The Lightning in a Bottle Community Experience

High fives when crossing bridges, spirit animal yells resonating across the grounds, stumbling upon karaoke hidden away in a ravine. These are some of the incredible memories I have from Lightning in a Bottle. But the most unique memory I have from the festival is the community that was built over the weekend, allowing for attendees to have a spiritually awakening experience.

I went into the festival with an open mind and an open heart, having educated myself on the festival beforehand and being aware that it is a festival known for the experience it provides. This allowed me to explore the various music, non-music and self-discovery components that make up Lightning in a Bottle. Every day there were new discoveries, new adventures, and new parts of the festival to explore.

Yoga sessions took place multiple times each day at the two yoga stages Yoga Om and Yoga Namaste. They did wonders to stretch out those tightened up festival muscles. I had the pleasure of attending a yoga session with Kishan Shah under the Earth Harp. Set up at the Lightning Stage, William Close played his mystical Earth Harp as Kishan Shah led a class under the big, blue afternoon sky. The reverberations of the Earth Harp gave me the strength and concentration to move and flow while fully embracing the heat of the day and the brightness of the sun.

Lightning in a Bottle provided festival goers with the opportunity to attend workshops and listen to speakers in The Village. Topics varied from exploring the history and effects of music on the world, and learning about ecological sustainability and environmentally conscious nutrition, to learning about the benefits and effects of essential oils on our bodies and minds.

The festival had a Sacred Fire in the middle of The Village that remained lit throughout the weekend so it makes sense that Fire by Friction would be one of the available workshops. Hosted by Icarus Zuare, attendees learned how to make a fire using only wood. No flint, no matches, no lighter. Just you, Zuare, and a twig. He sat patiently with duo after duo giving every one hands-on assistance and advice as they worked to start a fire using only friction. And every one successfully did it.

LIB is also known as an environmentally friendly festival, encouraging sustainability. It won the Outstanding Award from A Greener Festival Foundation multiple times in the past few years. It is a “leave a positive trace” festival. This means what you take in with you, you take out. LIB works to educate attendees on what they can do to help the environment, and how to maintain sustainability at a festival through educational workshops, talks and booths. To this end, Lightning in a Bottle provided compost bins next to the trash and recycling bins.

Every day of the festival provided a new and incredible experience. The music was phenomenal, with the main stages – Lightning Stage, Thunder Stage and The Woogie – hosting some of the most talented individuals in today’s electronic music, while the Pagoda Bar and Favela Bar kept the beats bopping and the party hopping through the night. It was fairly easy to get caught up in the music until you remembered the large size of the festival, and how much more there was to explore.

From the art structures scattered throughout the grounds, to the smaller areas that hosted more music and games like the Grand Artique, to the different games that could be stumbled upon across the festival like the renegade bowling contraption, it was easy to get caught up in the adventure that was LIB before watching the sunrise from where you were: Temple Stage, Meditation Lookout, a hammock in one of the trees, or your campsite.