Get Ready for Wakarusa 2013: A Prologue
by Joel Center
Tucked away in the northeastern hills of Arkansas, lies a little place called Mulberry Mountain. For most of the year, this beautiful landscape serves as a tranquil home for the most gorgeous flora and fauna in the region, but for four days every summer, Mulberry Mountain opens its peaceful terrain to welcome tens of thousands of hippies and hipsters, young and old, from across the world for an event so mind-boggling that there is hardly an attendee whose life isn’t changed by it: Wakarusa.
From May 30 – June 2, the awe-inspiring hills of Ozark, Arkansas will transform into a scene straight from the other side of the rabbit hole. The music booked by Wakarusa attracts people of all kinds – and one look around the festival grounds will reflect that quite well. Even during the day, when things are “tame,” technicolor fans can be seen bounding across the festival grounds in full party regalia, usually sporting a hula hoop, scarf, or some other kind of concert toy, and grinning the most surreal grin you’ve ever seen. At night, however, things start to get really… weird. The atmosphere is that of an enormous tribal gathering; everyone has traveled great distances to revel in nature, far from the banalities of daily life, with good friends new and old and, of course, the music.
Wakarusa has always prided itself on providing acts of a wide variety of genres, and this year will be no exception. With musical styles ranging from Widespread Panic and Dispatch to Tipper, Zeds Dead, and Shpongle, and almost every conceivable genre in between spread out across five different stages, there is constantly something for everyone to enjoy. This year, Colorado’s own artists Yonder Mountain String Band and the Motet will be providing eargasms across the Ozarks as well. There are over a hundred other artists that will be at Wakarusa (including live visual artists), so for a better grasp on what music will be played this year, check out the lineup on Wakarusa’s official website.
A few words to the wise: a four-day festival can be tons of fun, but it can also be a pretty rough experience for the ill-prepared. There are a few things to make sure of before you venture off to Arkansas, and some are absolutely more important than others. Perhaps the most important thing to be prepared for is the weather. Wakarusa has been scorching hot for all four days in past years, and in other years it has been ravaged by tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms. Be sure to check the forecast before leaving, and pack appropriately. Aside from this, be careful what you bring for food. A cooler full of meat ready to grill sounds tasty, but keeping it full of ice at $5 a bag for the whole weekend proves to be an expensive and tiring task. With a slight slip in timing, that cooler full of delicious foods can quickly turn to a rotting box of bear bait.
There are some less obvious things a festy can do in preparation as well. It can be fun and useful, especially if you’re going with a large group of friends, to build and bring along some sort of totem to carry with you that can be seen from afar. Eloquently dubbed “Rage Sticks” by some, these little tools can range from a simple branch with some glowsticks on it, to huge characters towering over the crowd. Also, things to trade can become of much more value inside the festival grounds than out. Wakarusa quickly becomes a free-trade society, and anything from posters to cigarettes can be used as currency amongst official and non-official venders alike. Be sure to check out the list of Wakarusa rules on their website so that you know what can and cannot be brought inside the grounds – getting your possessions taken at a security checkpoint is an easily-avoidable bummer. As a last word of caution, driving to Arkansas with Colorado license plates has become a much larger liability since the passing of Amendment 64, so take care on those long stretches of Kansas State Trooper habitat, and if you happen to bring any contraband, make sure that it’s well hidden!
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of Wakarusa, and they have pulled every string they can to make this the absolute best year yet. Main Venue camping sold out quicker than ever before, and the anxiety is building. Fans are ready for the biggest, wildest party Arkansas has to offer!
www.Wakarusa.com
Category: National News
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