LEAF
Lake Eden Arts Festival - Black Mountain, NC
So I've been going to LEAF since I was a little kid but I haven't been since I was 17. Basically it's like a cross between a music festival and a commune. Some things you might find there include drum circles, contra dancing, little kids running around naked in the 40 degree cold, people wearing funny colorful hats, people being kind to strangers, tents painted with peace signs and with whirly wind catchers spinning on top, Kashi, the zip line -- which little kids were going down in the 40 degree cold into a cold lake, men wearing skirts, children doing the hula hoop, face paint, a school bus with the back altered so it says COOOL bus and with its black line painted in rainbow colors, Richie Havens, a really excellent poetry slam, holistic healing workshops, handmade drums, jewelry and flutes, and the guy who will walk on your back for $1.50 a minute.
Pshew. So much to see.
All of these things just set the stage for what LEAF is really about. It's taking a break from normal life for a weekend and coexisting with everyone. Your friends are your family. Strangers are your family. It makes you wonder if this is how it used to be in older societies, when people lived in less isolation. It's fun and it makes you feel more alive. That's what I like about LEAF.
I spent most of my time contra dancing, occasionally waltzing or dancing to cajun music. I went with Blue's whole famn damily, and the Black Mountain segment of my family was there too. Plenty of bonding goodness. On the way home we stopped in Asheville at Blue's uncle's and they twisted my arm into playing music with them. Now, I'm extremely nervous about playing music in the first place, because I never practice and haven't improved in ten years or more. And I'm even more nervous about playing with people, especially when it's improvised (which this was) and especially when it's a style I have no experience with (blues). But I doused myself with a little liquid courage, and actually did all right. And it was fun. Cool.
Pictures eventually.
So I've been going to LEAF since I was a little kid but I haven't been since I was 17. Basically it's like a cross between a music festival and a commune. Some things you might find there include drum circles, contra dancing, little kids running around naked in the 40 degree cold, people wearing funny colorful hats, people being kind to strangers, tents painted with peace signs and with whirly wind catchers spinning on top, Kashi, the zip line -- which little kids were going down in the 40 degree cold into a cold lake, men wearing skirts, children doing the hula hoop, face paint, a school bus with the back altered so it says COOOL bus and with its black line painted in rainbow colors, Richie Havens, a really excellent poetry slam, holistic healing workshops, handmade drums, jewelry and flutes, and the guy who will walk on your back for $1.50 a minute.
Pshew. So much to see.
All of these things just set the stage for what LEAF is really about. It's taking a break from normal life for a weekend and coexisting with everyone. Your friends are your family. Strangers are your family. It makes you wonder if this is how it used to be in older societies, when people lived in less isolation. It's fun and it makes you feel more alive. That's what I like about LEAF.
I spent most of my time contra dancing, occasionally waltzing or dancing to cajun music. I went with Blue's whole famn damily, and the Black Mountain segment of my family was there too. Plenty of bonding goodness. On the way home we stopped in Asheville at Blue's uncle's and they twisted my arm into playing music with them. Now, I'm extremely nervous about playing music in the first place, because I never practice and haven't improved in ten years or more. And I'm even more nervous about playing with people, especially when it's improvised (which this was) and especially when it's a style I have no experience with (blues). But I doused myself with a little liquid courage, and actually did all right. And it was fun. Cool.
Pictures eventually.