Hey, old man in a peanut suit, WTF? What’s up, life guard with an abundance of pubis, WTF? Yes, I would definitely like a haircut from an aspiring amateur sketch artist, WTF!?
This year’s What The Festival was a raucous event not to be missed. Located at the Wolf Run Ranch just south of the Dalles in Oregon, WTF is in the middle of farmland. Driving through empty fields to get there gives WTF a vibe of communal privacy. As if the terrain was testing your trust. The cows placed accordingly to doubt the transcendental experience you are about to have. Then boom! Trance music and the most colorful people you’ll ever have the pleasure to meet.
The three day festival featured a full lineup of artists by night and a full schedule of classes and activities by day. The workshops included classes on BOOTY LUV which reportedly lifts, tones and tightens your best asset, a 75 minute workshop on break dancing from renowned Crykit, and an intense look into your inner clown with James Montiont.
While the day focused on improving oneself, the night focused on one becoming all. Buku kicked things into high gear with a dusty sunset performance. Bandana laden WTF’ers shook the earth with a dance that made it seem like The Warriors had arrived and were ready to come out to play. Russ Liquid then set the night off with a seductively giving the people the beats to ebb and flow as a mass of connected flesh. However, it was Yacht that shed the good and proudly wore the great with their infectious Saturday night performance. The moment Claire L Evans arrived on the WTF stage she took control of her people. In lock step with her demands the crowd cheered her every move which included a modern George Washington crossing the Delaware moment. When Yacht was finished, the war was over.
Organizer’s attempt to create a burning man style “Big Art Experience” was also a success. Focusing on usable installations the art became part of the festival itself. Rob Bell’s, “Zomes” provided a structure for WTF’ers to sit and meditate on all the mornings hangovers, providing hope that there will still be decadence in our visions of the future. The Tipi Stage designed by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa was an amazing place to participate in zone out yoga, watch mind defragmenting short cinema or listen to all the colors with your newfound synesthesia.
What the Festival is a celebration of our generation seizing the moment and strangling the life out of it. If you don’t get that last drop of celebratory life-force by the end of the night, you are doing it wrong. If you can bring it with lasciviousness, then leave your chorts at home.
Wait, you were there? WTF!