L.M.F. (or Lame Music Festival) Stolen art, lost times

La Viance Music Festival had promised to be a wonderful festi, with well over 60 hours of music in a beautiful mansion. It is unfortunate that this wasn't so. It was rumored that festival goers were being asked to leave early. This being the case, it prevents for any further events to go on during this weekend. Producers of the festival may have not planned properly, but something was not right. Either way, it took away from the experience that goers may have been expecting.

Bean Spence, a local artist, has posted the following as his public FB update:

"LA VIANCE MUSIC FEST was an LMF!! ( lame music fest). I got my tye-dye mushroom tapestry stolen, enough techno music to drive you crazy, property owner was an ass, unorganized, "to many chiefs and not enough indians".....basically be glad you didn't waste your money and time. Please keep an eye out at the festies for my tapestry."

It is unfortunate to hear that this was the case. This venue held a lot of promise, and also had quite a number of acts that would have really made it. (Pictured above is the stolen art, if anyone sees it or has any information, please inform Bean Spence @ http://www.facebook.com/bean.spence )

When at a Festi, there is usually a code of co-existence and comradery. One shouldn't have to worry about stuff getting stolen, getting ripped off, or having a bad time. After all, we all go to these events in order to have fun, and meet new people. Those who attend to create chaos, make trouble, and inflict their lower standards on others are a few beers short of a twelve pack, and condemned to be forever in the dark side of Shake Down. I do hear they have cookies though.

Because of this, you should always have a smart head on your shoulders. Measure out your crowd, and make friends with your neighbors. You can look out for each others stuff this way. It is also important to know what kind of a festival you are getting into. Some are kinder than others, be it the bands or just the people holding it. Just try to know what you are getting into.

Do not let these things stop you from going to a music festival, and having fun. Life is all about taking chances, it's just not a bad idea to be a little smart about it.

Rainbow Gatherings and You

I recently spent about a week and a half at a Rainbow Gathering in Central Florida. When I told my editor about it, he asked if I could share my story with you. I said sure, after all it is a gathering of people, in Florida, with the spirit of Festivals and Free Love all combined into one sweet package.

Some say, that the best things in life are FREE. Well, the best things in life aren't really things at all, but instances of life spread out over the canvas we call time. If you are looking to make your life a bit more colorful, and understand further about your own place in the world, maybe you should go to a Rainbow Gathering. If you want to feel closer to Earth and others around you, you should go to a Rainbow Gathering.

What to expect:

Make sure you bring candy. Not just for you, but for others around you. Sharing is the game, and you automatically become a player once you enter the woods. You can use candy for trade or barter, or you can just give it away. People will appreciate it, as sugar in small quantities is actually good for you in the woods, where walking for long periods is part of every day living.

Have you ever lived in the wilderness? Well, this is basically what you will be doing while at a Gathering. Rainbow Gatherings are basically self sustained communities in the woods. Everyone pitches in to help the Family survive. Don't forget the settings around you. In Florida, the weather can drop down to 28 degrees (as it did during my stay there) at night, while the days can be a comfortable 68 degrees or 90, it all really depends. Yeah, weather changes, but it makes for an interesting time. During the night you can keep yourself warm by a fire, or walk around to keep your blood pumping. Just make sure before you visit a Rainbow Gathering, you know what to expect. Pack appropriately.

Bring lots of water. Keep reserves in the car, and bring cleansing drops or tablets. Last thing you want is to catch a bug due to poor water handling. You are responsible for yourself, and should not put thyself in danger.

There is no money at Rainbow. Yes, you heard right. Why you ask? Well, in order to keep Rainbow Gatherings FREE, there has been a no money way of existence created here. This keeps the Federal Government from wanting taxes on things "bought" or "sold" in Rainbow. See instead, you trade and barter for what you need. Remember that candy? Some people may trade you a bag of skittles for a dank knife, or some pretty earrings for glass beads. It really varies on what you are trying to acquire and trade for. For example, I managed to trade 3 beautiful glass beads by an artist known as Chris Daprix, in for a pound of cigarette rolling Tobacco, and some rolling papers. I donated about half a pound of tobacco and 2 packs of papers to Nick at Nite, a group of individuals who have made their job to roll cigarettes for FREE if anyone happens to need one in the woods. Meanwhile, I used the other half for rolling cigarettes when Nick at Nite wasn't around. I met a lot of people while I was doing this, I highly recommend it.

