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ISSUE NO. 03

FESTIVAL GUIDECONTENTSCALENDAR:

FEATURES:

JANUARY

FEBRUARY & MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCT / NOV / DEC

FLOW ARTS

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............28

........................................29

.......................................30-31

...................................44-47

.....................................48-54

........................54,64-65

......................66-67

..................67

.......................68-75

Thank you to our amazing photographers, Kyer Wiltshire, Jazzwall Sharad, and Zipporah Lomax, our work would not be possible without your immense talent and great generosity.

JEDI RISING

ELECTRONIC AWAKENING

FINDING OUR CONNECTION

........................................18-26

.......32-40

...56-60

CREDITS:

GET TO KNOW US!

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PUBLICATIONS

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SHOP FESTIVAL FIRE

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OUR BLOG

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NEWSLETTER

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SERVICES

FESTIVAL FIRE is a central hearthfire, a source of news and inspiration serving the transformational

festival community. Follow our blog, watch our calendars for upcoming events, get dressed for fest in our store and enjoy our digital publications – packed

with photos, interviews and important dates!

“Transformational Festival” refers to cultural transformation or the re-invention of humanity on earth. These are not your ordinary music events.

We are building a culture of caring - for each other, ourselves, our neighbors, our planet. These

gatherings are collaborative open-sourced villages, devoted to experimentation and inspired co-creation of the world we want to live in. And we believe that YOU, that everyone, has gifts to bring to the feast!


w o r l d r e n o w n e d s h a m a n & h e a l e r

SHAMANISM

HEALING • RITUAL • JOURNEY • CEREMONY • PILGRIMAGE

www.SHAMANISM.com

Explore. Learn. Discover.

festivalfire.com | 9

This year we’ve got a BONUS SURPRISE for you!

We collaborated with your favorite artists from fests

and put together a second flipbook, called

WELCOME BACK!

8 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

It’s filled with free track downloads...hours and

hours of music. A little bonus gift to follow

your Festival Guide. Enjoy!

Are you ready for another stellar year in transformational festivals? And what a year ahead! The East Coast has exploded with more than half a dozen new events, and others are popping up across the Midwest. We had more than twice as many fests to squeeze into the Guide this year, and had to cut anything outside of North America, just so you could download it!

The movement is growing like crazy - if there’s an event you want to be at, get your tickets early – many are selling out. Be sure to watch our posts for early release dates.

Inside these pages, you’ll meet JEDIRISING, a fresh new theater troupe combining dance, music, fire spinning, flow arts, storytelling and lots more. (page 18)

We also look into ELECTRONIC AWAKENING, an exciting film telling the story of our move from Rave dance floors to outdoor weekend gatherings; read our interview with film maker Andrew Johner. (page 42)

And once again ELLIOT RASENICK, founder of Beloved Festival, shares his deep inspiration in Finding Our Connection. (page 66)

Enjoy the pages ahead my friend, and may your adventures be many.

This year, you’ll see more color, more flavor, more art, more music, and more workshops than ever before. The weather report says it’s going to be the hottest year on record, so pack plenty of sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat and your refillable water bottles…and take good care of each other!

Have a fantastic 2015!Saphir Lewis

THE FESTIVAL MUSIC SPECTACULAR!

As you navigate this guide, remember to CLICK! All Links in the Ads and Articles are Clickable.

to get yourBONUS GIFT!



Reuben Smith and David Priccophoto by Jazzwall

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HERE’S TO THE FESTIVAL PRODUCERSby Wesley Wolfbear Pinkham, October 2014

AMEN.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, splayed out on a couch at 2PM on a Saturday afternoon. Though the music thumps from just beyond the trailer, the need for sleep reigns supreme.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, reminding one another that you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Still, stretching themselves to the brink of exhaustion, sleeping with one lucid ear listening to the chitter chatter on walkie talkie squackboxes.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, stewards of land and guardians of initation. In celebration and ceremony, they stand at attention around spires of flame, at box office gates, at

information booths, reverential with obligation.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, engaged but not engulfed in emotional readiness, never completely consumed by the swirling energies, always grounding, grounding, grounding and

searching for consensus.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, the first on-site and the last to go to bed on Sunday night, when the magnitude of success and failure come rumbling through backstage. For those

few sets that you catch, for those few dance moves which burst from your tired limbs with singularity and expression. For those moments where time stands stills and the glowing crowd,

unaware of so much sacrifice, gives off the deepest expressions of gratitude to no one and everyone at once.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, golf carts stuck in mud!

Here’s to the Festival Producers, plumbers and electricians none! But you are today! You have leveled up so long as you have not become submerged in slosh or shocked!

Here’s to the Festival Producers, for today you have been a Parking Attendant, Healer, Cook, Negotiator, Security Guard, Sound Tech, Janitor, Volunteer Coordinator, Vendor, Artist, Flow Master, Jedi and Trembling Scared Up To Your Neck Tears Streaming From Every Pore While

You Make The Hardest Call Of Your Life That Only You Can Make. All before 11:00 AM and you didn’t even have time for coffee.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, champions of sleep deprivation, self-flagellating with responsibility and somehow sustaining a sacred vessel capable of modeling a new future

of community and creativity.

Here’s to the Festival Producers, who, when the morning light comes streaming in, get up and do it again.

14 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

Bliss Campphoto by Kyer Wiltshire

PURE ESSENTIAL OILSCO2 EXTRACTS

BOTANICAL PERFUMESESSENTIAL OIL TINCTURESTHERAPEUTIC FORMULAS

WIZARD ALCHEMY BLENDS10% DISCOUNT CODE: FESTIVALFIRE

JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH

GEOPARADISE

GeoParadise offers an innovative approach to building sustainable futures. Promoting music events around the world, bringing artists to the most beautiful environments on the planet, creating a symbiosis of entertainment, education and pleasure for our audiences.

geoparadise.org/events/tribal-gathering

JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 16, 2015 | PANAMA

ENVISION MUSIC, ART & SACRED MOVEMENT FESTIVAL

On the Southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica with the collaboration of a myriad of renowned artists and visionaries, both local and international, Envision provides a multi-dimensional community forum focused on art, music, movement, education and co-creation. Be part of a global eco-conscious movement that is shaping our future and experience the beauty of the landscape, healing undertones, artistic expression, and the “Pura Vida!” way of life.

envisionfestival.com

FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 1, 2015 | UVITA, COSTA RICA

16 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

Envision Festivalphoto by Kyer Wiltshire

Oregon Country Fairphoto by Kyer Wiltshire


meet

RISINGJEDI

SAPHIR: I know very little of your history, let’s start at the beginning?

DYLAN: From the beginning...I’m a performer (hoop dancer) and I’ve been doing that for about 3 years. I started to get the notion that I wanted to do something greater than just myself. So I spent about 2 - 3 months meditating, spending time in the woods, really focusing and channeling a statement of intention. After 3 months of doing that, I came out of the woods, and went to a New Year’s Eve party where I met BuddhaBee (aka BlondeOnyx), who makes electronic music. That was the beginning. It was the Explosion of JediRising.

BUDDHABEE: At the same time, I had seen traveling musician troupes like Liberation Movement; powerful clusters of people who came together to create a larger performance with a message. Rather than one super star creator, they were a whole constellation of super stars. We each had that inspiration and then we met, shared ideas, and birthed the entire thing. The story line just came through to us.

The first incarnation became our 2014 performance, (which will be reborn and re-molded into several different story lines for 2015). The first story line is called “The Soul’s Journey”. It is a 10 act piece.

In the intro, which is called, “The Birth of Consciousness”, Dylan (who is the lead dancer) is the individualized Soul, born from Collective Unity. Our cast of characters are the four Elements: the Goddess (Alyssa Keys), the Shaman (Lucas Reshi), the Soul (Dylan Bradley), and we have one character which represents the Kundalini/Chakra Energy system (Kandice Korves-Kaus). For the birth segment, the four Elements are present, with the Goddess and Shaman representing the Masculine & Feminine and essentially making love on stage. Then all of a sudden, BOOM! the birth of the individualized soul comes from their union.

From there, each of the elements has a solo

piece that is directed at the individualized soul, teaching him about their element. (Earth-Benjamin Moss, Air-Ashley Keith, Fire- Mark Wolfe, Water-Ivy Elwyn) The Air Dance is an aerial silk piece. The fire dance is our Fire God with a double dragon staff. Then the Water Dance which includes dancing with giant bubbles. We created characters for the music, even down to the instrumentation. We sampled splashing water against the shower and used it as the snare. Every element was integrated into each act and piece.

From that moment it culminates, as the Shaman, acting as the midwife, says, “Now you’re grounded in the four elements. You’re grounded in time and space.”

And then the Shaman introduces the Magickal elements.

DYLAN: There is also the understanding of the masculine and feminine duality, the ability for us to hold both in our being.

BUDDHABEE: The Shaman can impart into you anything you need to know, without using so many words, using the art of dance. Teaching the lessons, perhaps he moves in this one way that makes you think of something. That intimate reflection.

From there the Shaman piece transitions into the Goddess piece. We have 5 Goddesses, Coven back up dancers, while our lead woman, Alyssa, does a beautiful solo piece for the Goddess and that’s again embodying all the femininity, motherliness and teachings that ultimately empower sensuality.

DYLAN: There is a nurturing energy which comes along with the feminine, the maternal.

BUDDHABEE: After the Goddess piece, Dylan, the Soul, who just having learned all these things, from all these characters, and being present on stage the entire time, discovers his LED Hula hoop. He does a

INTERVIEW / JEDIRISING / BY SAPHIR LEWIS

One of the most magical delights recently emerging in transformational festival culture is the new mythical theater. Combining dance,

storytelling, fire dancing, circus arts, acrobats, musical performance and ancient mystical traditions….the new theater “wow’s” your senses and captures your imagination, taking you on a journey to a land of wonder and possibility, inviting you to come back expanded and transformed.

Meet JediRising, the newest collaboration of gifted visionary talent to rise on the festival circuit, and coming soon to a festival near you! BuddhaBee and Dylan T Bradley are the founders of

JediRising. We chatted in early January, 2015.



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beautiful solo piece that begins the journey of self-enlightenment at the moment of birth. He does a beautiful LED Hoop piece as he is discovering time and space.

DYLAN: It’s a self-realization piece. When you become acquainted with all these elements, all the pieces that make up our lives, then you realize where you are in that make up. BUDDHABEE: After his solo piece, the music transitions. I collaborated with Jordan Hansel, a DJ named GeOmertrae. We created a four and a half minute sound healing piece…all of the instruments we used were tuned to each of the chakra frequencies. This is called the Chakra piece. We played to each of the chakras. Every sound that you hear has been tuned to 432 mhz. It is a beautiful sound healing piece for the audience to experience. During the Chakra piece we have a friend come out and do what is known as the LED Nucleus. It’s 3 hoops inside of one that revolve around the centralized glowing object. DYLAN: A gyroscope typically has 3 rings, it’s a small medium and large ring, and they each have LED lights on the inside and it revolves like a gyroscope would with the center piece being an octagonal nucleus.

