The three8six bonfire and drum circle gathering was another great success on Friday in New Smyrna Beach. The community came out in droves with party "equipment," rhythm and dance. There were djembe drums, hula hoops, glow sticks and glowing poi balls in full swing.
Karl Miranda, owner of Drum4wellness, and Chuck Theroux, who hand carves Earth Flutes in NSB, played artfully.
The ocean waves and pink sky provided the backdrop for the collective voice, which rose at sunset. About 400 people were there experiencing this rare, local drum release, as bodies swung wildly around the fire in a tribal dance of sorts.
Things got started around 7 p.m., and heated up at nightfall. I'm sure many people feel the same when I say "my only wish is that we could have played longer." (Unfortunately our bonfire permit expired at 11 p.m. and we had to clean up in order to remain good standing with the Volusia County Beach Patrol).
Miranda, who facilitated the recreational music making, said in addition to the good energy a circle like ours emitted, there are healing attributes from such community gatherings.
"There is no medicine more therapeutic than self expression," said Miranda, who does lots of community work throughout the county and caters to private events. "It's our first defense."
And there is research to support that. According to the therapy division of Remo drum company, HealthRHYTHYMS, group drumming reduces stress-related hormones and increases natural killer cell activity -- white blood cells that seek out and destroy cancer and virally infected cells.
In a 2001 study at a wellness center in Pennsylvania, Remo cited that researchers concluded drumming has the potential to change classic stress response characteristics.
Another study, published in 2005, details that recreational music making reversed 19 genetic switches that turn on the stress response believed to be responsible for development of common diseases.
Short summary: drumming can be good for your health.
Plus, you get to meet new people! (Hi Ron, Mari, Valerie and Robert!)
Now that you know it goes beyond a night of fun, it's time to start talking about what's next.
I know many of you hope we'll be doing this again soon, but we need your ideas for new locations and dates. Sea turtles are laying eggs and hatching May 1 through Oct. 31st, so the beach is off limits.
But as Robert said, while the beach provides great atmosphere, it's the drums and the people behind them that provide the energy.
So where to fellow Three8six people? Campground, a park or private property? Let's talk about it on this forum.
Also, if you're looking to drum this weekend, meet up with the Drum4wellness group in St. Augustine in front of Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum. Drumming begins shortly after Miranda's 11:30 a.m. radio interview in front of the museum on Saturday and will
continue every hour on the hour for 15 to 20 minutes for the duration of the day.