Events with a vision

FOR Coachella patrons the requirements are simple: excellent sound system and port-a-potties. Someone attending a food event expects decent grub. Pundits like Barbara Ehrenreich and Hakim Bey, however, consider festivals to be a lot more than that: a momentary vision of a better world. To wit, West Coast fests such as Burning Man, Oregon’s Autonomous Mutant Festival and British Columbia’s Shambhala, where personal freedom and audience-generated entertainment are the main attraction.

Locally, those examples have inspired the counterculture-minded Joshua Tree Music Festival and Lightning in a Bottle. “A lot of festivals are still about the bottom line and making money,” reckons Lightning co-founder Jesse Flemming. “We have nothing against money, but we’re equally interested in creating change.”

One counterculture mainstay being adopted by more mainstream festivals is the earth-conscious philosophy “leave no trace.” Big events generate tons of waste and require whopping amounts of energy, which is why the Santa Monica Festival, the UCLA JazzReggae Festival and Lightning in a Bottle will power stages with biodiesel and other renewable energy. The Los Angeles County Fair will take consciousness one step further with the Eco-Now exhibit, which will try to sell patrons on environmentally friendly living. These moves, says Flemming, are a way for organizers to “show everybody you can come together and have a great time, but do it responsibly.”

Ultimately, festivals are about the communities they serve, and for L.A., environmentalism has become a priority. “It’s important for people to feel the event is their event,” says Dale Coleman, vice president of marketing at the L.A. County Fair. “If you don’t know who [your] market is and you can’t deliver, you’re not going to survive.”

Somewhere in there, you’re going to have a good time too.