SAPHIR: I saw the photo, it’s actually not that big, you can hold it in your hands.

BUDDHABEE: Yes. The Goddess comes out and she represents the ultimate otherworldly extra dimensional chakra activation. This is when your kundalini opens up and this is right before the final act, which is the last act of our show which is the enlightenment. SAPHIR: In the Chakra piece, it sounds like more than story telling? As if you had crafted the music to literally impact the audience for an internal shift.

BUDDHABEE: Absolutely. All the instruments were tuned to each of the chakras, so when you looked at it on the computer, it actually was a rainbow. We created this to be something that... even if you didn’t watch what was happening on stage, you would be having your own experience through the music the entire time. Especially the Chakra piece. It is a sound healing piece more than anything else, so it’s the slowest and less beat driven of the tracks.

On stage, we brought out a dry ice cauldron, and the Goddess and Shaman perform a ritual around it. All four of the elements are present. It’s a collective group piece. Dylan is in the center of it all and we created a LED strip going up the center which are the chakra lights, so throughout the piece, we activate the chakra lights. We’re illustrating what that Kundalini

IT’S A SELF-REALIZATION

PIECE. WHEN YOU BECOME

ACQUAINTED WITH ALL THESE

ELEMENTS, ALL THE PIECES THAT

MAKE UP OUR LIVES, THEN YOU

REALIZE WHERE YOU ARE IN

THAT MAKE UP.

20 | FESTIVAL GUIDE




Awakening looks like. All the characters are present on stage, and this is leading back toward the final act of enlightenment.

SAPHIR: The final act – Enlightenment!

BUDDHABEE: In the Enlightenment, we let each of the characters do a little recap. They each get a 15 -30 second solo piece and then they leave in the same order as they entered. It’s the closing of the circle. The birth is the opening of the circle, and is also a ceremony in its own right, the whole piece is a ceremony and an intentional creation.

DYLAN: We wanted to create something that was entertaining, but had a deeper message that, even if you weren’t able to fully grasp the message, you were still moved and were granted some insight into life lessons.

BUDDHABEE: If you totally didn’t understand everything about how creation exists in time space, you’d still be moved. One of my Taoist friends that saw it said “You guys pretty much nailed the Taoist version of creation.” We really went into... “How does life manifest itself? What is

creation? And how does consciousness work?” That’s why it’s called The Soul’s Journey, because it’s the thing we all have in common. The Soul. From birth to enlightenment, and that may look different for each individual person, but we believe that there are in some way, systematic steps that each person, each soul, goes through to get back to the enlightenment phase. So the Enlightenment is a recap of the entire show, where Dylan throws his arms up, and the music crescendos into a reverse symbol crash: The Moment of Enlightenment. With the music, I created specific modulations to get from the key we started in, back to home C. Which is, in my opinion, the most heavenly key. There’s intention in the music the entire way through.

SAPHIR: You come to Enlightenment and everybody goes off stage one at a time, closing the circle.

DYLAN: It’s the culmination of all the gathered knowledge; all the lessons which have been imparted, which result in an enlightened understanding of our reality.

BUDDHABEE: Unity back into the universe… and once the individualized soul

is self-realized, then the light spreads from that person to all the other people. We have been working on creating different imagery so that when he’s enlightened, those around him become enlightened and it spreads to the larger audience.

SAPHIR: Do you guys have some history in sacred shamanic arts?

BUDDHABEE: I have been a practicing shaman for 4 or 5 years. DYLAN: We did a lot of research while we were writing it.

BUDDHABEE: We brought in a ceremonial consultant as well. We did journeys, we did things to check in with the higher dimensional beings to validate support for what we were doing, and if this was the

correct way to present this. We went into different realms to get the cosmic okay. We did bring in a physical consultant to go over our ceremony and have her tap into the question of, “What is the bigger picture we are creating?” What is the larger ceremony doing? Is it effective?

SAPHIR: Very exciting.

BUDDHABEE: The magic of what has happened…the energetic sparks that are coming off the stage are so powerful! This is the only show where everyone would sit down and watch for an hour at a festival in rapture, and then stand up and give a standing ovation. They were fully captivated the entire time, so the portal we opened really sucked people in and made them very present with the entire thing.

DYLAN: Which can be challenging at festivals. It’s very short attention span theater. BUDDHABEE: For us, they sat and watched the entire show and didn’t move. It was amazing.

SAPHIR: That’s fantastic. It looks like it was full of light and color and lots of exciting things.

BUDDHABEE: We did our show at Enchanted Forest and networked with those guys to do lighting and projection. That was the element we knew nothing about. You might have seen in the background a space palace in some of the photos. We designed that with my house mate, Jah Ishka Lha, who is a prominent visionary artist.

One reason we started this troupe was because there’s not a lot of opportunity for dancers in this scene to get paid. Performers are undervalued by producers and promoters. For instance, if you have a visual on stage next to the amazing music, people are just that much more entertained and it becomes a more

festivalfire.com | 2322 | FESTIVAL GUIDE




immersing experience for them. Performers get a discounted ticket to the event, no accommodations, food, they don’t get much for what they contribute. We want to create an opportunity for our troupe of dancers to actually get paid, and start that as a trend, and people will say, hey if we band together as a troupe, we are worth more and can do this professionally.

DYLAN: It’s appreciated by fans and artists, but monetarily it isn’t appreciated.

BUDDHABEE: So, that’s where you asked if the music is available… is it going to cost money? I say yes, because all of that is going to come back into the nesting pot we are creating. We paid our dancers for rehearsals because they would drive 2.5 hrs to be here, and we had sometimes 3 days of rehearsal 8 hrs a day. The choreography was so hard. It was expensive for them to drive to a show for 3 days and miss 3 days of work at a time. We had multiple strings like that, so we paid people for rehearsal.

SAPHIR: Did you crowd fund for that?

BUDDHABEE: We didn’t, we found a private investor, and on the other side of this, we have the music.

For several of our shows, we have 5 live singers (Jah Ishka Lha, Ixchel Prrisma, Amae Love, Aleksandra Shira Dubov & I). There’s myself (BlondeOnyx) and another electronic producer (GeOmertrae) who created the music, I created all the vocal parts for the singers of the community too. Dylan’s vision from the beginning was a constellation of dancers, my vision was a constellation of musicians and singers, and then we picked the best from the scene, and we brought them all together on one stage in one show. We have five vocalists singing over these tracks, the Goddess track is 2 people, Amae Love and Ixchel Prrisma, who are two of the most up and coming female vocalists on the scene right now. Ixchel works with Shamans Dream, and Desert Dwellers. We have Jah Ishka

Lha who is a visionary artist painter, we have myself, another female singing an epic operatic piece (Aleksandra Shira Dubov), and narrating the electronic birth of consciousness. Our troupe is quite large at different moments. We have 6 people on side stage singing while there’s 10 people on stage dancing. And we have a narrator whom we call the Oracle (Michaela Ivie), she’s featured throughout giving little synopses of the next segment. The guys we worked with for lighting and projections are Third Eye Projections and The Supernatural Factory, and our clothing designer is Ivy Elwyn of Elvyn Galactic Designs…it’s a big group!

SAPHIR: What happened with the music? Is it recorded?

BUDDHABEE: Yes it’s all recorded. We have a couple of tracks on sound cloud.

SAPHIR: Are they available for people?

BUDDHABEE: We will be finishing it into a complete playable album which will be available for sale.

SAPHIR: How long it the performance?

BUDDHABEE: It’s an hour.

SAPHIR: Wow that’s a lot to pack into an hour!

BUDDHABEE: Yes it’s very multi-layered. If its longer than 45 mins, it better be amazing, but it can’t be longer than an hour or people’s attention span will diminish. We’re trying to condense it into a 45 minute piece. We wrote a song which works as our sound check. It’s a 4 minute full systems sound check where the singers can create beautiful ad lib stuff and make sure everything is going well.

SAPHIR: Where are you going from here? What’s 2015 going to be all about?

BUDDHABEE: We really love the story line that we have created. The level of intensity



Forest and Forever Everland, and we will definitely do something at Burning Man. We want to submit to different festivals and create different productions for each one. LIB invited us to submit, so that’s exciting.

If there’s one image I could leave you with, it’s that we are a constellation of superstars, that is music and dance. The power of what can happen, transformationally to the collective …we can inspire greater numbers as we come together. Some of our dancers are visionary artists and painters. These are multi-talented artists. Our clothing designer is one of our dancers. We are a full package of talented multi-dimensional people that came together and created a larger vision. Musically, dance wise, what we have put together, is an example of what people can do. If we can do it, you can do it. It takes a lot but it isn’t unattainable. Any vision you have, if you can dream it, you can do it and we are a living example of that.

it took to put it on, including a stage manager, stage hands, prop manager….it’s not really reachable for festivals who have lower budgets. We have a lot of dancers and are putting on a huge show. So what we are creating now is a customized performance for the opportunity we are given. We’re going to be collaborating with more music producers, more singers, making new music. We’ve talked about plenty of other story lines which we want to develop.

DYLAN: We will continue creating relationships between music producers and performers. We cast specific roles for this one. For 2015, we’ll be casting out again and we will be able to include more people and showcase performers from around the world.

BUDDHABEE: If Alyssa wasn’t present for one of our shows, we couldn’t perform because no one could step into that role. It was very specific for her. So moving forward we want to take the pressure off and create a semi revolving cast, with core members, and then revolving satellite members.

Now that we have a relationship within the community, as people who are pleasurable to work with, people who pay their dancers, more high quality professional people are coming to us to say, “I don’t care if you pay me I want to show my art in the way you are delivering it.” That’s been attractive to producers as well. We want to be the ones who organize it and put it out into the world. Ultimately we want to be the ones who inspire and educate people.

SAPHIR: It sounds like for 2015 you are crafting several more story lines that you can produce with different groups of people so you can incorporate more artists. It’s still early in the season so you don’t really have your gigs set up yet.

BUDDHABEE: We have submitted to quite a few, and we will return to Enchanted


facebook.com/JediRising

26 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

FEBRUARY / MARCH APRIL / MAY

LUCIDITY FESTIVAL

NAAM FESTIVAL, WHERE LOVE TAKES FLIGHT

TRIBAL CONNECTION FESTIVAL

LEAF FESTIVAL - LAKE EDEN ARTS FESTIVAL

Join us, Lucid Dreamer, for our continuing epic transformational saga. Kindred Quest marks the beginning of our collective exploration of

community, family and tribe. In this chapter we are seeking guidance from our past – from our ancestors and elders. Ever looking, ever

learning, ever loving, ever lucid, we are coming together as One commUnity with One voice.

