Electric Forest Festival 2013 - Finding Friends (Part 2) Totems & Flags

How to find friends in a crowd of tens of thousands??? In my last blog post I wrote about the mysterious force that amazingly draws you to your friends and helps you find them without even really trying. As neat as that is, you may not wish to leave finding your friends entirely in the hands of fate. In that case, groups of friends create totems, flags, signs, or markers to help them locate the rest of their clan in the massive sea of people. These crafty creations bring a whole new meaning to the phrase let your freak flag fly!

There are so many benefits to having these such as:

• No Need to Use Your Cell Phone - conserves your cell battery (so you can take more pictures/video), often you can't hear your phone or feel it vibrate in that environment, or it may already be dead.
• No Need to Strain Your Voice - either by calling out your friends names in the crowd or yelling into your cell phone - save your voice for letting the DJ know how you're feeling :)
• Become an Icon and Make New Friends - outsiders can appreciate your art and come over to chat with you about it.
• Make a Statement - Show your Chicago Blackhawks pride for their recent Stanley Cup win, express your undying love for Steve Carell, or simply prove how creative you are!
• Help Others - Festival-goers will use your totem as a way to find their friends to by saying something like, "I'm up to the right side of the stage, near that wicked foam dragon totem!"

So before you head off to your next outdoor music festival, consider getting together with your friends and creating your very own group totem. It will be a really fun, rewarding time in and of itself and will add so much to the festival experience overall. You'll be glad you did!

There were a lot of marvelous totems at Electric Forest Festival this year. I'm sure many factors were considered in the planning process like height, weight, cost, power supply, carrying method, etc. It was obvious that their creators devoted much time, energy, and money into making them and I give major props to these artists. They add so much character, color, and enchantment to the vast, crowded landscape. Well done and keep it up!

Inspirational Track: Hugo Gracowski - Totem (Original Mix) Genre: Minimal/Progressive House
Listen on SoudCloud
Listen on Beatport

Electric Dream Catcher Totem

Dancing Around Electric Jellyfish Totem

Electric Foam Dragon Totem

Sea of Totems, Flags, Signs, and Markers

Find Your Friends!

Rainbow Daisy Pinwheel, Inflatable Cactus Totem, Steve Carell Totem