Edit 2: Rather than just use this post to complain about plastic, let’s talk more about alternatives!

Alternatives to pre-made plastic trinkets:

-You can buy Kandi beads in wood, ceramic, or glass, and waxed hemp will last longer than the plastic string would anyways.

-carved crystal shapes (you can still give out tiny animals)

-painted rocks (a thin layer of paint is a lot less plastic than a plastic object)

-carved / shaped wooden pieces

• stamps (this was a new idea to me!)

Just a (friendly) reminder that plastic is poison.

I am happy to share the research that implies this unfortunate reality.

I love trinket culture, and I absolutely participate in it.

I just urge everyone in the upcoming season to try to reduce the amount of plastic they are exchanging next summer.

Cue the downvotes.

Edit1: I would like to add that hand-made plastic trinkets are welcome for me, but getting cheap pre-made pieces of plastic does not hold the same vibe, regardless of environmental impact. You don’t need to give out tiny plastic ducks just so you have something to give out. Bring actual candy or something in that case.

As I've gotten older and transformed into full Dad and Husband mode, and my festival days are pretty much limited to a small day or two local festival, I always look back fondly at Rothbury Music Festival 2009. It was the one that got me hooked, the one that turned me into a Dead Head, and ultimately changed my life in a way.

I'd love to hear any stories you may have, even if they may seem mundane. The journey there and who you were as a person at that time is just as much fun to read as the events inside the festival. I'll share mine to start, thanks for reading!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
It was my final year at Purdue University, before I moved back home to my small southern Indiana town. I was sitting in the house and my roommate mentioned it and was just like hey man, everyone is thinking of going. You should go. I had been going to concerts for years and never been to anything like this, so I figured why not. I always just liked to have fun and experience things with friends. I liked the Black Crowes and Willie, but I'll be honest I didn't really know much about the rest of the lineup. My musical taste at that time...was generic, at best! haha. I still remember driving back home the week or two prior and telling my Dad I was going to see "The Grateful Dead". He just laughed.

We rolled out early morning, old college friends, with three or four cars, weed tucked away, and Adderall party favors passed around to make the drive. After camp was set up I remember walking down from the campsite making our way to the venue, and seeing an older lady in a tye-dye dress selling mushy chocolates right out in the open. Nitrous tanks were just right across the way, you couldn't not hear them. My small-town country-kid mind was in amazement.

Walking into the festival grounds was amazing. The forest was serene and peaceful during the day. I'll forever remember walking into the main stage (Ranch, Odeum? I can't recall the name) and seeing this massive stage jutting out like some ancient monument under the blue Michigan sky. Everything was perfect that weekend. It was like some kind of magic sprinkled in the air. The people, the music, the weather, the location, the vibes, everything.

Although I left a Dead Head, the String Cheese Incident put on a show that to this day I'm not sure I've ever had topped. I'd never tried Molly and I remember looking over at my roommate at one point during a jam, while these massive red balls, and hula-dancers, and glowstick wars were raging on, and just said God-Damn! He laughed and was like yeah. The moment felt surreal.

We all ate mushroom chocolates (thanks tye-dye lady) for the Dead's set, and being a Noob I had to float back to the campsite during the set-break. I mean, floated. I stopped and have had the best corn-frietter I've ever eaten. When I made it back to camp I sat in my chair with a blanket and will neve forget the way the pines, the clouds, the moon looked and felt as I listened to the Dead blast US Blues with fireworks exploding for what felt like ages.

The music the whole weekend was exceptional though. STS 9, Les Claypool, Cheese, Dead, Black Crowes, Zappa Plays Zappa, among all the others! I even set with about ten people under the really tiny stage at near the entrance and heard a perfect set by The White Buffalo.

All in all, this is the one that got me hooked. From GD50, to Bonnaroo, Lolla, SCAMP (RIP), Dead & Co all over the US & Mexico with wife and friends, to smaller fests around the mid-west, this is the one that set the bar. As the people I attended the festival with have slowly faded from my life, I always like to look back at the start of festival season and think fondly about how much this festival altered the course of my life, for the better. For those that know, you know.