Love Takes Flight Festival is a charity event promoting community, wellness, and the positive evolution of humanity. Through speakers

and artists, workshops, classes, live musicians, and activities, “Naam Festival: Where Love Takes Flight” promotes self-awareness, self-healing, and self-growth from a universal perspective. Come and

immerse yourself in a high vibration of love, peace, and light. Raise your energetic frequency, and celebrate your birthright of joy, health,

and inner peace with your local community.

This conscious gathering is based upon supporting the local music scene for the bands, artist, vendors, the Shawnee people and every single

person attending. Make the connections that will last you a life time.

This Spring, LEAF Festival celebrates 40 festivals and 20 years of connecting cultures and creating community through music and arts. Enjoy a dynamic array of arts across 5 stages and 7 interactive villages that includes music,

dance, healing art, visionary art, folk art, handcrafts, fire-spinning, poetry, puppetry and so much more. Align your body, mind and spirit with more than 50 healing arts workshops, hiking, biking, swimming and canoeing.

Feel the connectivity at this family-friendly lake setting.

lucidityfestival.com

naamfestival.com

tribalconnectionfestival.com

theleaf.com

APRIL 10-12, 2015 | LIVE OAK CAMPGROUND, SANTA YNEZ, CALIFORNIA

APRIL 24-25, 2015 | IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

MAY 7-9. 2015 | BELLEFONTAINE, OHIO

MAY 7-10, 2015 | BLACK MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA


OMETEOTL

These beautiful folks attended our producers alliance in August and produce the first transformational festival we know of in Mexico. They have a beautiful vision of conscious community in collaborative celebration of life, and we encourage your support as they begin the journey of gathering. You will also meet them at Envision and Tribal Alliance, they are family.

facebook.com/ometeotlfestival

MARCH 28-29, 2015 TEPOZTLAN, MORELOS. MEXICO

MAULI OLA FESTIVAL

The Mauli Ola Festival is a Transformative, Co-creative Wisdom Festival. Deepen your connection to your inner wise one while you celebrate and co-create with dance and song! We honor the convergence of ancient spiritual knowledge and the scientific paradigm, and we commit to live in the highest truth available to us without dogma. We recognize that we are co-creating our experience together with all of life, and we respect the principle of free will, in the highest level of mutual benefit and cooperation that is available to us.

mauliolafestival.com

CANCELED UNTIL 2016 | PAHALA, HAWAII

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL OAHU

Wanderlust Oahu is a four-day yoga, music and food festival at the picturesque Turtle Bay Resort for yogis looking for a sea-escape from the winter blues with sun salutations, surfing and shore-side meditation.

oahu.wanderlustfestival.com

FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 1, 2015 | OAHU, HAWAII

SERENITY GATHERING

A conscious gathering focused on art and music, experience an array of workshops, activities, and art installations. The body germinates, the mind sprouts, the soul nourishes, and the spirit blooms. We encourage sound and theme camps of all different kinds!

MARCH 19-22, 2015 | LOS OLIVOS, CALIFORNIA

serenitygathering.com

28 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

Envision Festivalphoto by Zippy Lomax

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LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL

A celebration of art, music, performance, yoga, sustainability and life, LIB goes beyond any ordinary music festival. With its world-class fusion of electronic music, performance art, spiritual lectures and hands-on workshops, the festival’s overarching embodiment of cultural and environmental consciousness creates an atmosphere where attendees from all walks of life can find a way to connect with others as well as themselves.

lightninginabottle.org

MAY 21 - 25, 2015 | BRADLEY, CALIFORNIA MAY 14-17, 2015 | DEERFIELDS, SOUTH CAROLINAKinnection Campout is designed to be a unique gathering focused on community building where the tribe can drop in deep with each other, form lasting connections, and celebrate life together in a safe container. We believe in the power of integrating the wisdom of traditional tribal culture with the emerging modern visionary culture, integrating the power of prayer, expression, and personal growth into an experience that offers a new way of relating to each other, to ourselves, and to the entire breathing world of which we are part.

KINNECTION CAMPOUT

SHAKTI FEST

STEAMPUNK WORLD’S FAIR

Shakti Fest is a celebration of the divine feminine in us all offering the ultimate Yogic destination retreat and gathering place for the collective consciousness and discovering the pure Bhakti residing in us all. The event offers an unprecedented line up of internationally renowned yoga teachers, kirtan artists, and workshop leaders in the beautiful desert setting of Joshua Tree. Come open your heart and align with the divine!

Steampunk is the melding of futuristic technology with the anachronistic society of the Victorian era. The Steampunk World’s Fair has more music, vendors, shows and entertainment than anyone else! We are a rousing event, which combines the wild magic of a festival with the warm cordiality of a movement based on whimsy and creative joys. Family friendly, patrons can learn, explore, experience and interact with a culture out of this world.

kinnectioncampout.org

bhaktifest.com

steampunkworldsfair.com

MAY 15-17, 2015 | JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA

MAY 15-17, 2015 | PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY

MAY


Burning Manphoto by Zippy Lomax

night, imagine what it had done for all the participants who had been engaged in the community for several years. I continued my field research, attending events, and interviewing participants, and all my interviewees expressed the same narrative. The party awakened them. Their involvement with the events and the community became part of their spiritual paths. Lives were changed, hearts and minds opened, and over time, the whole community blossomed into an awakening, conscious tribe of people.

As I was filming these interviews and attending events, I began feeling more and more a part of the community, and was having my own spiritual awakening. It was amazing, to have that experience around so many others who shared it with me, through community and through the dance floor. I was dedicated, from very early on, to make a film that expressed exactly that—what thousands of others, now including myself—had shared….

I ended up filming over 200 hours of footage, and interviewed around 60 participants in the community. By 2010, I had a rough cut of the film and was looking for completion funds and someone to help me edit all that madness. I began working with Drew Martinez and Kalix Sky in Los Angeles (Drew now edits on the Bloom, I believe) and we started polishing the cut. Later that year, we had a successful Kickstarter campaign and partnered with Keyframe-Entertainment

INTERVIEW / ELECTRONIC AWAKENING / BY SAPHIR LEWIS SAPHIR: What was the original inspiration for Electronic Awakening?

ANDREW: When I began pursuing my undergrad in anthropology, I studied Rave culture. I had a friend who had been completely transformed by these events and I was curious what he had experienced. Just reading about the events from an armchair perspective, I felt that there was much more going on than popular media had led us to believe. At the time, I was also deeply interested in shamanism, spirituality, and religion. For shamans, trance and ecstasy are methods of entering a supernatural dimension…so I wondered what this community was experiencing. I researched everything I could find on the subject. Following my capstone on Rave culture, I was awarded a grant from my University to go out and do field research and that’s how I ended up at my first event.

The idea for the film came as I began my research. My first event was Shambhala, in BC, Canada 2006, where I heard numerous accounts of life-changing experiences in my interviews, and encountered the extraordinary power of dance and music for myself for the first time. I was blown away by the experience. Within the first 24 hours of field-work I felt that my life had been changed forever. Here was a whole new side of life that I never before thought possible, a place of connection with other people, with nature, and with myself. Feeling that intense and life-changing power I was incredibly moved and at the same time curious—I thought to myself, “so this is what religion is supposed to be, but I never got this experience from church”. This experience gave me true access to a spiritual dimension of life that was devoid of dogma, deities, or charismatic preachers - genuine spirituality. I was even more baffled that—here was an entire culture, an electronic music culture, who had been having these experiences with one another for more than a decade. If the experience was able to change me like that in one

AS I WAS FILMING THESE INTERVIEWS AND ATTENDING

EVENTS, I BEGAN FEELING MORE AND MORE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY, AND WAS HAVING MY OWN SPIRITUAL

AWAKENING.

32 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

Electronic Awakening is an exciting new film, produced by Andrew Johner, with partner Keyframe Entertainment. It is about the rise of Rave culture and how the deep connection people experienced there led them to take the dance floor out and into nature to become

gatherings over several days. This movement merged with our growing transformational festival movement, and we’ve now become one. The film is outstanding, very inspirational, and documenting an important part of our history. I highly recommend checking it out.

I spoke with Andrew in January, 2015.

AWAKENINGELECTRONIC


34 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

who brought us to the finish line. The film had a global release through Gravitas Ventures on December 21st, 2012 (yes, I got to pick the date).

SAPHIR: The film showcases the experience people have on the dance floor, a feeling of deep connection to one another. Talk about that a little more?

ANDREW: The connectedness that happens at these events is certainly not unique to EDM. The sense of spiritual unity and social solidarity that arises on a dance floor can also be found in Sufism, ecstatic dance, and many early shamanic practices. There is an enormous amount of anthropology that has been conducted about dance among early tribal cultures as a means of catalyzing group solidarity, rites of passage for change, and the origin of religious ritual and myth, namely from the works of Victor Turner and Emile Durkheim which were my favorites to read in all this. While the experience is not unique to EDM, it was EDM that helped rejuvenate the experience among youth, igniting a revitalization of ecstatic spirituality and community through dance. Now, through the recent rise of transformational festivals one can surmise that such experiences lead to the production of a new culture. Here in the United States, as we have been blessed to watch the emergence of the transformational festival community, it has clearly demonstrated that these events transform individuals and whole communities. It is a movement of genuine connection, a whole-earth ecology, and reignited interest in the sacred, healing, and an animistic kinship with nature—and to think that it all spiraled out of kids listening to techno in dark rustic warehouses in the nineties. It is a profound demonstration of the power of music, dance, and spiritual communion with others. Electronic Awakening captures the story of that powerful and historical phenomenon. As Electronic Awakening explains, these experiences at EDM events arise from a convergence

of hard melodic dancing as a collective group, and the entrainment brainwaves to beat-focused music eliciting the production of trance and moments of group ecstasy. Technology also plays an important role in amplifying each one of these elements - the production of high-intensity electronic music, psychedelic soundscapes and visual projections. With all of these various elements at play, the event or festival becomes an alternate reality where individuals are able to escape social norms while at the same time achieving heightened states of empathy and euphoria. And, of course, everyone feeds off the general atmosphere of the event. The effect of all this is not only the breakdown of the ego, and basic social normality, it also encourages individuals to discover new behaviors which amplify euphoric and communal atmospheres. Not only are individuals making new bonds with each other but they’re accessing ways of being in the world that are new to western society.

Attendees of these events often say that a unified consciousness, or ‘hive-mind,’ is born on the dance floor in the split seconds when the music brings everyone through a crescendo of intensity.The dance floor, as well as the wider event, be it an outdoor festival, creates a liminal zone where the parameters of social expectation and norms are broken down - in some cases extinguished. The experience rekindles the transformative power of rites of passage and sacred ritual.

THE DANCE FLOOR, AS WELL AS THE WIDER EVENT, BE IT AN OUTDOOR FESTIVAL, CREATES A LIMINAL ZONE WHERE THE

PARAMETERS OF SOCIAL EXPECTATION AND NORMS ARE

BROKEN DOWN.