Expect a lot of Love. People will be giving away hugs like it's running out of style. Except, that can't really happen with hugs. You really get a chance to experience some tight family love while you are there. People are warm, inviting, and usually pretty easy to talk to. You can easily walk up to a camp fire anywhere, and find some people to hang and chat with. Are you not the easy to break into a group kind? Well, if you like to help people out, helping out with a kitchen can really help you meet some people. Just show up, that's all it takes. Tell them that you heard you could help with anything. This way, you get to work for yourself and your family, feeding everyone for free. If you do have any special skills though, it is a sure thing you can usually apply what you know in order to help out the Family.

One thing about Rainbow is that it stands as an autonomous entity down to every single hippie, crusty kid, gutter punk, tramp, or hoofer in there; even so, everyone depends on one another to survive. If you aren't helping out at a kitchen, or doing water runs, you should do anything to help out. During main circle, a magic hat is passed around. This is the time to donate in order to keep the family fed. It takes 500 dollars to buy a ton of fresh produce. A ton. This is a lot of food, and goes a long way. Remember, they are trying to feed you and everyone there. It's always good to bring your own supplies, and share what you have. You'll be surprised at how many people will invite you to join them in order to break bread. It's beautiful.

Remember to respect the woods while you are there. Don't do anything you wouldn't do at your own home. There are creatures that live there, and you may want to return to the site again some other time in order to enjoy the natural beauty all around you. This is not just a place for you to visit, but it is for us and all generations to come. It is easy to forget these things while you are in the moment, having fun, but it's important to keep it in mind. There are people walking around, always collecting pocket trash. Make sure you thank them, and use their services. Otherwise, collect all your garbage, and hike it out.

What to bring:

Yourself

Your Gear (pack for the occasion, and do so carefully. Only bring what you think you will absolutely need, you must hike out everything that you hike in)

Candy

Tobacco

Trading Goods

Water Purification Kit's (you can always kick down what you are not using to kitchens, they need clean water for your food)

Extra Food (never hike food out, I'm sure you can find a Brother or Sister who you can share with)

Extra Socks

Knife

Shovel

Big Tarps

Rope

Axe

Sun Screen

Kindling

TOILETTE PAPER

Wipes

Flash Lights

Your Bliss (cups, plates... Always have them with you!)

Extra Rolling Papers x20

Lots of LOVE!

Anything else you feel you may need. Remember, if you are going for a while try to make yourself as comfortable as you can, and any gear you don't want to hike out, you can always trade or kick down to people. If you need to take medication, it is ALWAYS a good thing to bring extra with you. Last thing you want, is to run out of it while in the woods, and having that extra supply of life sustaining medicine, will bring a heap of calm upon you.

Other Thoughts:

Something you should remember is that you make your experience what you want it to be. People are very receptive to energy at these places, and communal living is something people start to pay attention to. How you interact, and what you do to help out the Family is looked at. No one wants a mooch who just comes to take take take. Everyone wants to have a good time, but one must work in order to sustain the stability of the communality. It's a great way to meet people, and understand core essentials for human interaction and survival. It's a great time to see what you are really made of, and experience Love in one of it's purest forms.

If you would like some more information on what Rainbow Gatherings are about, where they are, and how you can find them, here are a couple of web sites dedicated to helping you:

This is a Local Rainbow Family web site, it offers info on the local gatherings, as well as maps and other useful information:

http://flrainbow.org/

This is a link to a National Rainbow web site*:

http://welcomehere.org/

*Note: There is no real "Rainbow" entity that claims to be the head. Rainbow is about freedom in all forms. Therefore, having a "leader" is kind of futile, and no web site is the "Official Rainbow" site. Officially, the Rainbow is anyone with a belly button. It is the greatest disorganized organization to ever exist.

Loving You!

Your First Music Festival?

So you are going off to your first festival? First off, let me congratulate you on making one of the best decisions you have ever made. To begin with, you have joined a unique race of individuals from all walks of life, one which chooses to endure the elements in order to participate in worship of their true love: Music.

