Illustrious Dreamers! The Great Synthesis was a rocking and rolling challenge in our history of Lucidity production…as all Great Syntheses tend to be…
To date, we saw our greatest trials due to weather. In order to produce the event so many look forward to at the beginning of the festival season in a safe way, we integrated many changes in our operations. This took a tremendous amount of focus and additional hours to assess new strategies and implement solutions in a very short time, not to mention a lot of unbudgeted dollars.
The final result was expressed by many as one of the best festival experiences we’ve produced. Additionally, an exorbitant amount of loans that the owners are now shouldering have been accrued. Not to sugar coat it, the thought of throwing in the towel versus becoming responsible for a large debt did cross our minds and was the topic of discussion in the wake of The Great Synthesis.
What surfaced were the answers to our soul searching.
We are aligned and have energy to continue bringing forth our core values through the festival platform; our community continues to respond with the benefit they receive through our efforts; and we need to reframe our festival production in a way that will not only be profitable, but allow us to get out of debt.
Know that we’ve had our nose to the grindstone and are continuing to work out all of these elements.
Photo by: Foster Snell / @FosterTheExplorer
We’ve been exploring other venue options in the area that will allow for growth. Where we can be together in union.
And ensure that we can fulfill all our obligations onsite - so that we can bypass unexpected needs to provide an offsite box office or parking in the future.
We have begun a relationship with a local ranch that seems promising, but we love Live Oak and want to transition in a slow and informed pace. We hope - and are planning - to deliver Lucidity Festival 2024 (and possibly 2025) at our beloved historic location. As we explore the new location we are excited at the opportunity to keep our event local, have plenty of flat usable space, and house our existing community comfortably with enough space to expand into the future.
Solutions and changes: exploring our future together.
One of the solutions and major changes we are exploring to save in production costs involves the reduction of a stage and our overall music booking. This is a difficult decision as it is important to us to provide a healthy range of electronic and live music. We also know that you, our Lucid Dreamers, are used to moving between stages and having the chance to change scenery.
This is not an entirely new topic for us as we’ve discussed the benefits of having one primary music space and the advantages of our community sharing the same large audience space in the past.
Beloved, Desert Hearts, and other festivals that kindle a very intimate audience space have operated under this type of framework with much success. It would also allow us to raise our booking and production value at one location rather than spreading it out.
We had great success with centralizing our Family Garden area in the campgrounds and look forward to continuing our service to families at our event. Our growing children are envisioning next gen ideas and we want to land those dreams in fun and creative ways.
There are many of us that have been around since the inception of Lucidity who miss our village experience. While we are unable to support the costs of the original production of these micro environments, we are implementing a way for both long-time and new participants to come together as group theme camps.
This allows participants to offer their contributions as well as be placed together in the themed campgrounds. We will continue to synthesize this platform in a way that best brings back the village feels. We want to emphasize that art, interactive environments, and dreamy installations are not something that we are looking to downsize as we know the unique difference these elements add to our event.
The state of our union. Lastly, as many of you may have realized - we are shifting our festival dates in 2024 to June 28, 29, and 30th.
The Eclipse Gathering is back with a solar eclipse event, centered in Texas, on what has been our traditional weekend. We did not want to endanger sales or attendance to our event or make people choose between one or the other.
The added benefit is that should we see high rainfall again next year, that the site will be 100% usable by the time June rolls around. It is unknown if we will revert to our original weekend in April for 2025, but it is a likely possibility as we have come to cherish kicking off the festival season each year.
We are excited for the opportunity to continue forward with you; to continue to create, play, and dream together. If you’ve been with us since the beginning or are new to our story, we invite you to join us for Auroras’ Light.
The Auroras are the rainbow bridges that connect the many realms of the Lucid Multiverse. They are simultaneously the wormholes that dreamers use to travel to and from the Lucid City, and they are the very bastions that keep the Lucid City standing at the center of the multiverse.
After a long period of uncertainty, fear, and doubt, The Lucid City is calling upon the dreamers to travel the Auroras once again, to visit its crystalline temples and towering spires, and remember the light of who they truly are.
