Lighting In a Bottle

Hi Guys 🙂

Today we are excited to talk about a brand new topic that is a little different than our usual blog posts on here. We wanted to share with you our experience at an extraordinary music and arts festival called Lightning in a Bottle. After attending for our second year in a row, we thought it would be a fun topic to talk about and introduce LIB to new people or give some advice to people who are interested in attending the festival. If you have been following the blog from the beginning, you might remember our film photos from the festival that we posted from last year, so it is something we have shared in the past that we have enjoyed showing 🙂 We recently posted a youtube video on the topic that you can watch here if you feel like watching a video of us talking about it 🙂 But for this blog post we are gonna be sharing with you our pictures from the festival and some helpful tips/knowledge about it. Also don’t forget to check out the official website for lighting in a bottle to learn more about the culture and exact ticket prices link is here. We hope you enjoy this post!

What is Lighting in a Bottle?

Lightning in a Bottle is a 4 day music and arts festival founded by the famed Do Lab. It is put on in quant Bradley, California (not too far from the bay area.) While it’s 14 years strong, every year has seemed to get better and larger by the numbers. The secret to it’s success? Well, if you ask us it’s the philosophy behind the festival, being kind and respectful to each other and to the environment itself, all while having the time of your life. What really makes this festival unique is the camping element it provides to festival goers. Taking place every May during memorial day weekend, people from around the world gather together to experience an extra long weekend full of dance, music, art, talks, food, and so much more.

What to expect..

If you have heard of this festival before but aren’t sure if it’s the right festival for yourself here is some insight and observations we have made from the last 2 years of attending that may be helpful to you.

Money: What is basically the defining thing about going to festivals, “how much is this gonna cost me.” Fairly priced, getting an early bird ticket is the cheapest price you can get which go on sale every fall, you can snag a ticket for about $320 after tax. But after that prices go up in about $20-$30 increments. Another thing that will cost you for this festival is your “car camping pass.” If you chose to camp with your car next to your campsite it will be an additional charge. If you dont want to camp with your car next to your campsite, you can park your car in a designated parking area and then walk to any campsite to set up camp, by doing this you will not pay extra for camping instead your GA ticket is all you need. For us, we really find it a huge benefit having the car next to the campsite, it’s definitely worth the extra money. LIB also allows RV’s into the festival for camping so that is another option to take if you have a big group of people going, all staying in a RV might save you money because everyone would chip in for that “RV Camping Pass”..And lastly a really awesome option LIB offers is the early arrival GA ticket, it’s a little more money towards your ticket but you get in a whole day early. With this, you have the opportunity to arrive one day early to set up your camp and get situated, although the festival is not technically going on at this point, it’s nice to be able to snag a perfect spot for yourself. Prices change so always check the official website for current ticket prices!

Budgeting & Planning: It’s always good to make a list of all the things you will need while camping. Really think about what is going to keep you comfortable for the next 4 days in a tent. Making a budget/checklist is crucial to a successful LIB trip. Take some time to write down EVERYTHING you need to bring so that you are organized and ready for your festival experience. For budgeting, we usually budget about $50 a day (per person) on food and drink *could be more if you’re buying alcohol.* Bringing food is a great option if you wanna save a little money but trying the food at the festival grounds is one of our favorite parts and isn’t too expensive. Something that is good to note is making sure you have enough water, yes they have water for you to fill your bottles with, but it is coming from a spikit in the ground and you will have to wait in a line every time. Bringing about 1 gallon of water per day is a good rule of thumb we have discovered, also an extra gallon for washing your face, hands, feet, brushing your teeth..just keeping your hygiene good while your back at camp is very refreshing.

Eco-friendly: A HUGE element of the festival is leaving no trace of garbage anywhere. Probably the cleanest festival we have ever been to, recycling, compost, and landfill trash areas are scattered around everywhere in the festival. Littering is very, very frowned upon and can honestly cause some problems if you bluntly don’t care. Keeping your campsite clean and bringing trash bags is a must while attending this festival. Everyone here is “going green” and trying to spread the word about how we can all change our habits back at home to leave a very small carbon footprint in the world. It really is true that we have to make a change in order to sustain a beautiful environment and having this festival open up so many peoples eyes to this problem is miraculous. So with all that being said, this is a green festival and is very conscious of it’s waste from the festival being put on in an outside atmosphere.

Things to know..

Lastly, here are a few things to know and understand before making the commitment of diving into the LIB spirit.

The Vibe: What really surprised us when attending our first LIB was seeing how diverse the age groups were. You can find infants to elderly people at this festival, no joke. If you’re used to seeing only 18-20 somethings at your average music festival be prepared to see people of all ages. LIB is a place for EVERYONE and accommodates an experience to share with families and friends from all walks of life. There are kid areas where parents can watch their kids enjoy arts and crafts to sporting events to music without sacrificing their festival experience. The vibe at this festival is so unique because everyone is there to have a good time and bring each other UP.

Lake: A wonderful element that was brought back by mother nature 2 years ago (thanks to all the rain!) The lake is back and really setting a mark for the whole festival experience. Bringing your bathing suit and floats will ensure an unforgettable time enjoying the cool water mid day when the sun is beaming down. Lots and lots of festival goers will be at the lake at certain times in the day and it feels as if the festival has transferred to the lake instead of the stages. Probably one of the strongest selling points of the festival is the whole lake element. It really is like no other festival.

Be yourself: To finish off, the most satisfying thing about the festival is the attitude you have coming into it. Just be yourself. You’re going to discover quickly that this place is one of the most non-judgemental places you will ever experience. The philosophy behind LIB is to be you and to be kind, with that being said, you won’t find too many people really caring about what they look like everyday or taking a selfie at every spot that looks “instagramable” it’s about being yourself and enjoying yourself. No one is really looking down at there phone because they are in the middle of nature! There’s basically no electricity to charge your phones! What will you be doing without your phone? You will be forced to be yourself and take a break from all the stuff that gives you worries back home. Getting to sleep under the stars every night, meeting tons of new friendly people, and experiencing things you never imagined experiencing makes this such a special place, its more than a festival, it’s a community that loves.

We hope you guys enjoyed this post and again, to watch a more in depth video talking about the festival I’m going to link it at the bottom so you can learn even more crucial information! Tune in next week to watch our LIB experience from this year and see what its really like! Thanks for checking in and we will see you soon 🙂