You must be aware of two main routes that may be taken when going to a festival. One is the easy route, renting an RV and paying the extra parking fees, or even getting VIP tickets for all the nice perks now available. Or you can do it the way that it was truly meant to be done, with a tent, a grill, a cooler full of beer, and your friends by your side. This is usually general admission at a festy, and can be tons of fun regardless. Just be prepared, and your weekend should roll by with no problem.

So what would you need for a music festival?

Not a lot, festivals usually do a pretty good job at finding a way to provide you with what you need; besides, a first timer will probably be running amok, trying to figure out what is going on in the madness around them. Some essentials are needed:

Sun-block, no reason to also fry your skin during the weekend, if you know your skin is sensitive, use some. Also, even if you don’t usually get sun burnt, prolonged exposure to that giant atomic ball of fire above us may affect you. For those of you who don’t usually go out in the Florida sun for a while, wear a hat. I have seen many blisters on top of hatless heads, not happy times.

Bring a bag or satchel for your stuff. You may want to keep things like your disposable camera, snacks, bug spray, extra flashlight, baby wipes (sounds weird? You will thank me!), emergency glow sticks, sun-block, and re-usable water bottle.

All of these are very important. Your water bottle specially. A sensible festival will have water hook ups for you to acquire water; after all, as a necessity of life it should be free.

When you finally are done running around and dancing, you are going to want to go back to your camp. Choosing a good spot is very important. Your location to other campers may make or break your experience. If you like to hang out late hours, and have a crazy good time, you won’t want to be next to the family section. It’s just sensible to seek out others who share in your current human experience. Others your age, with or without children, after all birds of a feather flock for a reason.

At camp you will need the following: A comfortable camping chair, a weather proven tent with stakes, a camping mattress, a sleeping bag, pillows, batteries, flash lights, cooler, water, beer (if of age or drinker), food, a way to cook/warm up your food, First Aid kit. Don’t forget to pack for different weather, keeping your eye on the forecast for the area you are visiting might help you a whole lot. For example, if it’s been raining a lot, some rain gear and boots may be in order. Or perhaps if it’s been really hot, pack an extra pair of shorts and some spray bottle fans.

This should suffice, and keep you well during your adventures. Always remember to keep your things safe, and to lock away valuables. Don’t leave out anything you wouldn’t want stolen. It’s not about distrust, but just being smart. After your first experience you will notice what you missed, or what else you may need for yourself. This is a growing experience, so take it as such. Best of travels! Oh, and don’t forget your ticket!

Richie Havens invades Ft. Lauderdale

On Sunday January 17, Richie Havens visited the Broward Center for the Performing arts. The legendary performer who opened for the catalytic 1969 music festival Woodstock, proved once more that the music will never stop. Intimate shows such as the one last night only come around every once in a while, a true enjoyment for those who were there. One message reverberated from Richie's lips "We are all related. It's true, it's been scientifically proven!" Joy sprung up on his face every time he said this. It is no wonder that such an amicable individual played for 3 hours as the opener for the Woodstock music festival, surely everyone loved his version of "Freedom" then, as it was last night. Music festivals have been bringing people together, from all classes, races, and origins. We are all one under the beating sun. Richie knew this then, and can now say it with the backing of Scientists, we are all related.

NORML Benefit at Tobbacco Road, Miami

January 17 NORML and Tobacco Road in Miami, held their 12th annual benefit concert for the legalization of Medicinal Marijuana in the state of Florida. Well over 420 people attended the event, and hopefully signed the petition needed to "Legalize it!" With doors opening at 4 pm and closing at 3 am, visitors were sure to have their fill of live music. Attendees also had the chance to listen to speakers, who shared their experience as Medicinal Marijuana users, defense attorneys for the cause, as well as activists and victims of persecution. It was definitely a good vibe all around, as people gathered to listen, and support one another. I would like to honestly say that now I have a really good reason to deal with the traffic and Agro behavior in Miami. Tobacco Road is a venue that really delivers.

This is the Begining

Welcome to Florida Festivals. Where we hope to bring you closer to the Festival Experience in Sunny Florida. Don't be shy to drop us a line, or leave a comment, we will be sure to get back to you as soon as we can. Above all, remember to keep cool, drink lots of water, and dance till your hearts content. Until the next Festy!

Who_Leo