Our visit to Grand Junction was like old home week. Our organizers, Ray, Peggy and their kids, have hosted the tour for 10 years and their place is like a second home for us on the road.
Our schedule was off to an auspicious start as it was His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Birthday. We woke up early and Ray and Peggy joined us for a special morning ritual. In the evening we invited the community to celebrate his birthday with us. We had a great turnout, did a special puja, sang happy birthday, and all shared cake and tea afterward.
Of course no visit to Grand Junction can be complete without our visit the Division of Youth Services (adolescents that are locked up). This is always one of our highlights. Our good friend Jeff (a teacher there) always arranges for us to do and presentation and talk for the kids. Then we get to have lunch and visit with them. The kids are so receptive and really love spending time with the monks. On a side note, the facility is really nice and the monks thought it compared to a 5 star hotel back in India. They wondered how much the parents had to pay to send their kids there =).
Our main event was the construction of a Manjushri mandala at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. This is such an active and special art center. They have so many workshops and activities for the community it was great to see and be a part of. The mandala was sponsored by the kind people at the Earthwise Foundation and our dear friends Ray and Peggy.
All of our evening events were hosted by the Riverside Multicultural Center. The director, Juanita, is a dynamo! She is the force behind the center and has her hands full trying to make sure stays afloat. It is an important part of the community and, with this recession, funding is a challenge. It is a beautiful space and we were able to do all our events there – from talks, to video presentations, to our full stage performance.
All and all, a great week – topped off with the dissolution of the mandala and a “dinner with the monks.” Ray and Peggy hosted a fundraiser dinner and the monks cooked a traditional Tibetan meal featuring momos. Good food and friends.
