Jane E. Driscoll, co-local coordinator of Rhode Island Pagan Pride, at her home in Woonsocket.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

Get your broom out of the closet, and maybe yourself, too. Saturday is Rhode Island Pagan Pride Day.

Make way for witches, and heathens, too.

“A lot of Pagans are not out of the closet, so to speak,” says Jane Driscoll or Woonsocket, coordinator of the event. “They are afraid of retribution in the workplace.”

Well at Pagan Pride Day there’s strength in numbers, and in workshops, vendors and live music. More than 300 people are expected to attend the all-day event in Johnston War Memorial Park.

This is the eighth year for the event in the state, and the 10th year in the country, with now 130 celebration sites. It’s an opportunity, organizers say, for Pagans to celebrate their beliefs, and to be with other Pagans.

“There is fellowship,” Driscoll says. “They know they have a place to come where there are lots of kindred spirits and they won’t be judged.”

There will be about 40 vendors selling books, herbs, candles and crystals. There will be 20 workshops, on such things as “History of Wicca,” “Heathen Soul Matrix” and “Pagan Toolbox 101.” And there will also be seven bands, playing everything from Celtic music to hard rock.

“This year we wanted to get away from what we call fairy music. We want a more diverse group of musicians.”

Pagans themselves are diverse. The word is used to refer to many different beliefs, such as Wiccan, Druid and Celtic.

“The common denominator among Pagans is they usually revere a pantheon of gods and goddesses, not just one god. They revere the spirit within each person as being sacred, and they follow the natural seasons of the year. We’re very eco-friendly.”

Some Pagans are heathens, which comes from the Norse tradition.

“People say ‘heathen?’ But if they stop and think, they would probably classify all Pagans as heathens because we don’t believe in the Christian god.”

People have a lot of misconceptions about Pagans, according to Driscoll, 61, who has been a Pagan for 30 years.

“There is the dancing naked in the woods misconception, the live sacrifice misconception and the misconception that we all dress in black and look like Goths.”

For the record, Driscoll says her “ritual clothes” are her “street clothes” and “I look perfectly normal.”

In addition, Pagans not only don’t worship Satan, but don’t believe in Satan. And they don’t conduct rituals involving blood.

However, by coincidence, the Rhode Island Pagan Pride Day will be conducting a blood drive for the R.I. Blood Center.

“There is usually a need for more blood around the holidays. It’s really easy to donate blood. You sit in a chair and pump a ball.”

Since the first Rhode Island Pagan Pride Day, Driscoll reports attendance has doubled. And that’s only counting the people, not the spirits.

“I have not seen a ghost,” Driscoll says. “But that does not mean they’re not there.”

R.I. Pagan Pride Day is Saturday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., in Johnston War Memorial Park, 1583 Hartford Ave., Johnston. Admission is free. However organizers urge those attending to bring a nonperishable food item for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. For more information, visit www.ripaganpride.com.

brourke@projo.com