A few members of our community have expressed concerns about our Night of Revelations event on Friday. The event is a reception for the “Shades of Magic” art exhibition at Blakely Hall, which is fun, mystical and fantasy based. Many pieces were inspired by the fantasy adventure show “The Witcher” on Netflix, in addition to other pop culture references. The gallery and its related event are not religiously based, nor meant to offend any group.
We chose to have this exhibition in October in conjunction with Halloween to add a fun element to our Halloween events and décor. This gave us the opportunity to combine the gallery reception with our annual Halloween event for adults. Because a few of the pieces in the exhibition are inspired by the art of tarot cards (which have become quite mainstream), we decided having a tarot card reader at the event would be a fun addition. This event is not meant to be taken too seriously – we’re also serving witches brew and doing a costume contest, as we do at our adult Halloween event every year.
There are many schools of thought regarding tarot card readings. The form of Tarot that attendees may choose to experience at The Night of Revelations is meant to be a tool for self-reflection, and not intended to impact life decisions or the future.
One of the things we love about Issaquah Highlands is our community’s diversity in both backgrounds and beliefs. This also means that not everything we do will align with all belief systems.
While this event is meant to be a fun evening of sharing art and conversation with friends and neighbors, we understand that some of your beliefs may lead you to have concerns about tarot card readings and other forms of divination. We strive to create an inclusive environment that aligns with our mission to build community, so we look forward to introducing events that represent your beliefs. To that end, we want to hear from you and welcome your ideas for future art exhibitions and events that may reflect your beliefs and the diverse population of our community.
Our gallery shows and related events are volunteer driven and not funded by residents. Highlands Council is funded by community enhancement fees, not homeowner dues – homeowners don’t pay anything to Highlands Council until they sell their home.
Lindsey Pinkston is the executive director of Highlands Council and a Wisteria Park resident.
