I believe it's Thursday today? When I arrived and set my tent up under a tree in the middle of the no-car camping area, I was pretty much all by myself. When I got back from my shift in Shambhala's human resources office, the field was packed. The gang is all here, and the music hasn't even started yet.
Still, there's lots going on today. At some point, there's going to be a wedding, so I'm going to have to check that out. Maybe after I cruise by the oxygen bar to get gassed. Hopefully before my shift starts at 2pm.
My job, it turns out, is to take photos and print ID cards for some of the nearly 1500 volunteers who help make this festival run. More volunteers mean lower overhead, which means no sponsorships are required, something unusual and refreshing for a festival of this size. The funny thing about this job is that I sit in a ramshackle little office with florescent lighting inside of a fenced area, which you'd think would be isolating. But in a strange way, it's not, or it certainly doesn't feel that way, since I have a steady stream of people coming through, and each interaction feels like collaborative performance art. I've met loads of people from all walks of life, eager to exchange over 30 hours of labour for a free ticket.
It also gives me a chance to eavesdrop on the action in the production office, and the nearby media office, which is the Shambhala-funded body that gathers media on behalf of the festival.
What I've seen so far, is a festival that has achieved a level of maturity that allows the organizers a pace which is neither hectic, nor paniced. Impressive, considering the logistics of operating an event of this magnitude in the middle of BC's Kootenay mountains. All of the considerable power, gear, vendors, and artists must be brought in. I was particularly interested in listening to the volunteer transortation coordinator / cat herder Alysha Kessler do her job, which is to arrange the pick -up schedule for the artists flying into the nearest international airports in Vancouver, Calgary, and Seattle, all up to 10 hours away be car. I don't know when she slept.
And hanging out with the media folks, that's barrels of fun. Loads of great stories from Shambhalas past featuring tales of the strangest things they have witnessed, which I won't repeat here, because I don't need complaints from the CBC ombudsman at this point in time regarding the appropriateness of sharing said tales here.
Well, the opening ceremonies start soon, so I'm signing off to check it out and go find the wedding.
What's the strangest thing you've seen at a festival and please remember that this is a family-friendly blog.