“I can’t believe we’re dealing with this bullshit just to watch someone turn the sun off for two minutes,” my dear friend Jeff crackled over our walkie talkies. It was 11:30 PM on Wednesday August 16th. My caravan of friends, spread out between 4 vehicles, had been sitting in line to get into the Symbiosis Eclipse Festival in Big Summit Prairie, Oregon since roughly noon that same day.…
It feels like such a long time since I’ve done a festival recap. Paradiso seems so long ago (2 years ago). At the last minute I bought tickets to What the Festival?! in Oregon. Two of my favorite people in the world told me to come and as an early, joint-birthday bash with one of those favorite people, I went. Me & said favorite people 🙂 And I don’t think I’ve ever been happier about a decision. What the Festival is small, 4,000-ish people, and a combination of art installations and music, in the shadow of the cascades. Literally. Oh hey there Mt. Hood. Four days of music (if you arrive early like we did), and a generally rad time with a group of really chill, positive festival goers. I haven’t had this type of experience since Re:generation in 2011. This is the type of festival experience I’m after now. Paradiso is too big, too overwhelming, and despite a stunning venue, there is no shade, a lack of respect to festival goers and vice versa, a lack of respect to the venue by the festival goers. There is none of this at WTFest and it makes for a much more enjoyable…