Lightning In A Bottle Festival Primed To Spark
A photo provided by The Do Lab, "Kids" by Aaron Gautschi. Teaser image by Curious Josh..
By Adam Guzzon
Special for Modern Times Magazine .com
May 11, 2011 — Swishy sword dancers and flame throwing warriors. Tinkering belly dancers with drum beating goddesses. It’s all part of the experience happening at this year’s Lightning in a Bottle.
A unified mass of individuals will be evident in the mountains of Silverado, California as The Do Lab kicks off its three-day music and creativity festival. Lightning in a Bottle, or LIB, will be held May 27 to 30 and is an incredibly unique three days of visual, mental, and physical exploration designed to challenge preconceived notions of reality. The forest playground will be packed with live music, interactive and installation art works, yoga and African dance workshops, and world-renowned guest speakers. Each day is an opportunity for goers to dismantle and develop themselves.
LIB strives to send attendants leaving the festival in a better, more beautiful place. Acting as “stewards for nature,” LIB commits to leaving nothing but a positive influence on the earth. In 2010, LIB became the only festival in America to win the Outstanding Greener Festival Award. On top of the award, solar powered energy, and emissions offsets, they offer free water. So, when it is 90 degrees out and your body is dehydrated, there’s going to be free filtered water. Just bring your own bottle.
The Do Lab is world-renowned for their lighting design and creative event structures and those being primed for LIB 2011 promise to be spectacular. LIB’s three different stages are made from almost 80 to 100 percent recycled wood, bamboo, and trash, and the wide variety of electronic-dance artists scheduled to perform on them is epic.
Saturday’s headliner, Pretty Lights, will be dumping serotonin levels with their rolling whomp-tones and drumming, while Beats Antique will have enthusiasts hula hooping without a hoop. Sunday’s headliner, Thievery Corporation, will be downtempo-ing trip-hop reggae jams after Bonobo and Fools Gold work their magic.
Attendants can escape the vibrating grass dance floors at any part of the day and take a stroll through the trees to the many other activity workshops. Stop off the path to learn how to make Kombucha, take a legal training class to become familiar with your rights, or learn how to make your own herbal soap. The activities are endless at LIB, and they are sure to empower and equip individuals with tools and knowledge.
LIB three-day wristbands fall $74 below Coachella’s at an affordable $195. Two-day passes are also for sale online at $150, and single Sunday passes are $75. Kids 13 to 16 get in for $100, while kids 12 and younger are admitted for free. Car camping passes, although sold out, were $75 to $180. Tent camping, however, is inclusive with purchase of a pass. All ticket information is available at lightninginabottle.org/buy-tickets.
If gas prices are threatening a road trip, be sure to check out the car-pool section of the LIB website that has a neat tool to link up with others in their area to offer or hitch a ride. Additionally, LIB’s chartered “Lightning Buses” will be carpooling on a major scale from San Francisco, San Diego, and Phoenix. Round trip bus fare ranges from $30 to $100. If driving, be sure to carpool. Vehicles with two or more occupants avoid the $20 parking fee.
Resources and Other Information
Website: http://lightninginabottle.org/
Bus information: Visit the LIB Bus page.
Hours: The festival opens May 26 for camp set up and early arrivals. All festival programming begins May 27 at 7 a.m. All attendees must vacate the festival by Monday, May 30 at 4 p.m.
Box office: This year the box office for Lightning in a Bottle will be located off-site at Santiago Canyon College, 8045 E. Chapman Avenue, Orange, CA 92869. ALL attendees, artists, guests, volunteers and participants MUST go to this box office location to get their festival passes and credentials. If you had your ticket mailed to you or you purchased it in a store you must still go to the box office to get your festival wristband. Those who do not go to the box office will be denied entrance into the festival. Visit the LIB website for box office hours.
Workshops: Visit the LIB workshops page.
Vending Village: The vending village is located at the center of the festival grounds and offers a wide variety of community made goods including clothing, jewelry, hula hoops and more. Some old food vending favorites and a handful of new ones will be preparing meals at LIB this year. A wide variety of organic vegetarian food choices will be available to enjoy throughout the festival.
No outside sounds: Sound systems are not allowed at Lightning in a Bottle. There is a sound ordinance that can jeopardize the future of the event at this location. Security will be enforcing this and LIB is reserving the right to confiscate equipment until the completion of the event.
Music and Live Entertainment: See the LIB Experience page.
Camping: Camping for the entire event is included in the weekend pass ticket price. For additional information on Car and RV camping passes, family camping and other camping related information visit the LIB camping page. Campfires are not allowed and neither are open flame or charcoal grills. Enclosed propane grills are acceptable.
Trash: Pack it in and pack it out.
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