PO BOX 6616, Santa Barbara, CA
Thank you for the updates. I actually don’t care much about the music. I come for the aerialists and other skilled performers. Also for the art and for some of the talks. It is also a chance to meet interesting and intelligent people pushing the limits of creative new ideas.
In the past there was a kind of hubris that Festivals are the way to social change. I hope that people are more aware now that social change has many fronts, including electing good people. Sounds boring, but it is true. Facing the Climate Crisis we need effective and speedy action.
Agreed. I wonder what type of workshops or ways to get commitment of actionable items are available to bring to Aurora’s Light?
I love this festival and they way you commit to living values in action, including community resourcing to face these challenges and synthesize many perspectives and ideas to open new doors of cooperation & cultural evolution. I love kicking off festival season with Lucidity and it is one of only 2 festivals I choose to attend yearly—I am even more loyal to Lucidity than I am to Burning Man. I look forward to supporting 2024 however I can through creativity, supporting fundraisers, and more. After several years with the Quan Yin Tea House, I hope to again support that installation and bring high quality roving performance art as I do each year. Together, we rise.
Aww, this warms my heart! I love Jen and the Quan Yin Teahouse always holds a warm cup in my heart.
I am a new comer to this fest, last year was my first and I met such a beautiful beloved there (we are still going strong!) I totally support all the co side rations and changes and am excited to participate in theme camp life. I am a avid goer of Desert Hearts and love the one stage deal, what wonderful magic transpired when theme day camps begin to spontaneously form near and on the dance floor. So beyond stoked for this summer, we will see you there 🙂
Starting in April is the worst part of Lucidity, I am thrilled that you have made the change. It gets very cold at night, just when the music peaks. And clear night skies of the desert cool people (and everything) much faster than cloudier locations, even at the same temperature. And the split of parking and festival into three separate locations has always been a challenge, especially for the disabled. Yet the idea that Texas and California festivals compete is silly.
I wish organizers great luck in finding a suitable venue!
Last year was my first year ✨🙏🏽✨
We are already talking and excited about next year.. ato achieve this.. you are 💪🏽♥️ Truly inspirational.. Thank You(s) for sticking with it .. Much love and Lucid Dreams from Vermont … see You in June🤙🏽
✌🏽♥️🌞
Which stage shall be reduced is the question?
You could book all artists I have never heard of and I would still make the trek. It about the community.
Thank you Lucidity team for your amazing work and efforts to keep holding this gathering for the community!
While I understand the Eclipse gathering date conflicted with Lucidity 2024, my prayer is for Lucidity 2025 to be held around the usual previous dates.
For me, hosting Lucidity during the peak heat of late June at Live Oak Campground is unsafe. Heat related illnesses are no joke, and I hope that the medical teams will be prepared for an increase of this in 2024. I had a handful of friends experience heat exhaustion in 2022, when in early April it was in the 90s. It’s not uncommon for Live Oak Campground area to be well over the 100s during peak summer heat.
Personally I’m quite disappointed to not be able to come this year due to the date change. Hoping to return to beloved Lucidity in 2025!
It’s definitely more about the community, the workshops, and the art than what names appear on the lineup. I support more intimate spaces.
I must say I am really sad to think about the downsizing of the stages!
My son & I came together 2 yrs ago; he was 24 & I early 50’s … we love music & we came from opposite ends both loving so many live & EDM artists ; it changed both of us & opened our minds
I think that it makes sense because it is a soul, heart consciousness journey so many of us we collaborate music when we’re there I know that the camp some cells have collaborative spaces and small status makes sense for more intimate experiences
It’ll also give an opportunity for those who are artist, locally performers locally to be able to do something that is more cost-effective for the community and also shares their talents and abilities in a creative way. You know there’s always the option of an alternative son I’ve had concerts were those small status, but some of the musicians are not on stage and they don’t all have to be on stage, so please do not panic they’ll make it happen. It’ll be beautiful will make it happen. It is beautiful.