Written by Tiffany Moya
Photo credit: Lucidity Festivals
First, let me begin by saying this is more than a typical music festival. Lucidity, held this past weekend at Live Oaks Campgrounds in Santa Barbara, CA, left me speechless, with a heart full of love and compassion and a mind full of hope. As a first time attendee, I had no idea what to expect but after leaving I am forever changed —in the best ways possible.
The festival functions as a retreat style event by hosting a variety of yoga, ecology, spiritual and craft workshops, in addition to the amazing music played at all hours of the day. I literally stumbled into my favorite workshops by accident. The campgrounds have secret “renegade” stages and while on a mission to find the elusive BeeHive stage, which is known for producing some bumpin’ groovy house tunes, I came across a tree filled with tons of fairytale-inspired dreamcatchers. Around the tree, thick brush had been cleared to form a circle; meanwhile, the aroma of freshly burned sage and palo santo filled the air. I walked over to a group sitting on the ground in the middle of the “Enchanted Forest Camp” and realized they were making dreamcatchers. I was humbly welcomed and taught how to make my very own, which is now proudly hung up and will serve to remind me of one of my favorite festing moments.
Lucidity is grounded upon building a community of like-minded passionate individuals that all share their love for this planet, each other and music. It is a place of growth where an individual can heal, learn, or share and then apply their gained knowledge to life experiences outside of the festival. One of the most refreshing aspects of Lucidity was it’s genuineness and maturity. People were there to really dig deep and find out more about themselves. There was no performance of identity. Most of the attendees were extremely aware of who they were and lead health conscious lifestyles. The event is rather a collective effort to continue or AWAKEN their knowledge about current issues and and further their own identity growth.
In contrast, most festivals promote the type of environment where you can be anyone or create any identity in a designated safe space. Within that bordered space you can let all your worries go and just enjoy the entertainment. However, Lucidity dismantles the foundation of those borders by promoting self-affirmation outside of the event. Both are beautiful experiences but Lucidity is one of the only events I have attended with such an intimate narrative. What makes this place so special is the dedication and participation of the attendees because they truly believe in the power to create and build a functional environmentally-conscious space. And they make it easy to participate! For example, among one of the many hidden tea tents (yes, they really do serve tea), I found myself apprehensively standing outside weighing my bravery to enter when someone lightly tapped my shoulder from behind and said “Cmon, let’s have some tea”. Just like that all my walls went down and I found myself talking to an array of brilliantly unique individuals. You learn at this festival, A LOT, so listen!
You can feel the passion and integration of Lucidity’s narrative into the daily lives of these individuals. It is visible throughout the event, from the absolutely amazing vegan food, to the recycling and compost bins scattered throughout the grounds, and even the biodegradable glitter vendors. This event is centered around the consciousness of your actions and ability to make cumulative change in the world, while listening to some dope music.
TIPS FOR YOUR NEXT LUCIDITY
1. Bring your own reusable utensils and dishes! EVERYONE has them and YOU will feel incredibly awkward (didn’t get the memo, uncomfortable, kind of awkward) when you show up to the crew’s table with paper and plastic dishes. Reduce and re-use people 🙂
2. Go to the Nook Stage. Just trust.
3. Check out the 8am awake yoga class. It is a great way to loosen up all those tight muscles after countless hours of dancing.
4. Sit in the live art station and be someone’s muse.
5. Walk around the campgrounds! Go explore, make friends, possibly find random trampolines (Hint Hint Wink Wink)
6. Jiggly Town = after-hours
Until next year!