Bass Coast Festivalphoto by Zippy Lomax

Individuals find a new sense of being, identity, and perspective - i.e. “transforming” themselves. If you want to read into how these powerful experiences work, study the writings of Victor Turner on liminaltiy. When we experience ego-loss, we feel a kinship with those around us who are undergoing the same experience.

Now in a new chapter, electronic music events are shifting their focus away from the sole production of a transformative space, towards the creation of a community which lives on beyond the dance floor. When individuals undergo the experience as a collective group, they not only build solidarity with one another, but are partnering in the creation of a new group norm. We are seeing this with the emergence of “core values” at transformational festivals. By breaking down the ego such events are dissolving previous value-systems and making way for the collaborative creation of new culture.

SAPHIR: Can these experiences be created intentionally?

ANDREW: I prefer to use the word “engineered” The EDM culture on a whole is heavily involved with the engineering of experiences of ecstasy, euphoria, connectedness, and sacred or mystical revelation. They are also involved in the production of new culture around the experience. The transformational community, as an example, is less focused on the singular dance floor as they are on creating an entire cultural experience through the workshops, speakers, installation art, performance ritual, and ceremony. The euphoric, and often surreal apex of dance floor intensity at one of these events is only the beginning for many attendees. Beyond the momentary experience, participants are interested in expanding the mind, amplifying the imagination, broadening awareness, and evolving their own psychology. The film talks a lot about the process of creating these experiences through sound, electricity, and beat patterns. Many of my interviewees talk about how they felt their experiences on the dance floor were vibratory. They not only saw sacred experience as a psychological event, but as something that was physically tactile. Electronic Music is considered by some to be sacred, for giving physiological access to these higher dimensions of consciousness. I wanted to bring those concepts into the film – that music, spirituality, and connection are accessible. Historically, access to these higher states of consciousness was understood to be a supernatural or psychological event. That’s all changing now. We are moving into an era where spirituality is more and more being understood as a science—and in the case of the electronic music culture—as a technology. Electronic Awakening embodies this one key message, that connection to the sacred is biological. It’s a part of our humanity. In an age of extreme secularization when the mainstream culture is demanding the dissolution of religion, screaming God is dead, here’s a bizarre little subculture who have found a new interpretation of the Sacred on the dance floor, one


Beloved Festivalphoto by Kyer Wiltshire


that is beyond dogma or church. They are finding genuine connection through sound and vibration, and have utilized that experience to catalyze a movement of complete cultural revitalization.

SAPHIR: Do you think these EDM communities, and their gatherings are influencing society overall?

ANDREW: For those who do have access to the community, and are a part of the movement so to speak, the change is extraordinary. The festivals are a hotbed for a new form of viral culture-evangelism due to the immersive complexity of the social environment, as well as the accelerated spread of information through social networking. The traditional role of a charismatic leader directing the group, has transformed into a silent one - a ghostly form that exists within the vast data streams of communication between community members, at events, as well

as on the internet. The charismatic leader is spread out among a large faction of individuals, who consider themselves to be charged with roles of evangelizing core values as emissaries of sacred information. Because there is no central or singular source of information guiding the movement, it’s growth follows a new pattern which I call ‘Autogenisis’ acting ‘Autogenic’. It’s the organic self-guided growth of a collective culture as one body. We have technology to thank, as it has now allowed for new formations of culture to blossom - and this is one of the first and most interesting in my perspective.

As far as how much they are affecting larger society, there still appear to be immense boundaries between themselves and the outside world. The transformational culture is not just about buying a ticket and attending an event, it’s also about belonging to a community. I feel too few people point out this aspect

of the events. It’s about finding new identity outside of regular societal norms, belonging to a community of individuals who support shared values that are formed at these events. You can’t just go to a transformational festival and have a heart opening experience and be done with it—you can’t go back to your retail job and continue doing the same 9-5 thing and leave that experience behind. Most people don’t do that. The participants of these events seek to incorporate the experience into their day-to-day lives. This of course means attending more festivals, integrating more and more members of the transformational community into their social circles. They want to surround themselves with people who share the same set of values that have profoundly changed them. It becomes more than just going to these amazing festivals a few times a year, its about belonging to a community—and a huge chunk of the magic comes from that sense of belonging.

Unfortunately, belonging is pricey. When I first fell in love with this community, it was partly because I thought this was something meant for everyone to experience. Dance music was universal. It was beyond status. When I first awakened on the dance floor I didn’t just feel connected to the transformational community, I felt connected to everyone on the planet who had ever danced—and that’s what Rave culture was originally all about….but with the move to festivals, that changed. I think the regional Burning Man events are making the most headway in keeping it accessible. The regional burns are grassroots, self-mobilized efforts to erect the Burning Man experience locally and economically. Few can afford the thousands of dollars needed to attend in Black Rock City, but many can squeeze the $40-50 it costs to attend a regional Burn.

SAPHIR: What do you feel the greater impact is?

ANDREW: The rise of EDM is catalyzing

a revolution in entertainment and event production towards engineering ecstatic experience. While intentions are yet for leisure and entertainment, the impact of the dance floor ecstasis bonds participants with the awareness of a higher state of consciousness and group unity. Among festivals like Burning Man, Lightning in a Bottle, Symbiosis, Wanderlust, and Lucidity - the impact comes from the experimental exploration of new forms of society, new interpretations of spirituality and religion, and a reinvigorated dialogue between the establishment of community and rhythms of nature. While this may not be a model for an entire world of extraordinarily diverse socio-economic conditions, they certainly have and will continue to serve as an idea hot-spot, a source of cultural novelty, and new models for a possible future for all of us.

SAPHIR: Tell us more about why the film, Electronic Awakening is important to see, and what it has meant to you to see it blossom in the world.

ANDREW: I always trace the conception of Electronic Awakening back to my own awakening experience on the dance floor within that first 24 hours of doing fieldwork. In that moment, call it a pink laser beam from God, I knew that I had to tell this community’s story, and rely their experience to the outside world. The fact that an experience so powerful was so misunderstood by the mainstream encouraged me to find a way to explain it. I remained very rigorous in the research and production of the film, and now the writing of my book, Electronic Revival. It’s been a lot of hard work. I am grateful for the partnerships with our editor Drew Martinez, Julian Reyes from Keyframe, and Phillip Wood and Satsi Sonik from AMMO who helped catalyze the project into what you see today. One of the most amazing and unexpected results of Electronic Awakening’s release is the global attention we have received from dance collectives all over the world. The



“IF YOU WANT TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT, YOU CAN VIEW THE FILM ON OUR WEBSITE FOR $2.99, OR ORDER A COPY OF THE DVD FOR $19.99 AT ELECTRONICAWAKENING.COM THE PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO HELPING PAY FOR THE MAKING OF THE FILM. DESPITE THE GLOBAL VISIBILITY I AM STILL TRYING TO BREAK EVEN, SO EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS AND IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!” THE FILM IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON HULU

film has screened in Australia, Costa Rica, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, and Finland. As I’ve said before, dance music is universal, and I hope that the film and the message continue to spread throughout the world.

SAPHIR: Where can people see the film?

ANDREW: I encourage everyone to see the film, Electronic Awakening:

SAPHIR: What’s next on your horizon?

ANDREW: For the last two and a half years I have been working on the written portion of my research. It is a book titled “Electronic Revival: Technology, Religion and the Rise of Electronic Dance Music”, expected to be out Fall 2015. The book is a journalistic account of the evolution of the electronic music scene on the West Coast, from the raves in the nineties through the birth of transformational festivals. The book explores the evolution of the electronic music community as one of the most modern revitalization movements in our history. To keep up with information on the book you can follow my website at: acjohner.com

AC Johner is the creator of the film Electronic Awakening, released in 2012. He is also a writer and researcher on electronic music cultures, spirituality, and trans-humanism. He is currently pursuing an MA in Ethnographic Journalism at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

I will begin a tour with Electronic Awakening and Electronic Revival starting in Spring 2015.

I also have two chapters being published in larger academic volumes in the next 6 months - one titled “What is a Transformational Festival: Assessing elements of Identity, Belonging and Allegiance among Transformational Culture” in the book Exploring Psychedelic Trance and Electronic Dance Music in Modern Culture, and also “Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Transformational Festivals and The Commodification of Experience” in the book Weekend Societies.


ELECTRONIC AWAKENING EMBODIES THIS ONE KEY

MESSAGE, THAT CONNECTION TO THE SACRED IS BIOLOGICAL. IT’S A PART OF OUR HUMANITY.

- ANDREW JONER


JUNE JUNE

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL WEST VIRGINIA

Wanderlust Festivals are all-out, ecstatic celebrations. We bring together the world’s leading yoga teachers, top musical acts, renowned speakers, exquisite chefs, and thrilling performers, weaving together an experience that surprises and delights. From early morning meditations to all-night chakra-spinning musical performances, come practice and party in the most awe-inspiring locations in the world.

snowshoe.wanderlustfestival.com

JUNE 5-7, 2015 | SNOWSHOE, WEST VIRGINIA

UNIFIER FESTIVAL

Honoring and bringing together different sub-cultures this gathering is a yoga festival, it is a tribal belly dance festival. It is a world and sacred music festival, and dance party, a live art show, a place for ceremony, for permaculture, for sculptural works and circus arts. It is a place to care for the land and to eat organic food, and to be inspired and inspire our kids and our elders.

UnifierFestival.com

JUNE 11-14, 2015 | TOLLAND, MASSACHUSETTS

FIREFLY FESTIVAL

Firefly is a movement, inspiring profound positive social and individual growth, Connect deeply, learn unique skills, become inspired, and celebrate life. An intentional gathering focused on manifesting our vision of a co-creative, nurturing and loving community that fosters a healing, healthy lifestyle partnered with conscious celebration and a spiritual peak experience. When we come together to celebrate our ONE-ness, we all experience transformation through inspiration, resulting in personal and planetary evolution.

fireflygathering.com

JUNE 11-15, 2015 | FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA

FOREVER EVERLAND

All pirates, fairies, and kids that never want to grow up …Experience the future of your fantasy – a new land brimming with art, music, magic and splendor has been discovered! By activating our imaginations & exploring peace through artistic expression, we co-create the world we wish to live in Forever! Join us in celebrating the discovery of FOREVERLAND with three days of radical inclusion, camping, swimming, playshops, community & unforgettable 24/7 music.

