Festivals point us in some funky directions, creating lasting impressions in our cilia, ear and nose canals, through our dirty little paws, on our fingertips, and on our tongues – all our five senses, to be exact. From the tactile to the conceptual, the comical to the questionable, these were the most interesting ways Lightning in a Bottle activated our taste, sight, sound, smell and touch.

Sound

Best in Fest: The Gong Sanctuary, Richie Hawtin at The Woogie Stage, roughly 87% of overheard conversations, fusion music at Crossroads.

Saturday afternoon was toasty, and I'd just finished applying my fourteenth round of sunscreen. My friends and I were in full exploration mode with more than a casual interest in shade, and it didn't take long to end up at the Gong Sanctuary. Mats and blankets were arranged around a towering and beautifultree, and fifteen or so gongs created the outer circle's periphery. Sound healing practitioners intuitively shook wooden reeds, rattled rain sticks, used didgeridoos and rang Tibetan singing bowls. The sounds swept through our bodies and transported us to some state of binaural beat limbo. One guy held the didgeridoo inches from my face for what felt like five straight minutes. It was glorious. Although I didn’t lay down with a specific intention, I felt mentally lighter all afternoon.

Richie Hawtin was an incredible choice to close out Sunday night at The Woogie. Thunderous, magnificent, epic...all the words. My other favorite sound of the weekend was the bass that rattled the walls of my tent, a mere 40 yards from the Thunder Stage, for four days straight. Thunder was constantly turnt. Like, constantly. I’m so impressed with people who make that stage their home for the whole weekend. 

Sight

Best in Fest: Totems, The 2nd Annual Soap Box Derby Invitational, the overflowing costume racks at the karaoke stage, and the Merch Booth.

The torrential downpours that graced California this year also graced LIB with a new member of the fam: a lake. Hands down (besides the lack of cell phones and tons of saucy totems) this was the best sight at the festival. Do LaB producers moved all the stages to the edge of the peninsulas, ensuring that you could still lounge around in your spacious watermelon or massive swan and never miss a beat.

Honorable mention for best sight of the weekend was the 2nd Annual Soap Box Derby Invitational. Watching a wooden car resembling a giant case of Coors Light Silver Bullet go airborne next to a bright yellow banana started things off; watching makeshift racecars swerving wildly and overall eating shit is a renegade's idea of paradise. My friends and I were standing decently far away, so we couldn't see the top of the starting line. But with the crack of the shotgun and a few yards of straight downhill action, it was amazing how many of those derby cars went airborne and out of control so quickly. I suppose when you’re being pushed down a steep straw-filled incline, it will be the rare soapboxer who doesn’t eat shit. It was delightful to watch. Top marks for creativity, renegade spirit and varying levels of quality craftsmanship.

Taste

Best in Fest: The Learning Kitchen, Dough Lab, brie cheese from home, the Woogie Wonton Structure (Heather Shaw/Vita Motus)

One of the best things about LIB is that people like me, who will cop to eating poorly a large majority of the year, suddenly find themselves in the middle of nowhere with a hankering to eat healthy. Paying $10 for an oversized handful of french fries slathered in garlic cheese sauce-stuff is a mistake I only made once. Colorful culinary options outweigh the garbage. One look at the people walking by with plates from Bite Bowls, full of hearty grains and veggies, loaded with toasted sunflower seeds and crunchy corn, and I was bummed. I only continued to eat them in that moment because, ya know, $10 for a handful of fries. Multiple visits to Lydia's Kind Foods, Blue Sun Cafe, Dump City, and Bliss Cafe got me on the nourishment train.

On the other end of the tasty spectrum, The Thunder Stage served up bass you could practically chew on.

Smell

Best in Fest: Tinctures in The Witches Den, potent palo santo, not porta-potties, the Dough Lab

Now that I've been home for a few days and flushed the dust from my nostrils, for some unexplainable reason my mind is stuck on those bales of hay acting as benches in the karaoke stage ravine. They were so fresh and earthy.

Beyond the hay, LIB offers a rich olfactory environment. Culinary aromas drifted from The Learning Kitchen, results of the near-constant nutrition classes and demonstrations. Palo santo wafted everywhere, especially amidst the sunset seekers on Meditation Lookout. Earthy and floral h erbal tinctures were on offer in the Witches' Den . You could smell the spicy, strong margaritas from the Favela Bar before a glass of one was anywhere near your lips. The Lightning Stage was directly in front of the cheesy, doughy freshness rising from The Dough Lab. Even standard disgusting festival porta-potties were well-maintained! All of those gorgeous scents, and my favorite part was the hay. Go figure.

Touch

Best in Fest: Kidz Village, workshops at The Compass, speaker panel "How to Dismantle Toxic Masculinity"

Touch isn't just something you do with your grubby hands. You can touch, and be touched. Touching in regards to consent, explored in Eamon Armstrong’s "How to Dismantle Toxic Masculinity" panel on Thursday. Touching walls and doors to push your way into the portals of The Lightning Inn, LIB's weird little experiential hotel. Touching and holding heavy art to climb it, like hundreds did on "ePOD," the rotating, climbable interactive steel sculpture from artist Michael Christian tucked next to the Thunder Stage. Touch was king at the Healing Sanctuary, where restorative treatments centered around touch including reiki healing bodywork, massages, sound healing, and of course...Vitamin B12 in the booty.

What funky ways did you use your five senses at Lightning in a Bottle this year?