weekend of music (and more music)

ferris wheel • Girl Talk with impromptu stage dance • crowd in the sunset
What do you get when you mix carnival rides, 4 stages, thousands of (dirty) people, funnel cakes, camping, LOTS OF MUSIC, and 3 days of perfect Florida springtime weather?

The 1st Annual Harvest of Hope Fest, which I attended this past weekend here at the St Johns County Fairgrounds. It turned out to be a super successful event, as thousands and thousands of people came from all over to the 3-day outdoor music festival which raised money and awareness for the Harvest of Hope Foundation who provides emergency funding to migrant workers and their families.

Rosa Loves booth
I still haven't heard the final number of attendees or money raised, but I know the HOH crew was pretty stoked at the entire turn out. Almost 140 bands filled 4 stages with non-stop lineups for each 12-hour day, and I was very happy to see some of the bands I was excited to check out, as well as hear some new ones. A lot of my time was spent hanging out at the Rosa Loves booths as they were selling their tees, and also had live screen-printing available for a limited edition tee which benefited the HOH Foundation. Luckily their booth faced directly to the main stage, so we could kick back in the shade (and a safe distance from the ruckus and dirt clouds which normally manifested near the stage) while we listened to the music, including Against Me, The National, Propagandhi, Girl Talk, Glaslight Anthem, Black Kids and Tokyo Police Club...just to name a few.

view of main stage from the booth • BLORR • Ra Ra Riot
There were several times though, that I voluntarily (and excitedly) joined the mass in the middle of the cloud of dirt...during BLORR (the sequined glam band, of none other than Jedidiah surf member, Chris (aka Bronco, aka Sugarhips) Hess) to which my friend Eric and I danced up the dirty field, SUNBEARS!, Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan), Ra Ra Riot (who were SO GOOD LIVE), and of course, Diplo.

colorful balloons over the Diplo set
It was SO amazing...right at sundown, and with tunes spinning at a chest-rattling volume, I don't know how the security guards stay so still...really. It's unnatural. Just at least bob your head or something.

Besides the music, there were lots of booths to visit, spinning carnie rides to puke on, and fair food to eat. Luckily there were an amazingly high number of healthy options, which we were all happy about...although I think we countered all the goodness, by scarfing down a super greasy funnel cake on the last day :). Oh, but it was worth it.


One of the best things about this event was the meaning behind why all of these people - musicians, vendors, volunteers, and attendees - were getting together...to support the HOH Foundation. The HOH booth was next to the Rosa Loves booth, so we got to talk to them a bit, and between music sets, the founder would give more info on their cause to the crowd, including personal stories of migrant workers and their needs. HOH provides financial, educational and service-oriented aid to those families all over the country. The social-awareness theme was carried through several other vendors including To Write Love on Her Arms, and I also met a really cool group at a neighboring booth, called The Love Alliance which works to educate individuals on social justice issues (including hunger, poverty, slavery) and then gives them ways that they can make a difference towards these issues in their every day lives.

exploring the carnie section
Maybe part of it is the new Daylight Savings Time (which I'm absolutely enjoying), but it's Tuesday and I'm still adjusting to a normal daily routine while my sore legs are recovering...and I'm already looking forward to the 2nd Annual fest - as I'm sure everyone else who was involved is too!