"Yesterday is History, Today is a Gift, Tomorrow is Mystery,"
read the signs above our heads as we entered Tomorrowland, my first ever electronic dance music festival.
How do I even begin to describe the event, the people, the feels- magical, diverse, all encompassing. The three-day event, of which we only went to two, was everything and nothing like I had imagined.
Electric Daisy Carnival got nothing on this.
After enduring the 2 hour line to receive our bracelets we were well on our way to the highly anticipated weekend of EDM, excitement, and nights to remember.
photo credits: Alexander Chu
Two Euros for one ticket was the currency exchange of this makeshift world. Making water 1.5 tickets and food 3-6 tickets, hella expensive. The meatballs were however really to die for.
So how did my first electronic music festival start? On the wrong foot, and my ass. Excited by all the mayhem, I ran down the giant hill between me and the epic dance party that laid ahead, stepped down on a slippery mat that in reality should have prevented this sort of thing, and came tumbling down the rest of the way on my butt, in front of hundreds of people. Some probably didn't even notice, some laughed, one even helped me up. I wasn't even drunk.
The main stage. My first thought was: manure. Dear god was it the odor of thousands of bodies packed with no space between them? Or was it the wet grass squished under the rubber anti-slip mats that didn't work. Probably a combination of both.
No matter, the wretched stench didn't stop us from anticipating what was going to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip.
Below was a crowd of hundreds of thousands partying it up. There were inflatable everything from beach balls to over sized bananas and dolphins to even people being thrown around above the crowd. It was complete chaos, but it was a view that we soon came to see as normal as the weekend went on.
Skrillex, Demetri Vegas, Armin, we saw all of the big name DJs. On stage they would play their hearts out above the mass of fans. Behind the electronic music stars, was a decked out steam punk-esque stage with full working gears, watermill, and large LCD screen. I kept thinking, is this even real?
Making our way through the crowd, we were greeted by others wearing Canadian and American flags, hugged by strangers, and welcomed by the blaring beats of whatever DJ was performing. By the time we reached the center, our legs were covered in mud, we were sweating like crazy, and someone had definitely tried to sell us drugs.
But the music, the atmosphere, and the hourly confetti windfall quickly made us forget our struggles as we joined in the jumping body of people.
photo credits: Alexander Chu
As night fell over the crazy scene, the light show really began as lasers shot from every direction and fire exploded from the stage. I stood with my friend’s under the fireworks on both nights feeling like these moments would never end.
A moment during the first night was what was most memorable to me. In the mix of it all, suddenly I was being lifted off the ground. Was it a transcendial experience? Had I somehow gotten high off of the music or the atmosphere? I soon realized a group of guys had lifted me and my friends onto their shoulders. Looking around I felt infinite, soaring above the crowd. As my guy turned around away from the stage, i got a full view of the sheer amount of people surrounding us. It was phenomenal. I looked back to my friend group and one of my friends grabbed my hand. “DO not let go” she said. I realized that she was deathly afraid of heights. Soon the guys let us down as we laughed at how ridiculous that moment was. Armin Van Buren closed that night.
What continued to astound me was the love everyone had for the whole event. Love for strangers, love for friends, love for the party, love for the music. There was this effect that being at Tomorrowland had on people. It mesmerized everyone in to being the most positive and happy part of themselves.
