummamait’s father.  Nine years ago I realized we needed an opening ceremony that centered around Julie and blessing the Chumash homelands, this is the heart our opening ceremony today as we celebrate Ojai Day.

We are in changing times and we are here together right here, right now. This is the place we live together. The Mandala is a celebration of this place, and our way of co-creating this colorful expression is working together to make something big and beautiful that cannot be done alone. It is our love letter from the community to the community.