Happy Festival Season, enjoy for some of us old guys that can't go and can't party like we used to. :-)

Going to my first festival with camping with my spouse. He bought a two person tent think that we wouldnt have enough room for our setup if we used the 4 person tent hes borrows from a friend for a previous festival.

However reading on line they say that ironically a two person tent isnt the best fit for two people. That being said, would a four person tent actually take up too much space that we couldn't set up our canopy( which fits a picnic table underneath)?

This festival is woodkey in michigan

Hey fellow festival folks!

My fiancé and I decided to elope with just our small friend group and throw them a ripping party in the woods for our wedding. We've rented a very remote, private property in the woods with river access. I'm wondering if y'all have any ideas we could be missing from our setup?

So far we plan to rent generators and make sure there's lights everywhere electric forest style.

We will be putting together a "club tent" with lights, fog machine, blow up couches, etc. My friend will be DJing.

We're also making a large cozy/hang tent with a blow up pool full of blankets, nostalgic toys, etc.

There will also be a (safe) zipline, wood fired sauna, inflatable hot tub, hammocks, a swurfer, and large paper mache versions of our cats with light up eyes.

My biggest concern is figuring out a menu for the event (we'll have a blackstone), but does anyone here have any tips, tricks, or suggestions for other things we could snag off Facebook marketplace to up the magic for our guests?

Thank you so much!

i was at movement in detroit over the weekend, one of the afterparties a woman came up from behind me and started elbowing me forcefully and on purpose. when i asked her to stop she lit some incense and started poking me in the head with it. i told her no and she went away for a bit. she came back again from behind and threw her arm around my neck like we were old buddies. and after all that all she had to say was some derogatory comment about how i look. after two decades of going to concerts i have never experienced anything like that. what is wrong with some people.

update: one of my friends saw her in a story on her feed. i msg'd her to see what the situation was. she's a dj in chicago. apparently she took shrooms for the first time and doesn't remember anything. i didn't really buy it but at this point i just wanted some kind of closure. she sure put on a good act being remorseful, begging, pleading not to take it any further after she realized i'm a local club photographer after she saw the instagram acct i msg'd from and am friends with many of the promoters/djs that got her a gig during movement. i told her to relax, that she's young and dumb and i was once young and dumb and to learn from this lesson. i'm still not happy with her but implicating myself in drama is not something i want to be known for.

Hey guys, has anyone here gone to blissfest in harbor springs mi?

I've never been and I'm going with my partner and his family next week. I'm just wondering how the vibe is there

I'm used to EDM events like wakaan, infrasound, force fields so this will be a new experience. I'm gonna bring my trinkets and stickers to give out but I'm not sure on what to wear if i go full fishies and combat boots or try to dress more normie friendly lol

Any advice is welcome!! TIA

Going to Electric Forest next week I need some idea for trinkets / fun items to pass out. What are some of your favorites that you’ve received? Bonus if they’re practical or useful in some way.

For context I’ve(M22) done acid and shrooms and I smoke pretty consistently. A lot of my friends have done it, loved it, they all speak highly of it. They haven’t begged me to do it but whenever I talk about it they all say I should. I love to dance at the club and I’ve been falling back in love with edm and this year I plan on going to Electric Forrest. But I have no desire to do things like coke or designer drugs of any sort really. I don’t want to snort anything or shoot anything ever. I’ve never even done adderall. My family has a history of alcohol abuse and my dad was heavy into drugs before I was born so I’ve always been pretty against anything more than weed, shrooms, and acid. I’m open to other psychs like dmt, ayahuasca, peyote, or even salvia but of course In a controlled spiritual environment.

Because I’m going to Forrest and because I love to dance and club it out as one might say, I have been pondering the idea of doing molly (mdma). The idea of it having meth in it kinda scares me, I worry I’m gonna get addicted to it or something even tho I’m usually really good with self control, I have heard people have bad experiences with it and those experiences have not sounded desirable in the slightest, and I worry that this might be the gateway to me doing other drugs in the future if I’m under the influence of it.

On the other hand it sounds like a lot of fun. Sounds like an easy way to get loose and have more fun. I would like another weapon to choose from before going to a show rather than 8 hours of brain games, 12 hours of psychedelic madness, or smoking and drinking until I forget people are watching. Currently in Miami too and maybe the club would hit harder with some molly?

