SOAP LAKE - A drum circle in Soap Lake is the gathering point to foster community and reconnect with nature, according to two locals who are heading up the circle.

“That’s the biggest part of why we are doing this, just to bring the community together, especially after two years of COVID-19,” said Dusty Bolyard.

Bolyard and Blayne Walsh are two of four owners of Cloudview Kitchen in Soap Lake that have taken up the task of hosting the drum circle each time it is held. The circle drums from sunset to the rising of the moon, which is about an hour, at the sundial at East Beach Park.

The drum circle is held on a weekend day closest to the full moon, Bolyard said. He explained that if the full moon occurred on a Monday, organizers would hold the circle on the prior Sunday evening.

Bolyard said the circle is a great way to meet others in the community and create a space that doesn’t have any particular ties to any specific groups, parties or other affiliations.

“It’s kind of a way to tie in just being able to commune together as a community and leave (behind) whatever is attached to you there,” said Bolyard. “You’re just coming together in peace and in love and community.”

The first drum circle was held Aug. 13, the night of the annual Soap Lake Paddle Races and Moonlight Paddle. Bolyard said they intend to continue to hold the drum circle through the winter and that it is open to anyone in the community who would like to join. He noted that if people don't have drums they can bring another percussion-type instrument or just sit and listen to the beat. They also welcome people dancing to the beat or whatever they feel inspired to do.

As part of their circle, they hold a small ceremony at the beginning and end where they blow into a conch shell and burn sage during the event.

Bolyard explained they burn sage because he was taught by his Salish Elders about the medicinal properties of sage and working with sage as a connection to one’s ancestors.

“(Sage is) a way to honor where you come from and connect with the land,” said Bolyard. “A way to tune in to a deeper part of yourself and your humanity and our connection to the earth; cleansing the space so we can all share each other’s heart.”

The beating of the drums mimics and represents the beating of a heart, Bolyard explained, which adds to the connection the organizers want people to feel at the circle.

Bolyard and Walsh also said that the Soap Lake and Columbia Basin have been gathering places and sacred spaces for indigenous peoples and that connection can still be felt.

“There’s such a foundation already set for healing, harmony, wholeness and community,” said Walsh.

Both Walsh and Bolyard feel like it is special that so far they have been able to have recurring participants of all ages and backgrounds in their circle and hope to continue to foster that as time goes on.

“It’s about love and community,” said Bolyard. “It’s about creating a space where you can meet your community and know who each other are and start investing into each other as a community again. We’ve had so much isolation and (things that have) caused so much separation so this is a time to be one people. One heart, one love.”

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at [email protected].