The Beach
There’s something about the beach that provides an unparalleled calm to a festival crowd. At Gathering of the Vibes this past weekend, fans were able to cool down in the water at their leisure, with nobody telling them otherwise. You could quite literally wake up and jump in the cool water for a refreshing start to your day, and most people did.
The ocean provided a means for bathing, natural adventure (by the way of shell hunting and animal watching), and therapy. It’s a huge factor for the Vibes festival.
Photo via @scottv05 on Instagram
The Philanthropy
The word “philanthropy” means “love of humanity,” and if you ask anyone who was at Gathering of the Vibes this past weekend, they will tell you that there was a definite display of love for humanity. As you strolled around the vendor areas, you were greeted with much more than just tie-dyes and Dead merchandise. This is because Vibes really prides themselves on integrating numerous non-profits into the festival.
Usuals like Headcount, the Wharf Rats, and the Terrapin Foundation were present, but we also learned about a variety of organizations that are doing great things in this world. A couple of our favorites were Represent.Us (an organization that works to eliminate the money-funded corruption in politics) and Music Never Stopped: the Tyler Seaman Foundation (who aims to provide music spaces in hospitals for the bed-ridden ill).
Photo via @kenzigrl07 on Instagram
The People
Meeting kind people at a music festival isn’t exactly a rarity, but the Vibes patrons were slightly different in how CHILL they were. No one at Gathering of the Vibes would necessarily be categorized under the term “rager,” let’s just say. Maybe it was the beach, maybe it was the music, but the event attracted relaxing people that made the festival into a relaxing environment.
Photo via @sunflower96 on Instagram
The Message
On Friday afternoon, Sharon Jones delivered a speech regarding her song “Get Up and Get Out.” She lamented back to when she was going through cancer treatment. She took a walk to the bathroom, looked herself in the mirror and saw someone she didn’t exactly recognize. Without a single hair on her head, Sharon looked herself in the mirror and said, “Cancer, you’re going to get up and get out!” It gave me goose-bumps, straight up, to hear this woman tell her story, but when we watched her dance around the stage with the most energy we saw all weekend, it was a truly special moment. God bless her soul.
The uplifting message wasn’t just that you can beat cancer, but that us humans can beat anything. We can provide BETTER. It ties into the philanthropic element of the festival, the love for human life. We can provide peace, we can beat cancer, we can be kind.
Photo via @spegeg on Instagram
The Weather
We’ve all been to a festival that was plagued by weather, but Gathering of the Vibes really lucked out this past weekend. It was absolutely GORGEOUS all weekend long. The sun was shining, the ocean breeze was plentiful, the water was cool and refreshing, and it cooled down just enough to sleep well at night. Nature was truly on our side!
It’s also worth noting that with the blue moon on Friday night was breathtaking, and Saturday evening’s moonrise was other-worldly as the moon peaked through the clouds and slowly rose past the ferris wheel for all those watching Wilco. These rank as some of the coolest moons I’ve ever seen personally, and I’m sure plenty of Vibers share that sentiment!