By: Cole Epley

Lightning In A Bottle Festival – May 28-31, 2010

Oak Canyon Ranch – Irvine, California

www.lightninginabottle.org

Orange County could be the last venue locality in the minds of most earth-conscious festival goers, but in its ninth year, LIB rouses itself from a yearlong hiatus to prove that lightning can and will indeed strike again. Join the thunder of 6,000 attendees and bear witness to the sound and spectacle of nearly 80 positively-charged acts poised to strike over the Memorial Day 2010 holiday weekend. Camping is included with your event pass and early-bird admittance begins Thursday afternoon at 4:00 PM, PST, so pack your bags, call in sick to work on Friday and prepare for an unforgettable weekend.

Whether you’re new to Lightning In A Bottle or a dusty veteran, there is more to be anticipated at this year’s festival than can be put into words. For starters, expect a LIVE set by Berlin’s electro/house duo Booka Shade, who will almost positively be dropping new tracks from their hot-off-the-press album More! in one of only six U.S. summer tour stops. The bill also features UK breaks vanguard Adam Freeland as well as Bluetech’s Satori Special, EOTO, Big Gigantic, An-Ten-Nae, The Glitch Mob and Beats Antique, to name a few. Considering the countless opportunities to attend free workshops, view numerous art installations, make countless new friends and hear a plethora of vibrant music, LIB 2010 promises to be a unique and enlightening event for all who attend. Count on late nights turning into early mornings, too: a number of surprises, including acoustic jam sessions, awaits those who are patient…

Tickets: Please note that all LIB tickets are for the full three-day event only. The initial allotment of 1000 tickets has sold out, but fret not—organizers have 2000 tickets to sell at the second tier of pricing, which runs $190. When these are gone, the final 3000 tickets of the third tier price level will be on sale at $205. All tickets can be purchased at the festival website. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted free of charge; children ages 13-17 may enter for $70 at the gates only. All persons under the age of 18 years MUST be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Day passes will NOT be sold unless the venue capacity allows for it—in either case, day passes will only be available during the week of the festival.

Camping: There are a limited number of RV camping passes available for $125. Note that the RV campground does not include water or utility hookups. Car camping passes have sold out, but camping privileges are included with the purchase of an event pass—it is the wishes of the festival organizers to avoid having the tent city resemble a parking lot, so carry what you can on your backs and enjoy yourselves! Organizers have also established a family camping area to allow families with children to relax at a distance from the crowd, and amenities include the fourth-largest sandbox in the world. Contact families@thedolab.com to alert them of your family’s wishes to be included in this area.

MagiKidz Village: For the first time ever, LIB organizers have established the MagiKidz Village for the enjoyment of the youngsters at this year’s festival. Here, families and children will enjoy such activities as arts & crafts, a play area, shaded refreshment areas with lemonade, face painting, workshops and storytelling with puppets. Organizers stress the importance of engaging the minds of the youth in attendance and have joined up with entertainment goliath Mystic Family Circus to provide a uniquely stimulating entertainment experience for families and children alike.

Stages & Vendors: Lightning In A Bottle will host over 80 artists this year on three robust stages (Bamboo Stage, LIB Stage, Woogie Stage), featuring the gamut of electronic and live performers of music and visual art displays; on top of that, organizers have interwoven the aural and visual art forms into one by featuring massive art installations as part of the performance stages. All vending is located at the center of the festival, where you can find a wide variety of locally-made goods such as clothing, jewelry and other keepsakes and souvenirs. LIB also features a handful of food vendors which will provide a smorgasbord of organic vegetarian food choices throughout the festival. Ice will be available on site at a time as-yet to be determined.

Facilities: Festival organizers stress the importance of a strict no-fire policy anywhere, at any time during the festival. All grills must be propane-fired, not even charcoal grills will be permitted; keep this in mind when packing food for your weekend. Free, filtered drinking water is provided on site, so be sure to pick up your Lightning In A Bottle 32-oz. reusable water bottle at the gate. (Bottle included with each ticket purchase) Porta-potties will be located around the festival premises to be used at your disposal.

Activities: Unique to LIB this year is the Temple of Consciousness, back by popular demand. Here, festival goers can attend speaker and panelist discussions and workshops as well as yoga, meditation and other spiritual health sessions—the earthly décor comes courtesy of the Satya Yuga collective. Visual art installations can be found throughout the festival in a variety of shapes and sizes; be sure to catch Lightning In A Paintcan, a fundraising event where fans will be given the chance to view live art in-progress and then bid on pieces in a silent auction. Finally, LIB will feature almost a dozen performance art collectives intermingled with the musical performances, ranging from ‘poetic acrobats’ to fire dancers to Vaudeville-inspired troupes and beyond. These performers and collectives are sure to captivate the minds of the audience and to create a memorable festival experience unlike any other.

Natural Surroundings: The Oak Canyon Ranch finds itself nestled snugly into the Santa Ana Mountains surrounding the old Santiago Reservoir. The Ranch itself sits upon over 100 plush acres of awe-inspiring views and is encapsulated within old growth oak trees, not-so-rugged hill country terrain and placid bodies of water. Fishing is allowed per state and federal regulations, but please do abide by the grounds’ no-swimming guidelines to ensure for a safe festival experience.

Sustainability/Environmental Awareness: Lightning In A Bottle prides itself on going above and beyond the ‘call of the wild’ in its efforts to improve, rather than simply preserve, the grounds upon which the festival is held. LIB’s motto of “Leave It Better, Leave It Beautiful” is echoed through the efforts of festival organizers in establishing and maintaining exhaustive recycling practices, earth-conscious purchasing choices, green vendor policies and provisions of the following sustainable energy sources: biodiesel generators providing staging and vending areas, a large solar array to generate and return power for the event, energy-efficient lighting and renewable energy light installations. Per the LIB website, greenhouse gas reduction efforts in 2008 diverted the equivalent of nearly 1100 gallons of gasoline from entering the atmosphere; 20% of the offset emissions were a direct result of the aforementioned energy initiatives. Of all the waste generated at LIB 2008, 58% was recycled accordingly and 26% was composted and returned to nature. Pamphlets, information and encouragement abound to keep all festival goers on the up-and-up when it comes to properly disposing of waste at the festival.

Workshops: This year’s Lightning In A Bottle workshops are all free and provide a stimulating inlet to living a more sustainable, mutually-agreeable lifestyle between yourself and Mother Nature. This year’s workshops total nearly 50 in number and will encompass such topics as: DIY rainwater & greywater storage, Medicinal Herbal Concoctions, Container Gardening, Raising Urban Chickens, Yoga of Various Practices (Multiple workshops), Meditation, Sacred Geometry and Superfood Alchemy.

Untz Featured Genres: electro, house, psytrance, breaks, downtempo, dubstep, glitch, livetronica, hip hop, trance and drum & bass.