SWEET, SWEET SHAMBS
It was on Friday evening (technically Saturday at that point, as it was 1 AM) in Fractal Forest at Opiuo’s set that the magic + mystere of Shambhala all hit me at once. I knew this festival would be sick, but getting to experience it firsthand was simply unbelievable. It’s a little hard to put into written words about what happened, so I’ll try to do so eloquently + succinctly! Here we go…
(Quick Note: My film camera decided to shoot out of focus the whole weekend, so apologies there!!!)
I’ve known about Shambhala for years, but I didn’t know that I’d actually make it there. That was until my good friend, Peter (aka Petey), went in 2019. He couldn’t stop raving (no pun intended) about it. I promised him that I’d be at the next one with him, and there we were!
I traveled ot Salmo via Bozeman, MT + Creston, BC giddy + ready. Shambhala is tucked up in the mountains and sits alongside the Salmo River. Known as “The Farm” – different from the one I used to frequent – Shambs is on a very special, energetic land. It’s hard to describe exactly what I mean by this, but if you’ve experienced something similar, you get the sentiment. After 10+ hours driving, a night’s stay in Creston, a drive up thru the mountains, seven hot, steam hours in The Grid™ and another two hours lugging everything two miles to set up camp, we were IN IT!
Shambs provided 4 beautiful, glorious days for its 10k attendees, volunteers, staff + even artists – which I think is the coolest part. The caliber + reputation of this festival is so highly esteemed that majority of the artists stay most, if no the whole weekend. And how fun it was for us to bump into these artists in the crowd or next to us in the medical tent while we’re getting blisters bandaged up! It’s so cool to be in this little work where community, dance, celebration + high vibrations can soar.
I would go to this festival regardless of the lineup, but this year’s did NOT disappoint. I was able to so many of my faves – like Ternion Sound, Of The Trees, Clozee – see some folks for the first time – like Mythm + ColtCults – and check out some new things I hadn’t heard of before, too! With 6 stages, there is always something to stumble into. Some of my absolute faves of the weekend were Dirt Monkey, Shlump, Deathpact + Boogie T (who I personally thought had the best visuals of the weekend!
The stages are all unique one to the next. They all have their own teams of volunteers with their own builds, lineups + vibes. No two are even remotely similar! And each is tucked into its own lil corner of Shambs. We spent most of the weekend at The Ampitheatre, but I am a Fractal Forest girl at heart. Fractal is a 360º setup (meaning it’s in the round!) with a pyramid stage in the middle, lasers from every which angle and huge characters all in the trees. It’s literally rave Rainforest Cafe, and it goes past sunrise!!!!!! I mean, how can you NOT be so stoked on it? (I could literally talk about these stages for hours, so feel free to ask me about them in person.)
My lil crew was so sweet + so splendid to spend the weekend with. They are all a lil younger than I, so it was fun to watch their journeys throughout the festival. And I loved getting to finally fest with Petey after all of these years! We had a blast geeking over the music together, living it up in Sound System Cultaaaa. I am grateful for this lil bunch and how nice it was to share this experience together. Some of my favorite moments were when Petey, Alec + I would grab food and chill in the wee hours of the morning as the sun started to rise. It was the only festival where I’ve made it to sunrise every day, and I’m grateful to have shared it with them.
The biggest messages/lessons/signs/impact I took from Shambhala all invigorated the most immense amount of energy, creativity, positivity + love into my veins. I came home (with a swollen face from bugs bites and lungs filled with pounds of dust) so vibrant + lovely. I got hella inspired to really dive into my passions, taking time to acknowledge + celebrate them while understanding how I could further grow with them. I bought a controller to start learning how to mix. I hit the ground running on my calendar designs. I started a new fitness program that I excelled in. It all felt so good.
Writing this now is bringing it alllllll back to me. The magic, the community, the smiles, the dancing. I’ll forever feel impacted by Shambhala in the absolute best way possible.
Other important factors included the crowd – mainly Canadian, all 19 + up and good people all around (read my Hulaween post for my crowd philosophy). It’s right on the Salmo River, so you can lay out, hang, listen to some tunes and swim in the fresh mountain water. We camped up in the woods up the side of the mountain, so it was nice and cool, allowing us to get a good amount of sleep. It’s also a dry festival – meaning absolutely no alcohol is allowed in nor sold (yerbs forever tho!!) – making for a much better festival all around. They also offer on-site drug testing available to anyone in the middle of the grounds. This saves lives and creates a safer space should you choose to partake.
Trying to put all of this into concise thought was a challenge, and I only hope I was able to do Shambhala the least bit of justice. It is hands down my favorite festival I’ve been to, and I could not imagine who I’d be nor what my life would look like without it. TYSM Petey for corralling us, big ups Sound System Culture + infinite gratitude for Shambs.
See you on the dancefloor in 2023 💃🏽🕺🏽
