Transformational!

Recently there has been an big emergence of "conscious" music festivals that promise ticket holders a life-altering and spiritually uplifting experience unlike any other festival. When I look at these posters I immediately think that this is the place I need to be this summer. These festivals must be the answers to all my problems because it's promises something so much more than just music and light shows.

Look at this poster for Envision festival. It looks like Mother Nature herself is inviting you to come along for the mystical ride of a lifetime. 

Rootwire, held here in Ohio for the past two years, claims itself to be a "transformational arts festival"

The thing is, these festivals ARE amazing but my boyfriend made an excellent point this week; are these people just out to make money? Any good promoter will survey the fans that are going to come out to these things and will realize that the young hippies of our generation are getting REALLY REALLY into things like yoga, permaculture, sacred geometry, and live art. Kids will pay big bucks to go somewhere that they think will change there life and uplift their spirit...even if they're just going to douse their brains with a shit ton of drugs and run around like looney-bins for four days...hey, whatever works. 

The point is, and as one elephantjournal.com blogger notes in this post , these festivals are still festivals and are not actually places of spiritual growth and healing in the raw sense. People are using drugs rampantly, drinking obscene amounts of alcohol, and staying up all hours of the night. Not to say that these things aren't cathardic and wonderful at times...but festivals are trying to broadcast themselves as being something that they might not be.