Transformational Music Festivals!

Disclaimer A)  I realize this is about a music festival, but it's also the result of years of work, and the culmination of my personal philosophies - if I could be serious for a moment here?

Disclaimer B) This is going to be fucking long and ramble-y.

Shoutboxers will be aware of this, but a bit of backstory for the rest of you.  I am an EDM DJ born out of punk rock culture.  My love for dance came quite late, relatively - I was 23 when I attended my first Shambhala, an event I consider an awakening of my soul.  I have been DJing since that first Shambhala - 3 years now, and running a promotional/entertainment company in my hometown of Prince George for 2 years.  We are Northern Lights Entertainment.

Shambhala was an eye opener for me.  It reminded me of that scene in Pinocchio near the end, when all the bad kids are smoking cigars and gambling etc and turn into donkeys.  I remember feeling like I should have been turning into a donkey.  Adults still have fun?  People have fun like THIS?  It was debauchery pure and simple, but pervading it all was an atmosphere of FUN.  And I came back from Shambhala, traveling on a bus we bought communally, saying to my friends, WHY ARENT WE DOING THIS!??!

Well, five concerts and countless private and/or house parties we are.  This Saturday, we will be hosting the first Kickoff To Summer Festival that Prince George has seen.  We are expecting no less than 400 people, and upwards of 500.  We have spent the last two months carving trails into a riverside forest, building a tree house stage (following legitimate safety rules, of course!), and turning the 5 acre property that has been graciously donated for our use into the party of the mah fuggin century.

This was originally conceived as a way for local DJs to give back to the people that make us who we are - dancers.  The original concept was a 200 person party, where all attendees were invited by the five local DJs handpicked by the organizers.  From there, we have ballooned to a 400 person party, with 12 DJs - each inviting between 30-50 people that they feel will have the most fun, will bring the most dance, will give back to organizers and promoters and each other.

We are going to feature local artists performing live art installations all night long.  Everyone is invited to participate in a potluck dinner Saturday night.  This party is being entirely hosted by a dedicated team of volunteers.  As an organizer, I stand to profit zero dollars.  All attendees will be attending for FREE. All DJs are performing for FREE.

As per Canadian law and the liquor license we obtained, we are required to charge for all liquor sales.  However, 100% of cash bar proceeds will be going to a dear and dedicated friend of Prince George's dance community, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.

We are currently at 12 DJs, still accepting offers to play, as well as many non-EDM related groups (yoga, meditation, various dance crews) wanting to be involved.  This has been a HUGE eye opener for me - through organic actions, we are having communities that would never interact in day to day life, interact on levels that are reserved for intimate friends and crews.  Some people in the shoutbox have commented to me that they are surprised/amazed/happy that people such as the group I am hosting this event with still exist.

The main point I would like to make here is, go for this shit, guys.  I don't do this to make money - I will happily break down any of our concerts for you on a profit/cost basis.  I am not making money.  We are lucky in that we manage to break even any time we try one of these crazy stunts.  Money isn't why I have been dedicating my time and energy though.  I am not some kind of crazy musician.  I am an economics/accounting geek with an avid love of videogames who has been lucky enough to be able to share my enthusiasm for life with the people I surround myself with, and I love every moment of it.

There is no feeling on Earth like the feeling one gets being responsible for a room or field being filled to the tits with people who are there to EXIST and HAVE FUN and be RADICAL INDIVIDUALS.


Edited by Gravel - 06/15/2012 at 03:37

Salutations and congratulations, Gravel.

Congratulations Gravel! I hope everything goes well.

Gravel wrote: opening ceremony started 17 minutes ago.� 200 people steadily increasing.� Turning off my phone!

keep us posted :)

EDIT: Now I just read the last sentence, which means my post doesn't make much sense. Also, you'll probably tell us everything about your party as soon as you can anyway. Have fun :)

Some people have requested a post mortem.  Sorry for taking so long - I was exhausted in a great way from the festival itself, and then I worked a bunch, and I also wanted to take the time to try to organize my thoughts a little. 

First things first - the event was a smashing success on every front imaginable.  Heavy rainfall warnings for the region, but we only got a bit of light drizzle.  Rain held out for us.  Final headcount was 327. plus 42 volunteers live during the event, and the many many volunteers who came together in the months beforehand to help set up.  There were zero bad incidents of any sort, be they violent or drug related, what have you.  By all reports, all attendees had a SMASHING time.  Will share pictures and video as it becomes available.

Couldn't be happier with how the music panned out either.  Working on getting my set uploaded for you guys.  We had a nice variety of sounds and styles, something for everyone.  Truly blessed to work with a talented group of locals.  Much inspiration shared by all, both for the event itself and as a unit moving forward.  This event has done more to bring together the local djs and dance crews than anyone had imagined.  It's the first time the Prince George music scene has interested and excited me in a long time - and back then it was metal bands.  Community like this is one of the reasons I got involved as a promoter.

Some people have asked about the raising money part.  Again, could NOT have gone better.  We raised the remaining amount to take care of our friend's cancer treatments.  She requested that we give the rest to someone else local and in need.  I am very proud to say that we were able to present a $7,500 dollar cheque to a local 12 year old girl who was diagnosed with *two* types of leukemia simultaeneously in 2009. Needless to say this is very rare and special treatment protocols had to be invented to even treat this.  As you can imagine this becomes very expensive quickly (our friends standard chemo cost a cool 25,000).  Our cheque is a minor bandaid to a huge problem but it is awesome to be able to give back locally.

DJs and their promoters are only as good as the people on the dance floor, and it really meant something special to me to see what our dance floor is capable of.  Can't wait to do this again next year!!!