3,500 "Rainbows" settled in for annual gathering, another 500 expected in North Georgia overnight

By the time all is said and done, about 4,000 people will participate in Wednesday's main event for the 2018 Rainbow Family Gathering in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest near Dahlonega.

 

At last report, some 3,500 so-called Rainbows were already settled in the Nimblewill Gap area, and forest officials think about 500 more will trickle in overnight. 

 

Terri Salemi, Public Information Officer for the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, said a few more forest service roads have been closed because of traffic coming into the area. She said people can still enter the area, but they most likely will have to hike in to the location where Wednesday's day of prayer for world peace will take place. (The latest road closure information is available here.)

 

Salemi also said law enforcement has made some arrests and issued hundreds of warnings and citations - most for minor offenses.

 

"What we're dealing with is a very diverse group of individuals and with any large population, a certain percentage of the gathering participants can be expected to engage in illegal or socially unaccepted behaviors," Salemi said.

 

She said officers had issued 884 citations or warnings for a wide range of issues; 28 people have been arrested.

 

"[They include] public nudity, civil disobedience, drug and alcohol abuse, confrontations between the Rainbows and locals, abandoned or disabled vehicles," Salemi said. 

 

Salemi said not everyone will leave the area immediately, but most will start the return home on Thursday, July 5. 

 

After the area is cleared, federal, state and local officials will assess the national forest property to see how it withstood the event.