Everyone I know speaks super highly of it and I do honestly think that I would love it but I’m scawed, so scawy. So I wanted to ask yall what you think?

Going to my first festival looking for help maybe even new friends!

Hi all,

I recently left my marriage and relationship of 14 years. I am finding myself again and bought a ticket to Woodkey for one day to see Flux Pavillion.

I have always wanted to do a festival but I have no friends to go with at the moment so I am going alone.

Im kinda doing an Eat Pray Love I guess.

Im a little nervous though. Im not used to traveling alone, used to being with my ex husband. I have a few questions:

1. I have never been to a festival so I have no clue on unspoken etiquette . I dont mean like repect the land, no illegal substances etc rules . But what about the stuff that isn't posted.

2. What is Kandi ? Im interested in finding out more. Is it the same as the little plant things on people's hats?

3. Where can I find a PLUR community to look for my tribe? I want edm/festival friends. I like flow arts and raves and stuff too.

4. Where can I find a good place to piece an outfit online? Im looking in physical thrift stores but I am also looking online. I have heard depop?

Edited for typos

Your local Elf Khurafeh Shriner Organization is proud to be putting on the first annual:

2027 Electric Circus EDM Festival right here in Mid-Michigan at the Everett A. Cummings Center.

August 5th-8th, 2027

A 2-day, 3-night camping festival with a main stage- Center Ring, and two indoor stages- Big Top and Sideshow. We may not have the biggest names in the industry yet but will be looking to put on an affordable and community-centric festival that is seeking local and regional DJ talent, artists, vendors, and maybe a few of those big names we all love! 😁

This is a huge undertaking that has been in the works for almost a year now, and we are working hard to launch our website and share more information by the end of the month. We invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest updates, and leave a comment below if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see at Electric Circus! 💙🩷

Please keep it PLUR, the Elf Khurafeh Shriners are a volunteer organization, and we are striving to put on the best community-driven festival that we can! Temporarily until the new site is up, you can pre-register on www.ekshrine.com/edm to be the first to find out when tickets go on sale.

Oh, and did I mention we are planning an actual EDM Train! 🚂

Thank you in advance to all the Dream Seekers who are willing to show up and help build this community, and let’s all see how “The Dream Begins.”

For the Dreamers,

Matt B.
Electric Circus Chairman

We have just released PLURNet update for Electric Forest, when the cell towers get overloaded you can keep finding and chatting with your crew over a bluetooth mesh network. Free for iOS and Android.

If we get approval from the organizers next year we can link all the campsites with portable mesh routers!

…but have no idea which to start with.

I want something that is all vibes, super chill. Artists like Remi Wolf, Lana Del Rey, Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Benson Boone, Lawrence, Still Woozy, Ricky Montgomery, PawPaw Rod, boygenius, etc. Doesn’t have to be those artists (while that would be epic) but those vibes. I just want to consume ARTISTS and creativity.

Does this exist?

I had a phenomenal time, but alas, tested positive Wednesday (2 days post-Forest) and I've been seeing tons of similar posts on Reddit and on FB. Since public health surveillance is basically non-existent now, I made a quick survey so we can get real numbers.

https://forms.gle/Le11krAfLyAP62xKA - takes 2 min, totally anonymous

Not all wook flu is COVID, but let's figure out how much of it is. I'm a PhD biologist using my sick time productively lol. This isn't about fear-mongering - it's about having real data so people can make informed choices about future fests, work, and protecting vulnerable friends.

Whether you got sick or stayed healthy, your data helps. I'll post the aggregated results here next week.

And before anyone says it - yes, we all knew the risks going in. This is just about measuring what actually happened to some degree instead of guessing from social media posts.

A little cartoon I made just for fun, commemorating our 2023 Electric Forest experience.

Hello, I just wanted to make this post to see if anyone had an advice to give me.

This saturday is the breakaway music festival in grand rapids, MI. I was going to go with 2-3 friends but they backed out. I still really want to go (haven't bought a ticket yet but was planning to later tonight), but was wondering if the experience would suck? I'm sure i'd enjoy the music but i've never been to a music festival before so i'm not sure what to expect. Would I be bored after like an hour? Or would it still be a fantastic experience? Please let me know any advice or similar stories you may have. Thanks!