JUNE 12-14, 2015 | LAKE LADOGA, CALIFORNIA

SOLSTICE OM REUNION

Come celebrate Summer Solstice with your cOMmunity: sharing of yourselves and making new friends. We will enjoy all the things that make it hOMe: amazing music, sights and sounds, member-

shaped workshops, healing, shared meals, and all that good stuff. A membership-based, community-driven gathering in the forest of

southern Ontario.omreunionproject.org

JUNE 16 - 21, 2015 | TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

SONIC BLOOM

SONIC BLOOM is a 4-day camping festival that brings live and electronic music, dance, art and human performance together in an

atmosphere that inspires open channels of creativity for everyone involved, especially the audience…Together, we will create a

resonant field in which to unify all forms of human creative expression. Some of the highest quality live electronic artists

and most cutting-edge producers create an incredibly intimate boutique festival experience... a unified field.

sonicbloomfestival.com

JUNE 18-21 2015 | LOCATION TBA, COLORADO

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL VERMONT

Wanderlust brings together the world’s leading yoga teachers, top musical acts and DJs, renowned speakers, top chefs and

winemakers to settings of breathtaking natural beauty. Fun in the sun and dancing under the stars. Hiking on peaceful trails and gettin’ your down dog on. Poolside with friends, and then a farm-

to-table dinner with views of surrounding peaks. Early morning meditations and all-night chakra spinning musical performances

- it’s an all-out ecstatic celebration in the most awe-inspiring locations in the world.

stratton.wanderlustfestival.com

JUNE 18-21, 2015 | BONDVILLE, VERMONT


forevereverlandfestival.comBass Coast Festival

photo by Zippy Lomax

FAIRY & HUMAN RELATIONS CONGRESS

Fairy Congress is devoted to promoting communication and co-creation with nature spirits, devas and the faery realms. Are you one of the enchanted ones who speaks, plays and works with the fairy realm, the fae, nature spirits, angels or even dragons? Or are you simply curious and wanting to learn more? People from all walks of life, who want to learn to, set this June weekend aside for profound teachings and deep personal change as we work with friends across the veil, to bring LOVE into the planet.

fairycongress.com

JUNE 26-28, 2015 | TWISP, WASHINGTON

SOLSTICE OM REUNION

Come celebrate Summer Solstice with your cOMmunity: sharing of yourselves and making new friends. We will enjoy all the things that make it hOMe: amazing music, sights and sounds, member-

shaped workshops, healing, shared meals, and all that good stuff. A membership-based, community-driven gathering in the forest of

southern Ontario.

omreunionproject.org

JUNE 16 - 21, 2015 | TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

SONIC BLOOM

SONIC BLOOM is a 4-day camping festival that brings live and electronic music, dance, art and human performance together in an

atmosphere that inspires open channels of creativity for everyone involved, especially the audience…Together, we will create a resonant

field in which to unify all forms of human creative expression. Some of the highest quality live electronic artists and most cutting-

edge producers create an incredibly intimate boutique festival experience... a unified field.

sonicbloomfestival.com

JUNE 18-21 2015 | LOCATION TBA, COLORADO

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL VERMONT

Wanderlust brings together the world’s leading yoga teachers, top musical acts and DJs, renowned speakers, top chefs and winemakers

to settings of breathtaking natural beauty. Fun in the sun and dancing under the stars. Hiking on peaceful trails and gettin’ your down dog

on. Poolside with friends, and then a farm-to-table dinner with views of surrounding peaks. Early morning meditations and all-night chakra spinning musical performances - it’s an all-out ecstatic celebration in

the most awe-inspiring locations in the world.

stratton.wanderlustfestival.com

JUNE 18-21, 2015 | BONDVILLE, VERMONT

JUNE JUNE

INSHALA FESTIVAL

Join us for this transformational festival, as we step into a new cycle of Creation & Celebration. Experience an extensive lineage of inspired Conference workshops; Connect and dance with a variety of local and international music performers. Enjoy the family friendly activities for all ages and interests. Inshala 8 - “Rebirth”

inshala.ca

JUNE 26-29, 2015 | FORT MACLEOD, ALBERTA, CANADA

PROJECT EARTH

Most festivals are jam packed with non-stop over stimulation for your inner Bliss Junkie to get its fix. Although we do love that…Project Earth has a different mission. To slow it all down and open space for the family to discover more of each other and strengthen our community roots. We feel that the more intimate setting in the forest is just the right medicine for the Tribal convergence. The Planet and all life on her need conscious people now more than ever! We are the ones we have been waiting for…

projectearthfest.com

JUNE 19-21, 2015 | GENEVA, MINNESOTA

CONSCIOUS CULTURE FESTIVAL

CCF brings together music, art & education that promotes equality, sustainability, justice, healthy living, organic farming, and an all-around conscious lifestyle. With 4 stages, 40 live acts, 40 DJs, 30 free workshops and all sorts of amazing art, there is something for everyone at this family friendly event. Music will range from Reggae, Rock, Folk, Hip-Hop, Blues and Soul to Dubstep, Downtempo, Glitch, House & beyond!

consciousculturefestival.com

JUNE 19-21, 2015 | TONASKET, WASHINGTON

BHAKTI FEST MIDWEST

For the 4th year, Bhakti Fest’s highly anticipated return will feature an all-star yoga and Kirtan cast, charged with melodic sounds and a spiritual undercurrent so unique you feel at your core. Featuring unique classes, from world-renowned teachers and local Midwest instructors, offering a breadth of techniques from full-body work-outs, to restorative practices. Taking place in a drug free and alcohol free environment and offering only vegetarian cuisine, there’s fun for the whole family. Children 12 and under come FREE! Come chant, sing, dance and play!

bhaktifest.com

JUNE 26-28, 2015 | MADISON, WISCONSIN


Envision Festivalphoto by Kyer Wiltshire

SECTION TITLEJULY

LUMINOCITY GATHERING

Deep within the enchanted temperate rainforest of the Sunshine Coast, a luminescent seed has been resown. We bring to the BC west coast, cutting edge musicians, artists, teachers, and visionaries from around the globe. A chance to experience the next level paradigm in a synesthesiac environment of future psy frequencies, visionary aesthetics, conscious learning, community connection, and much more! Together we will co-create an intimate west coast experience like no other!

luminositygathering.com

JULY 3-6, 2015 | SUNSHINE COAST, BC, CANADA

EVOLVE MUSIC & AWARENESS FESTIVAL

A 3-day summer celebration of music, culture, and social awareness. From its start as a grassroots music and awareness festival featuring local bands, the festival showcases world-class performers from around the globe. Evolve also hosts workshops about social issues, personal wellbeing and environmental awareness.www.evolvefestival.com

JULY 9-12, 2015 | ANTIGONISH, NOVA SCOTIAWANDERLUST FESTIVAL COLORADO

Breakaway from the Summer bustle to Aspen’s Snowmass Village, a quiet Colorado town tucked in the Colorado Rockies. Held in one of the best ski resorts in the world, this four-day event will offer guests the usual amazing yoga classes, musical performances, talks and food, along with the water rafting, weekly rodeos, and miles of biking and hiking trails on a breathtaking backdrop.colorado.wanderlustfestival.com

JULY 2-5, 2015 | ASPEN SNOWMASS, COLORADO

RAINBOW GATHERING

The Rainbow Family gathers every year in the National Forests of North America, always during the week of July 1-7. The peak of the Gathering on July 4 begins with morning silence, broken by a community prayer for world peace and followed by a full day of (acoustic) music, dancing, feasting, and celebration. Based on the principle of communal collaboration, food is donated to the many kitchens that feed the Gathering, free of charge. Money exchange is taboo, and prohibited items include alcohol, firearms, and sound amplifiers.

welcomehome.org/rainbow

JULY 1-7, 2015 | LOCATION TBA

Wanderlust Tahoe offers famous yoga teachers and top-tier performers in a legendary setting of breathtaking beauty for a memorable summer experience. Festival-goers can enjoy yoga, incredible music, lifestyle talks and the natural bounties of Squaw Valley.

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL TAHOE

squaw.wanderlustfestival.com

JULY 16-19, 2015 | LAKE TAHOE, CA

ELEMENTS GATHERING

Elements brings together top instructors in Ancestral skills to awaken your instincts. 3,000 year-old sequoia trees create a truly magical setting as we come together at a 5,000 year-old traditional gathering place of native peoples. Make a basket, start a fire by rubbing sticks together, sing and dance, camp and connect with your community. Live music around the campfire every evening. Fantastic kids program, too!

elementsgatheringfest.com

JULY 16-22, 2015 | SPRINGVILLE, CALIFORNIA

OREGON COUNTRY FAIR

The Oregon Country Fair has 17 stages featuring hundreds of world class entertainers and performers, hand craft artisans and gourmet food creators lining up to provide, once again, an experience unequaled in the festival world. Dress up and come ready to participate in a time-of-your-life cultural immersion that nourishes the spirit. Explore living artfully and authentically on Earth, and transform culture in magical, joyous and healthy ways. The Oregon Country Fair creates a world unlike any other in a magical wooded setting.

oregoncountryfair.org

JULY 10-12, 2015 | VENETA, OREGON


Zan MooreOregon Country Fair

photo by Zippy Lomax


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JULY

F.A.R.M. MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

Now in our fourth year, F.A.R.M (Future of Artistic and Revolutionary Minds) lays in a stunning location with views of the pine forests just 30 minutes from Philadelphia and 30 minutes from the shore, Attendees from across the nation enjoy an array of musical artists, workshops, art installs, and yoga sessions that are sure to create a positive, inspirational movement.

farmmusicfestival.com

JULY 23-26, 2015 | BUENA VISTA, NEW JERSEY

MOTION NOTION FESTIVAL

Come be part of an exploration of electronic music, art, nature, and the infinite in the heart of Rocky Mountains near Golden BC, Canada. Motion Notion has always been something off the beaten path and a thing of discovery and amazement for all. Welcome to freedom and growth!

motionnotion.com

JULY 23-27, 2015 | GOLDEN, BC, CANADA

CASCADIA NW ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL (PREVIOUSLY PHOTOSYNTHESIS)

Seattle based Starborne Shows, invites you to join us for the first annual CASCADIA NW Arts and Music Festival! 2015 brings the transition from Photosynthesis Festival to CASCADIA for the Starborne family and we do hope you will join us on this momentous occasion!

CascadiaNW.com

JULY 23-26TH 2015 | GRANITE FALLS, WASHINGTON

Drawn from both inside and outside the community, artists, composers, bands, performers and participants from across the continent and beyond will converge for a weekend celebration of creative culture. The name says it all. A place where you can be you. Diversity Festival.

