“Hi mom!
I did not get to see the QR code totem while I was on my adventures but it has made its way to me. I have quite the past with Forest so I’ll start in on why I attend each year.
Rewind back to 2014, I was 20, turning 21 in a couple of months and I had planned to visit the forest for the first time with a group of friends from my hometown. It was everyone’s first forest and I was super excited. I unfortunately got into a car accident that year and had to buy a new car so I had to sell my ticket. I was upset but my friends assured me I would have another year to make it happen. My friends still went and were having the time of their lives. The last day came and one of my friends, Joe, had left camp to go to the potty but never came back. Unfortunately, Joe had just tried heroin before going (which was not okay with our group) and had the urge to get high. He had been doing cocaine before he left and when he went to shoot up the mixture of uppers and downers made him flatline and we lost Joe. He was one of two unfortunate deaths at the event that year. I included the picture of him with his skateboard which was another thing he loved to do. None of those friends from that group ever returned to forest as it would bring up horrible memories for them. Since I wasn’t there, I have made every forest (other than 2018 weekend 2) since in memory of Joe, totally to my 9th Forest this year.
I have done GA camping for almost all of my weekends except in 2017, I decided to do their VIP experience and splurge the extra money for the second weekend. The extra money was well worth it in my opinion as there are multiple entrances you can take from your campsite to get in. One brings you to the middle of the action of the forest and the other 2 bring you to main stages. There was more room in the private viewing area and other great amenities you don’t get in GA. I have seen most of the land the forest sits on with exception of behind the stages and it’s one of my favorite places on earth.
Forest is also a place for imagination and creation as much as it is for music. The forest employs actors and actresses that walk through and give you unique experiences as if you were on set to an actual film. They create new artistic structures each year and each year has a new centerpiece to the forest. You can still find old centerpieces from previous years scattered throughout the festival grounds as well like the flower heart hands (2017’s centerpiece) my girlfriend Nina and I took our picture infront of this year. The amount of time and energy put into just the art side of the forest is amazing and truly breathtaking. They craft it to be the best user experience you can possibly have. Each year they have multiple scavenger hunts as well that lead you to secret doors and those doors lead to secret rooms. I had never done the hunt until last year but always found a secret door or two. Now, the scavenger hunt is a part of my weekend. I included a clue from this years hunt where the small words lead you to the code 421. That opened a small box to get a stamp for your paper to say you completed it. After all the clues were done you received the key pin I included as well which would unlock the secret door. The secret door was not easy to find, as they put it in a building with many different rooms and not much light. However, if you did find it, it would lead you to a revolving door that after you counted to ten, you would be in a secret speakeasy.
The music side of things for the festival is something that always interests me as well as they’ve had all sorts of big acts come to Rothbury, Michigan that has a yearly population of 444 residents. Willie Nelson to Snoop Dawg to The String Cheese Incident to Skrillex. This festival has had all types of artists come play their craft for thousands to hear.
Electric Forest has also played another role in my life. Before attending my first in 2015, I had become extremely angry with life. I couldn’t not be in the worst mood all the time. It affected my friendships and relationships as I dealt with trauma from not only Joe’s death but also losing my grandfather whom I was very close to, getting fired from a job, and finding out that my girlfriend at the time was not being faithful, all within a short time period. I was not in a very good headspace at the time with negative thoughts that were intrusive. I didn’t realize the help I should’ve sought out at the time but I put something on my calendar so I would have something to look forward to in order to keep waking up the next day. That was Electric Forest. I went and for the first time in a long time I felt at ease. I felt happy. It was such a relief and at the same time I felt Joe was there with me for one last hang out. I took everything in that weekend and left feeling like it was so surreal. I came angry and left happy and I couldn’t shake the positivity for months. It was amazing.
Fast forward, life has greatly improved on my end and of course a few bumps in the road until you start smoothing things out but I currently work my dream job and have an amazing girlfriend at my side. My positivity flows through me from this festival yearly and I care about it deeply.
Out of all my memories in the forest, last year I had an instance that took them all. I had a man from Brazil that stopped me one night in the middle of the forest and asked where a stage was. Ironically he was standing right near the location but was just turned around so I pointed him in the right direction. He stopped me before I could go and said “hey man, do you got one more second?” I said “yeah sure what’s up?” He mentioned how it was his first time in America, the first time doing something like this with so many people, he had social anxiety and it took him a lot to even ask where to go for a stage. I looked down at his hand and he had his camera on himself, with the video recording. He said “I’m recording myself so that when I don’t think I can do something, I can show myself I’ve already done something I’m not comfortable doing.” Realizing a once in a lifetime opportunity I had and knowing I was being recording I built that man up with words of affirmation telling him he absolutely could do whatever he sets his mind to, that the forest loves him and will always love him, and that if he ever feels alone in this world to remember the moment you were surrounded by 50k people who care about him. He broke down crying and I gave him a big hug. I walked him over to his stage he wanted to see and wished him a happy forest. That’s how the hospitality and humanity should be in this world and that’s definitely what you receive when you go to Electric Forest. I’ve been to quite a few other festivals since my first forest and none seem to have that special it factor of the forest love that you receive when you’re there.
When I pass, I want my ashes spread in Sherwood Forest.
I hope you had a happy virtual electric (rain)forest this year. Sharing this has made mine this year
