Photo: Jazz Wall
More than just a music festival, Enchanted Forest Gathering – a boutique festival in Mendocino, CA – just three or so hours north of San Francisco – has a wonderfully intricate balance of music, yoga, workshops, art and more. Out of the music sets, flow and movement workshops, healing ceremonies and all that truly makes the festival so appealing and unique, there was one thing about this festival that stands out from the rest: the fact that it is a no-alcohol event (yes, really).
This is quite a feat in the world of festivals today, as so many have alcohol embedded in the way they work and the income they depend on, with the likes of beer gardens and signature cocktails catered to each event becoming a dime a dozen. Instead of turning down this road with the others, the team at Enchanted Forest have embraced the idea of “get saucy, not sauced.” They believe focusing on a safe, alcohol-free environment that “serves as fertile ground for a new kind of festival experience and a container for an experimental way of life.” Through its lack of available alcohol, the event leaves attendees to get creative and find deeper, more meaningful forms of stimulation that does not involve drinking.
As part of this, EF offers a number of stimulating alternatives including tea lounges, cacao drinks, herbal elixir bars and kombucha elixir bars. This experimental festival lifestyle – truly asking attendees to expand their horizons and try new ways of creating stimulation – is a rare find.
The event happens next weekend, July 22-24, 2016 with a stacked lineup, including the likes of Shpongle, PANTyRAiD, The Polish Ambassador, Autograf and more. Tickets are still available on the Enchanted Forest website.