DIVERSITY FESTIVAL

diversityfestival.ca

JULY 24-27, 2015 | TEXADA ISLAND, BC, CANADA

EVENTS MUSIC SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTOS VIDEOS NEWS LIFESTYLE MARKETING BRANDING

EVENT LISTINGS for SOULFUL MUSIC in over 25 NORTH AMERICAN CITIES

DEFINING the SOUL DIASPORA since 2003

Serenity Gatheringphoto by Jazzwall

TRIBAL CROSSROADS

Tribal Crossroads is a Healthy Lifestyles Gathering and Mystic Family Reunion. We’ll have some juicy workshops, yoga, ecstatic dance and more. Envisioned by a close friend and supporter of Mystic, the idea of doing a ‘not for profit’ event was born, where monies would not be an issue and it would truly be a community offering going back to our roots. With that in mind, we have come home to where it all started at the Jackson Wellsprings, working with some of our close artists friends who have been with us since the beginning.tribalcrossroads.org

JULY 24-26, 2015 | ASHLAND, OREGON


Lucidity Festivalphoto by Jazzwall

PORTAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

PORTAL Music Festival is a Transformational Festival, offering three days to live, play and co-create with powerful healing workshops and all night music. PORTAL is a journey of intentional activation, joining the ‘sacred’ and ‘creative’. PORTAL is a participatory all arts festival, a chance to immerse ourselves in a magically creative world.

portalmusicfestival.com

JULY 31 - AUG 2, 2015 | LOLO HOT SPRINGS, MONTANA

BELOVED SACRED ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL

Beloved returns to Tidewater Falls for the 8th year this August! Our goal is to dissolve the boundaries that isolate us through music, dance and play. We aspire to engage the hearts and minds of those present in the finding of the beloved in each other; and furthering our ability to cooperate to make that appreciation tangible on earth.

belovedfestival.com

AUGUST 7–10, 2015 | TIDEWATER, OREGON

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL WHISTLER

Wanderlust yogis will spend four days practicing yoga in a picturesque landscape with the freedom to explore nature with tennis, hiking, kayaking, relaxing, and visiting a gondola to the summit.

whistler.wanderlustfestival.com/

JULY 30 - AUG 3, 2015 | WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

BIG DUB FESTIVAL

Big Dub Festival is the crossroads where great music & festivities meets human interaction. There are multiple stages of music with entertainment throughout each night until 6am, daily workshops, drum circles, bonfires, yoga, and more.

bigdubfestival.com

JULY 29- AUG 2, 2015 | ARTEMAS, PENNSYLVANIA

JULY / AUGUST

Located in a breath taking rocky mountain oasis, this magical, secluded landscape is a perfect container to explore your creative potentials, connect with nature, stretch out, dive in, and dance to the wee hours. The intention of the festival is to facilitate and amplify that inspiration into real life action. Theme camps give creative communities an opening to inspire the mingling of like minded souls, whether your interests are music, clothing, food, yoga, the subtle energies, activation, visionary art!

arisefestival.com

AUGUST 7-9, 2015 | DENVER, COLORADOARISE FESTIVAL

OpenMind is a Transformational eco-gathering that celebrates life through ecstatic celebration and intentional well-being. It’s an invitation and reunification to harmonious communities from all corners of the globe, to share these inspiring celebrations of life in a wondrous natural paradise!

OpenmindFestival.com

JULY 27- AUGUST 3RD 2015 | LA PATRIE, QUEBEC, CANADAOPEN MIND FESTIVAL

AUGUST


HUMAN NATURE FESTIVAL

Human Nature Festival returns for its fourth year, bringing you the same great vibes and high quality production, but this time in a new location. Enjoy a multi-genre musical experience and vast array of arts and culture in a lush forested setting, complete with high fidelity sound systems and vivid visual displays.

HumanNatureFestival.com

JULY 24-26TH 2015 | MARCOLA, OREGON

Beloved Festival White Processionphoto by Kyer Wiltshire



Mystic Island Festivalphoto by Kyer Wiltshire

SECTION TITLEINTERVIEW / ELLIOT RASENICK / BY SAPHIR LEWIS

SAPHIR: Lets talk about education as an aspect of the festivals, why would we look to education, what does that say about who we are and what we are doing?

ELLIOT: I can speak to my own personal journey with transformational events, which began with profound experiences of connection just on the dance floor. As I continued to engage with the community that I was dancing with, I became as excited about the conversations at the back of the dance floor as I was about the intensity of the connections in the middle of it. At first, there was the moment of awareness, being on the dance floor and feeling my oneness with everyone – which at its highest moments is really what it’s like, where we all feel so connected that it’s as if the change in the world has already happened.

So while we experience the alchemy of the change in the middle of the dance floor, we can talk about inventing models of living in a new way, and engage with each other about how we’re changing the way that we’re living; how we’re learning to take more responsibility for our effects on the planet and our effects on each other.

I think that the next evolution of that cultural exchange, for me, became, “What is it like for us to really create a new platform to tell much more in-depth stories about the

CONNECTIONELLIOT RASENICK IS ONE OF THE GREAT VISIONARY THINKERS OF OUR TIME…THE FOUNDER OF BELOVED SACRED MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL AND INSPIRE TRUTH. WE TALKED ABOUT THE RISE OF EDUCATION IN THE FESTIVALS.

ways that we’re evolving to live in?” What does it mean it to bring the people from outside of our culture who have influenced us, who are bringing these multiple threads together? What does it mean for us to bring in people from outside of our culture to teach us?

That’s the evolution that happened in my own personal experience – from having a profound moment as if the new world already happened, on the dance floor, to standing at the back of the room and having an engaged conversation. Sharing ideas like, “Oh wow! You’re changing your diet also?”, “You’re not interested in eating poison anymore either?”, “You’re finding ways to avoid producing so much waste?”, “You’re learning about new models for intimate relationships?”, “What does that look like?” And then the next evolution being, “Lets actually create a designated space where we’re really engaging in a much more sophisticated conversation”. For me, that’s the personal history of the involvement of education at transformational events.

FINDING OUR


Beloved FestivalElliot Rasenick and Polish Ambassador

photo by Kyer Wiltshire


Beloved Festival photo by Kyer Wiltshire

Beloved Festival photo by Kyer Wiltshire

Elliot Rasenick of Beloved Festival photo by Kyer Wiltshire

SAPHIR: The fact that we include education as part of our events really informs the fact that we’re doing something different at these festivals, it’s not just watching a band play, we’re creating a new way of being together. So what’s new in education this year at Beloved?

ELLIOT: At Beloved, most of the educational program takes place in the individual workshop areas. But we’ll continue to find ways to address pressing issues right on the main stage. This year we’ll be focusing on consent and sexual boundaries. Because the festival is such an open and loving environment, many of us feel very safe to explore a deeper intimacy. But we’d like to teach men and women how to maintain and how to pay attention to boundaries. We’d like to cultivate an environment where everyone knows how to say no to any intimacy that they don’t want and where everyone knows how to pay attention to the subtle “no.” We’ll also be hosting conversations about how to address transgressions of boundaries. We want to hold everyone accountable for their actions and we also want to ask the question, “What does justice look like when we know we’re not separate, that we’re all deeply connected?”

Another shift over the last few years at Beloved, is that we’ve learned that there are three major environments for education at the festival; and that each area can tell separate stories, and can help us to explore full themes.

One space is designed to help us learn embodiment and energy awareness practices. Here we are offering QiGong and yoga in parity; acknowledging each of them as valuable systems to help us understand how energy moves through our body.

The organizing principle of the music and everything else that we do at Beloved, is “What does it look like for us to remember that we’re not separate, that we are in truth, deeply connected?”

All of the education that we’re doing at Beloved is organized around this idea. So the movement practices help us remember that there is no disconnect between any sense of who we are and the vessel that we’re inside.

And then there’s the new project that we launched last year, the Temple of Awe, which is the temple of ancestral wisdom education. The concept was that some of the representatives of ancient cultures that are performing on stage, what if we give them a voice to teach about how their cultures understand the connection between their music and the world that they’re living in? We’re understanding that the different sacred musics from around the world are each doing the same thing, telling the story of connection: our connection to God, our connection to ourselves, our connection to each other. Because of course, within that organizing principle at Beloved, where we want to learn how we’re not separate, we see that music is one of the most powerful tools that we have, to tell the story of our connection. And then, the idea that bringing different sacred musics all together and showing that these sacred musics from different cultures are telling the same story of unity, becomes like a meta-unity teacher,… teaching about unity in different ways, and then showing that all of those lessons are the same lesson.

SAPHIR: You’re saying that you’ve taken those musicians off the stage and put them in a speaking format to talk about how their music speaks to our connection?

ELLIOT: Exactly, that’s a really exciting shift. And by creating one space to house education related to the ancient cultures we present on the stage, we were able to create a new temple of seven generations, which is then also a platform to talk about both ecological sustainability in relation to the idea of thinking ahead seven generations, and to talk about how we can repair the way that our relationship with the earth has become one of disconnect rather than one of complete connection.


Envision Festivalphoto by Zippy Lomax


BELOVEDFESTIVAL.COM

At the same time, another part of that story is looking at how can we repair our relationships with each other? Because, as a community, both in individual relationships between two people and in our general social relationships, we’ve lost our sense of always being strongly connected. So the Temple of Seven Generations also becomes our platform to remember how to live as a village.

SAPHIR: What does that bring in, as far as speakers?

ELLIOT: Last year we had begun the process Michael Meade connecting old stories to the way that we explore being a (new) culture, asking us to find our deepest purpose and to live to awaken that purpose. We also offered Solsara workshops, where we’re looking at “What does it mean to be more authentically honest with each other?” and “What does it look like to have relationships in a world where we know that we’re always connected?”

SAPHIR: Wow, it is so inspiring that your organizing principle is, “Understanding how we’re all connected.” That is not something that’s a given in anybody’s mind – most fest’s organizing principle at some of the other shows would be, “The world is a mess and we need to learn to be more sustainable, we need to learn permaculture, we need to learn gardening so we can eat healthier food, and have a cleaner environment, etc”…definitely the premise is not “How can we organize around being more connected”.

ELLIOT: And my answer would be, “The world is a mess because we have forgotten that we’re connected to each other, we’ve forgotten that we’re connected to the Earth, we’ve forgotten that the divine is right here and we’ve even created a disconnect between our spirit and our bodies.”

60 | FESTIVAL GUIDE



WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR US TO REMEMBER THAT WE’RE NOT SEPARATE, THAT WE ARE IN TRUTH, DEEPLY

CONNECTED?- ELLIOT RASENICK


(360) 389-7277

[email protected]

www.eco-head.com

facebook.com/ecoheadsanitation

Introducing the Eco-Head Comfort Station - Event Sanitation

Modern composting outhouses are not only MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE to use than conventional portable toilets, but they

SAVE WATER and INCREASE SUSTAINABILITY in waste management by reclaiming lost nutrients and putting them back into the Earth.

We are in the R&D phase of Eco-Head Comfort Stations and need your help.Do you run an event and want to test our stations at your next event?

Help us get this project off the ground! CLICK HERE to see how you can help.

