Dance and Be Free at Electric Love

Photo Credit: Electric Love Website

By: Dianissa Boigues

Electric Love Festival (ELF) will be held at Cheam Fishing Village in Agassiz, BC July 26th-29th. The location brings a feeling of calm just by looking at the pictures. It’s like being in a tiny paradise of fun, sun, and good music. The festival is focused on giving good local/up and coming talent a chance to be heard and appreciated by many. ELF is inspired by the social phenomenon, Summer of Love, which occurred the summer of 1967. It was the beginning of music festivals, arts, etc. Flower Power Friday is celebrated to commemorate the movement and inspiration for the festival. I am already thinking about an outfit for this day!

“Dance and be free, because on the dance floor, the walls come down and borders don’t exist.” – ELF website

This year’s theme is “The Four Elements” that are essential to life, Earth Wind, Fire, and Water. The lineup has not been released but just from looking at the last three years line-ups, we’re surely not going to be disappointed. The festival offers general admission camping, as well as family and Drug/ Alcohol-free camping. Even though free camping is available, you can also purchase a vehicle pass that allows you to enter with your vehicle and have a 10ft x 30ft spot to camp. A variety of local food and merchandise vendors will be available. There will be a sanctuary as well, that offers a no questions asked to support. Various workshops are offered during the festival, like yoga, arts, and crafts, just to name a few.

The Founding Principles

ELF focuses on having an open and accepting environment no matter your choices/beliefs. It wants to create a safe, happy and welcoming place for everyone, to make sure that everyone is accepted and comfortable. In order to achieve this, there are 8 founding principles that guide the festival. 

Leave No Trace: 

Attendees are encouraged to pick up after themselves leaving the area just like they found it, clean.

Affordability: 

ELF takes great pride in trying to provide the most affordable prices so as many people from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds can attend.

Inclusion: 

ELF is focused on making sure everyone feels welcome no matter what age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation that you identify with.

NO Cultural Appropriation: 

Be yourself but not use anything that appropriates cultural heritage.

Drug/ Alcohol-Free Event: 

Anyone caught with or doing any illegal substances will be escorted from the event and may face legal consequences.

100 mile DJ:  

They focus on the growth of local artists careers by booking the majority of our artists from within the region where the event is held.

Self-Expression & Participation:  

Always be you! Doing is being.

Quality of Sound:  

It’s of upmost importance to able to interpret the music by having the best sound system.

The Stages

The festival is independent meaning, all five stages are sponsor free. Each stage is dedicated to a specific genre of music.

The Nest – It’s the main stage of the festival. Expect to hear House, Disco, Breaks, Drum and Bass, Glitch Hop, and Midtempo. From 5 pm until sunset it hosts the Band Showcase, where it features Canada’s up and coming live rock ensembles.

The Arcade – Gives you the feeling of actually being inside a video game. This stage is purely Drum and Bass, Dubstep, Trap, Glitch Hop, and Bass House. It has projection mapping by INEO Studios and PK Sound system.

The Zen Den – Is dedicated to personal growth, during the day it’s where the workshops are located. During the evening it converts to a psychedelic symphony of sights and sound. Expect to hear genres such as World Music, Psytrance, Psydub, Deep House, Techno, and Downtempo.

The Wormhole – Is a pop-up stage by the riverside. Genres such as Deep House, Midtempo, Glitch-Hop, Drum and Bass, Chill-Hop, Nu-Disco, Breaks, Funky, and Ambient.

The Hip Hop Showcase – Pays tributes to the four elements that built the culture: The B-Boy, The Graffiti Artist, The Deejay and The Emcee. It’s Hip Hop’s 45th anniversary this year, let’s see what ELF will bring!

Tickets have been selling QUICK and it’s expected to sell out on just its 4th year running. Two out of 4 tiers are sold out. Tier 3 is still available so go grab your ticket now before they sell out and prices go up with Tier 4!  Buy yours here. 

This is Festival Squad’s first time attending and we’re SUPER excited to see what ELF will bring this year. Come join the fun with us!