The Magic of Iola

There is something magical and incredibly important that happens when you enter these grounds.  We want you to pay attention to it and take a part of it with you wherever you go when you leave.  
 
These grounds are not a digital space, where algorithms serve you content to keep your attention and deliver you ads, and where extreme views go viral and are represented as mainstream.  We are living in a time that many forces seek to keep us divided, and polarization among people is at an all-time high.  
 
On these grounds, members of our local communities who don’t always get along and who don’t always see eye to eye put their differences aside to work hand in hand serving the tens of thousands of participants we welcome to the community one week each year.
 
On these grounds, participants come from all across America and beyond, all with different views on politics, values, religion, and more.  For more than 50 years, we have come together to share and experience the things that bring us all together instead of focusing on the things that drive us apart.  
 
When you are here with us, you are with your neighbors and family.  You are connecting with people face to face.  Take the time to realize and enjoy just how much we all have in common, and how many positive things we share.  More importantly, take that sense of human connectedness back with you when you leave, and share it with others.
 
Welcome Home to Iola.