ENCHANTED FOREST FESTIVAL

In the embrace of a majestic redwood forest we celebrate our culture through dance, art, nature and the unyielding gift of the human spirit. We are nurturing the seed of our infinite potential as individuals and community.

enchantedforestmendo.com

AUGUST 14 - 16, 2015 | MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

BASS COAST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

The rich culture that surrounds our music is a creative community of artists, scientists, designers, yogi’s, environmentalists, freedom fighters, business minds, intellectuals, party-goers, poets and dancers. We believe the Bass Coast community is a supportive environment where we hope to inspire each participant to find deeper layers of themselves.

basscoast.ca

AUGUST 10 - 13, 2015 | MERRITT, BC, CANADA

WANDERLUST FESTIVAL QUEBEC

Wanderlust Tremblant offers yogis a unique experience, breathing in fresh, mountain air, surrounded by nature with bilingual instruction from top tier yoga instructors, musical performances, discussions and meditation.

tremblant.wanderlustfestival.com

AUGUST 20 - 23 , 2015 | MONT TREMBLANT, QUEBEC, CANADA

BURNING MAN

Burning Man is full to capacity and having to turn away thousands. They are now putting their energy into growing the network of Regional Burn Gatherings all over North America and the World. Please see our Burning Man Regional Calendar for a location near you.] Black Rock City is a kind of Petri dish. Theme camps cling in fertile clusters to its latticework of streets, artworks tumble out of it, like pollen on the air. These nodes of interaction mutate, grow and reproduce their kind, only to effloresce and spread across five continents.

burningman.com

THREE DAYS OF LIGHT GATHERING

In just a few short years 3DL has become known as a premier conscious and transformational gathering on the East Coast. Part Festival/Part Retreat/Party Summer Camp, 100% INSPIRATION! ACTIVATION! CELEBRATION! Laugh, dance, sing, play. Learn, teach, grow expand! Three Days of Light is a SAFE, WHOLESOME space for our ENTIRE family to embrace our highest conscious self!

3DLgathering.com

AUGUST 28-30, 2015 | ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

AUGUST 31 – SEPT. 7, 2015 | BLACK ROCK CITY, NEVADASHAMBALA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Shambhala boasts six uniquely themed stages, each aiming to weave the best in up and coming electronic and live music from both around the globe and our very talented backyard. Set on the Salmo River Ranch, a 500-acre working farm year round, the pristine Salmo River runs through it all. Come to enjoy the festival’s focus of providing amazing art, music and organic food.

shambhalamusicfestival.com

AUGUST 7 - 10, 2015 | SALMO, BC, CANADA

TRINITY RIVER JAMBOREE

A truly multi-generational gathering set on the banks of the mighty Trinity River. The festival includes a full schedule of yoga, permaculture participation program, an awesome kids zone, rafting trips, workshops, speakers, healing center, live music and dj’s as well as a silent disco until 6am. With a limited capacity of less than 1000, we are dedicated to bringing people together to enjoy the wild natural habitat of Northern California.

trinityjam.com

AUGUST 7 - 9 , 2015 | JUNCTION CITY, CALIFORNIAPEACE VILLAGE FESTIVAL

Southern Oregon’s Peace, Music, & Arts Fest features an eclectic mix of music, including world beat, reggae, rock, folk, americana, kirtan, electronic, and more. With workshops & yoga classes, an artisans’ village, ecstatic dance, gourmet vegetarian food, a kid village, and a healing sanctuary. There are also altars, ceremonies, and a goddess temple. The venue’s hot soaking pool, extra large warm swimming pool, sauna, and steam bath are open late. An alcohol and drug free event that is fun for the whole family.

peacevillagefestival.org

AUGUST 14 - 16, 2015 | JACKSON WELLSPRINGS, ASHLAND, OREGON

AUGUST


AUGUST

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E-mail me for a FREE creative evaluation and conversation

put a face to the nameWOLFBEAR

[email protected] · (714) 642-5569 WESLEYPINKHAM.COM · WOLFBEARCONSULTING.COM

Yes, it’s true. And you too can discover why Lucidity Festival, The Bloom Series, LostInSound and Festival Fire work with Wolfbear for services ranging from brand development, social media, photography, brainstorming, design, and copywriting!

Contact him via e-mail or by phone — he actually answers and loves to talk on one of these strange artifacts of a bygone era — for your free consultation and to find out what a Creative Consultant can do to “up-level” your next project or idea!

You may have seen this logo on photos from your favorite festivals, but did you know that Wesley Wolfbear Pinkham is also a creative consultant who works with some of the top media projects on

the festival scene?

Mixing Your MAGICAL SPARKLE with GROUNDED Creative Consulting: WOLFBEAR IT IS.

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER

LEAF FESTIVAL - LAKE EDEN ARTS FESTIVAL

LEAF Festival celebrates 20 years of connecting cultures and creating community through music and arts. Kid-friendly (with childcare available), enjoy 5 stages and 7 interactive villages that include music, dance, healing art, visionary art, folk art, handcrafts, fire-spinning, poetry, puppetry and more. Align your body, mind and spirit with more than 50 healing arts workshops, hiking, biking, swimming and canoeing. Feel the connectivity at this family-friendly lake setting, nestled against the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains.

theleaf.com

OCTOBER 15-18, 2015 | BLACK MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA

INLAKESH SACRED CEREMONY, MUSIC, ART ANDDANCE GATHERING

Get ready to shift into a more exalted and expanded state! Sacred ceremonies will include Sufi Zikr, Tea Ceremony, Pagan Goddess rituals, Healing Circles, Cacao Ceremony, Living Tarot, Sweat Lodge, and an Aloha camp sacred fire music circle. Sacred dance to Sufi dancing, Ecstatic dance, African dance, as well as your own unique dance to the sounds of our amazing musicians. Enjoy epic visionary artists, sound healers, and uplifting workshops; or the hot soaking pool, sauna, and steam bath and some of the finest super foods on the planet. We look forward to radiating this energy to the whole world!

inlakeshfest.com

SEPT. 11-13, 2015 | JACKSON WELLSPRINGS, ASHLAND, OREGON

THE SYMBIOSIS GATHERING

Symbiosis features an epic lineup of live music, global and galactic bass, house, trance, gypsy and sacred music only 90 minutes from SF. Swim in a crystal clear lake and dance to an assortment of international acts sure to move your body and touch your soul. Explore four main stages, kids’ area, cirque theatre and comedy, gourmet organic food, yoga and dance classes and inspirational workshops for all things mind, body, and spirit.

symbiosisevents.com

SEPTEMBER 17-20, 2015 | OAKDALE, CALIFORNIA

FAERIEWORLDS

In 13 years, Faerieworlds has evolved from a small gathering in Prescott, AZ to being the premier mythic & fantasy Arts & Music festival on the West Coast that annually draws guests from across the country and the world.

faerieworlds.com

SEPT. 4-6, 2015 | HORNINGS HIDEOUT, NORTH PLAINS, OREGON

GREAT NORTH FESTIVAL

Featuring a wide range of national and regional music acts , along with some of the most renowned visionary artists in the world, including our main featured artist Alex Grey! This is our second year, being held September 19th through the 21st of 2014 at the BEAUTIFUL Last Breath Farm in Norridgewock, Maine. Please join us!

greatnorth.us

SEPT. 4-6, 2015 | NORRIDGEWOCK, MAINE

BHAKTI FEST WEST

A Yoga & Music Experience of a Lifetime! The largest gathering of yoga & conscious music leaders from around the globe. Practice and study with expert yoga teachers. Attend enlightening health & wellness workshops with world-renowned presenters. Shop the eco-marketplace and dine on the largest selection of vegetarian and vegan cuisine offered at any Festival. Bring the family along to four amazing days of heart-opening song, dance, and play!

bhaktifest.com

SEPTEMBER 10-13, 2015 | JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA

ECSTATIC DANCE RETREAT

The Ecstatic Dance Retreat is a week long intensive held in the healing heart energy of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is a safe ceremonial container for all of us to explore, expand and offer our unique creative expressions and gifts. As a loving conscious community we will honor ourselves and each other by celebrating life to the fullest through various forms of movement and dance modalities, music, art, singing, meditation, sacred ritual and ceremony, nature, healing arts practices, community and much much more.

ecstaticretreat.com

DECEMBER 7-13, 2015 |KALANI RETREAT CENTER, BIG ISLAND, HAWAII

INSPIRE TRUTH ~ NEW YEAR’S EVE

This event is produced by the creators of Beloved Music and Arts Festival and is a loving gathering for deep soul nourishment. You are invited to dance and rejoice with your creative family. A stunning, art-filled and transformative environment will inspire clarity of intent fueled by joyful celebration & the danciest dance music in the galaxy. Together we cultivate the joy, heart and love that we wish to bring into the new year.

facebook.com/events/392578677512587

DEC 30 - JAN 1, 2016 | PORTLAND ART MUSEUM, PORTLAND, OREGON

COSMIC CONVERGENCE NEW YEARS EVE

An annual gathering with art, music, education for conscious living, and Mayan culture & traditions. A convergence of past, present, and future, bringing ancestral and post-industrial ways of living to provoke a shift in consciousness to rethink what is possible in post-2012 reality. Including Psy Family Guatemala, with the primordial objective of the expansion of our consciousness until we reach levels of cosmic meditation in movement, influenced by the most high rhythm frequencies of primitive sounds, ultrasonic and psychedelic.

cosmicconvergencefestival.org

DEC 30 - JAN 1, 2016 | LAKE ATITLAN, GUATEMALA


ZEN AWAKENINGNOVEMBER 20 - 22, 2015 | ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Zen Awakening is a transformational, music and arts festival. Featuring Celebrity DJ’s, Bands, Yoga, Meditation, Spiritual Teachers, Holistic Teachers, Cirque Performers, Flow Dancers, Drum Circle, Group Chants, Fire Performers, Central Fire, Healing Sanctuary, Workshops, Theme Campsites, Permaculture, Kirtan, Camping, Organic Food Vendors and Art Installations.

zenawakeningfestival.com

Oregon Country Fair photo by Kyer Wiltshire


Lucidity Festivalphoto by Jazzwall

INTENSIVESFLOWARTS

68 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

SPRING

MINNEFLOWTA FLOW RETREATFEBRUARY 21 - 22, 2015 | MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

Minneflowta is a flow artists gathering, bringing the best in poi, staff, hoop, and juggling. The event includes workshops, a stage show, and a late night

flow jam. 7 of the nations top flow arts instructors and performers bring you the absolute best in poi, hula hoop, staff and juggling.

