Whole Earth Festival 2009

My 16th straight Whole Earth Festival felt a little more fragmented and unfocused compared to prior visits. Pam and I hobbled our way to the quad and browsed through the numerous vendors. The WEF crew most certainly had more vendors this year than in the last couple of prior years. All of them seemed to emphasize the DIY, all-natural/green, or progressive mindsets. The "Jews for Jesus" group on the benches provided an interesting and refreshingly different presence from the Hare Krishna group who usually camps there (if only the Jews had played music...). I had another sighting of the Dancing Usher from the River Cats games. This time he was just walking around rather than dancing his dance with the band. We had only one wildlife sighting this year due to a large yellow-orange lizard. I did not see the chinchilla that someone had carried around a year or two ago. I think I spent about as much time in the Bookstore and Memorial Union as I did in the Festival itself.

Pam bought a small dish in which to place her keys. The vendor's son gave her a "Paint-with-Water" picture that he recently completed. I'm not sure if it was free with purchase, or if he aspires to be an artist and wanted to make his work known. Either way, Pam didn't get his autograph on it; you never know when someone makes it big. My purchases fell fully on drinks. For some reason, the relatively mild heat (~80 degrees) felt rather desiccating. We sat a bit behind the soundboard and caught some of the act on the Quad Stage. One of my friends had designs to meet up with us and bring his new girl, but competing schedules prevented that. Overall, it was a nice time.

My focus, in the past, fell on the booths. When I first started going, they had various cool candle vendors, people selling incense, and some tie-dyed t-shirt vendors among several other people selling various wares. Since then, the incense is gone, the candle vendors sell rather boring-looking candles, and the t-shirt vendors still sell the shirts for seemingly silly amounts. Oh, and I'm 15 years older. I find I have slightly different interests and no Adam proclaiming, "Calm down, Dave!"

I will still go next year. However, I think it's time for me to change my focus. The vendors simply cannot continue to be my focus anymore. So, Pam and I plan on going later in the evening, have dinner there, and enjoy more of the acts that come on stage. We'll still poke through the booths, but I rarely find anything of interest there. Many of the candles I miss I'm able to make myself, and numerous places sell incense. But I think I'd enjoy making the musical and speaking acts a focus and just relax and enjoy the vibe.

As usual with any year, if anyone who knows me wants to come along, you're all welcome! There's plenty of good Karma to go around.