Minneflowta.com

TEXAS FLOW FESTMARCH 27 - 29, 2015 | AUSTIN, TEXAS

First annual public flow arts festival in Austin! Free performances nightly, over 40 workshops in circus & flow, dance & yoga with internationally

touring instructors and performers.texasflowfest.com

FLOWSTORMAPRIL 3 - 5, 2015 | AUSTIN, TEXAS

Flowstorm, the world’s first Flow Arts & Sustainability festival. Held on an eco-village, this magical weekend of camping and learning includes flow

workshops and performances by some of the world’s best flow artists, workshops on Permaculture, organic gardening, and natural building, live music and art, and much more. Our goal is to cross-pollinate regenerative

disciplines and create a truly sustainable flow culture!

facebook.com/events/374129379418419/?fref=ts

FLAME FESTIVALAPRIL 9 - 12, 2015 | LAFAYETTE, GEORGIA

Flame Festival is the Southeast’s regional gathering of Flow Artists to share knowledge and play together. It is part of an emerging network of festivals

that feature Flow Arts workshops all day (around 100 over the weekend), and a large fire-dancing circle with music into the night. Flow Arts include

fire-dancing, poi, staff, hula-hoop, juggling, dance, fans, whips, and whatever else you can imagine that gets you into a state of flow. Light the

fires of passion, connectivity, and expression!flamefestival.com

SACRED CIRCULARITIES BALIWEEK ONE: MARCH 8 - 15, 2015 | WEEK TWO: MARCH 17 - 24, 2015

WEEK THREE: MARCH 25 – APRIL 1, 2015 | WEEK FOUR: JUNE 28 – JULY 5, 2015

WEEK FIVE: JULY 6-13, 2015 | WEEK SIX: JULY 15-22, 2015

This seven-day immersion in spirit-infused movement includes workshops, play-times, accommodation (double occupancy), live

music hoop events, tribal marketplace, fashion show and performance showcase, breakfast, lunch and excursions.

sacredcircularities.com/bali-retreat-2015.html


Mystic Island Festival photo by Kyer Wiltshire

SPIN SUMMITAPR 30 - MAY 1-3, 2015 | BLACK FOREST, COLORADO

IGNIGHT FESTIVALMAY 7 - 10, 2015 | JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA

IgNight is a 3 day Fire Flow Community Celebration in Southern California, designed to provide a fun, educational and community environment for spinners from all over the world. 137 workshops in three days! At least 10 classes going on concurrently at all times of the day and a nightly spin jam with flow music for you to practice new moves. Flow enthusiasts of all skill levels are invited to attend this communal opportunity for growth and development as a fire artist. 500 artists will gather to learn, teach, and advance together in the flow arts.

ignightconference.com

KINETIC FIREMAY 14 - 17, 2015 | COLLEGE CORNER, OHIO

Kinetic Fire is a Midwest regional gathering of Flow Artists to share knowledge and play together. It is part of an emerging network of festivals that feature Flow Arts workshops all day (around 100 over the weekend), and a large fire-dancing circle with music into the night. The Flow Arts include fire-dancing, poi, staff, hula-hoop, juggling, dance, fans, whips, and whatever else you can imagine that gets you into a state of flow. Light the fires of passion, connectivity, and expression!

kineticfire.org

HOOP CONVERGENCEMAY 14 - 18, 2015 | EFLAND, NORTH CAROLINA

Hoop Dance was the potent seed of Hoop Convergence, and will always be the foundation of this event and a thread that weaves us together. For me, everything comes back to the circle. In addition to our fantastic lineup of hoop instructors, we will host some amazing artists in the realms of Circus & Flow Arts and Conscious Embodiment practices. You’ll have the option to explore contact staff, flow wand, aerial acrobatics, partner acro/AcroYoga, slackline, Ecstatic Dance, yoga, cyr wheel and more.hoopconvergence.org

SPRING


The Spin Summit is filled with workshops on a variety of props (hoops, poi, flow wand, fans, contact staff, double staff, S staff, contact juggling, ball juggling, slackline, aerial, etc…), labs, forums, professional instruction, the SPIN CUBE educational interactive art, LED & Fire Spinning, Massage & Healing Space, Vending, Performances, Photo/Video, DJ’s playing indoors on a quality sound system, live musicians, live artists, overnight accommodations (cabins, yurts, or tent camping), meal plans or BYOF, forests and a central big field to spin on with various indoor spaces, a labyrinth and more!thespinsummit.com

Envision Festival photo by Kyer Wiltshire


CAMPFIRE RETREATJUNE 5 - 8, 2015 | CLARKS GROVE, MINNESOTA

Campfire Retreat is a Midwest regional gathering of Flow Artists and Aerial Dancers to share knowledge and play together. The Flow Arts include fire-dancing, poi, staff, hula-hoop, juggling, dance, aerials, fans, whips, and whatever else you can imagine that gets you into a state of flow. Light the fires of passion, connectivity, and expression!campfireretreat.com

SPIN OUT JUNE 12 – 15, 2015 | SUNDRE, ALBERTA, CANADA

Spin Out is a unique event that includes 4 days and 3 nights of flow workshops, performances, dance parties, catered food, and cabins for your comfort. A mix between a festival and a retreat this event will get you moving, feeling inspired, learning new skills, and making new friends.spinoutevents.com

RETURN TO ROOTS GATHERINGJULY 30 – AUG 3, 2015 | MEDFORD, NEW JERSEY

The original hoop dance, yoga and music festival. Reconnect with your heart and spirit while creating relationships that stay with you after you return home. Workshops center around hoop dance, yoga and flow arts skills, fire arts, aerial arts, dance, professional development and conscious living – all to open your body, heart, and mind. At night, we celebrate with live music and DJs. Intended for shy beginners, outgoing experts, and everyone in between.returntoroots.com

IN FLOW FESTIVALJULY 31ST – AUG. 3RD 2015 | MUSKOKA, ONTARIO, CANADA

A True North Hoop Gathering: an unforgettable weekend of flow in Ontario’s great outdoors. Top local instructors join forces with international hoopstars to create a beautiful weekend of movement, magic and community. Enjoy 4 days of programming while camping under the stars and eating chef-prepared farm-to-table delights at every meal. Additional amenities include swimming, nature walks, hot-tub, RMT and other wellness treatments.inflowfestival.com

MOUNTAIN FLOW FESTAUGUST, 2015 (TBA) | ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

First annual public flow arts festival in Asheville! Free performances nightly, over 40 workshops in circus & flow, dance & yoga with internationally touring instructors and performers.flowfests.com

SUMMER - FALLSPRING - SUMMER

WILDFIRE RETREATMAY 22 - 25, 2015 | ASHFORD, CONNECTICUT

WildFire is the East Coast’s premier spinning and fire arts training camp. Our core missions are to spread the spinning arts and build community connections among spinning artists. Each of our events offers a diverse selection of over 100 classes on poi, hoop, dance, teaching, safety, business, performance, drumming… and so much more. It is a “camping” style retreat, where all meals and hot showers are provided. WildFire is the perfect spot for you to share, grow, discover, and learn with our spinning and fire arts community.

wildfireretreat.com

FIREDRUMSMAY 28 - 31, 2015 | LASSEN NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA

WildFire is the East Coast’s premier spinning and fire arts training camp. Our core missions are to spread the spinning arts and build community connections among spinning artists. Each of our events offers a diverse selection of over 100 classes on poi, hoop, dance, teaching, safety, business, performance, drumming… and so much more. It is a “camping” style retreat, where all meals and hot showers are provided. WildFire is the perfect spot for you to share, grow, discover, and learn with our spinning and fire arts community.

firedrums.org

FAHRENHEIT FIRE & FLOW ARTS FESTIVALMAY 29 - 31, 2015 | SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Fahrenheit is a three day camping event where fire performers and flow artists of all types and skill levels come from near and far to share and celebrate their passion for this captivating art form. Each day is packed with dozens of intensive workshops that cover a wide range of subjects taught by teachers at the top of their craft. The event is entirely volunteer-run, and all attendees contribute to its success by donating a few hours of their time in the kitchen, around the grounds, at the greeter station, and wherever the event needs help.

fahrenheitflowarts.com

PLAY THINK MOVEMENT & FLOW ARTS FESTIVALJUNE 10 - 14, 2015 | BEREA, KENTUCKY

The PlayThink Festival offers an atmosphere of magic, letting you experience dance parties, circus camp, and four full days of play just for you and yours. Inspiring playshops, presentations, and discussions will be led by some of the best known flow arts regional instructors. Musicians, Dancers, Artists, and Lovers of Life will converge in Berea, Kentucky with their full range of unique talents offering a wide range of life enhancing skills and thoughts.

playthinkfest.com

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Envision Festival photo by Kyer Wiltshire

74 | FESTIVAL GUIDE

SUMMER - FALL

HOOP CAMP RETREATSEPTEMBER 28TH - OCT. 1ST, 2015 | SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA

Hoopcamp is the largest yearly gathering of the hoop dance community, held at a Tibetan Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, California. Now in it’s 6th year, hoopers from all over the world come together at Hoopcamp to share, connect, learn, and celebrate the hoop as a transformational movement tool for creative self-expression.flowfests.com

SACRED CIRCULARITIESOCTOBER 2015 (TBA) | SEDONA, ARIZONA

A Immersion Experience in Personal Transformation and Healing through Hula Hooping, Movement Meditation, Inner Alchemy practices and more! New to the hoop? Been hooping for years? This retreat is designed with all movers in mind! Sacred Circularities retreats are an enriching mixture of dance and life-enhancing tools for your mind, body and spirit!sacredcircularities.com

FLORIDA FLOW FESTOCTOBER 9 - 11, 2015 | LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA

Fifth annual, award-winning public flow arts festival in south Florida! Free performances nightly, over 60 workshops in circus & flow, dance & yoga with internationally touring instructors and performers.

floridaflowfest.com

WILDFIRE RETREATAUGUST 21 - 24, 2015 | ASHFORD, CONNECTICUT

WildFire is the East Coast’s premier spinning and fire arts training camp. Each of our events offers a diverse selection of over 100 classes on poi, hoop, dance, teaching, safety, business, performance, drumming… and so much more. WildFire is the perfect spot for you to share, grow, discover, and learn with our spinning and fire arts community. wildfireretreat.com

PACIFIC FIRE GATHERINGSEPTEMBER 17 - 20, 2015 | CLOVERDALE, OREGON

Pacific Fire Gathering is part of an emerging network of Flow Arts events, that include fire-dancing, poi, staff, hula-hoop, juggling, dance, fans, whips, and whatever else you can imagine that gets you into a state of flow. The festival is located right on the ocean with a private beach. The ticket includes high-caliber performance showcases on both Friday and Saturday nights. Light the fires of passion, connectivity, and expression!PacificFireGathering.com

WILDFIRE RETREATSEPTEMBER 18 - 21, 2015 | ASHFORD, CONNECTICUT

WildFire is the East Coast’s premier spinning and fire arts training camp. Each of our events offers a diverse selection of over 100 classes on poi, hoop, dance, teaching, safety, business, performance, drumming… and so much more. It is a “camping” style retreat, where all meals and hot showers are provided. WildFire is the perfect spot for you to share, grow, discover, and learn with our spinning and fire arts community. wildfireretreat.com

FLOW CAMPSEPTEMBER 24 – 27, 2015 | HARRODSBURG, KENTUCKY

Flow Camp is a weekend workshop retreat that features some of the best and brightest instructors in the fields of Flow Arts, Burlesque, Aerials, Fire Dancing, Belly Dance, and more! Started by Jorden “Flow Jo” Dundich in 2011, its intention was to bring these arts to the lives of many to encourage adults to nourish movement and play into their lives. flowcampfestival.com


Foreverland photo by Zippy Lomax

visit FESTIVALFIRE.COM

Gatherings for Cultural Transformation

See you out there!

Envision Festival photo by Zippy Lomax

http://www.festivalfire.com

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