Shambhala: The heartbeat of the forest

We were wet, we danced and jumped, we explored, we climbed a mountain and crossed a river, we traveled on shrooms with Mary Jane, we camped and made new friends and met old ones. Oh yeah, there was music too…

Like every year for the last 13 years, the forest 6  kilometers from Salmo BC became a carnival.   The heartbeat of Shambhala, in the form of electronic thumps, engulfed the river and the mountains of the the Salmo River Ranch deep in the Kootneys. Shambhala is a 4 day celebration of nature through mainly electronic music. The festival sold out its 10,000 tickets plus 2,000 comps, staff passes and talent who made of this area a small city during the festival. The word Shambhala comes from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and it refers to a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Asia, a place of peace, tranquility and happiness. Here in the ranch, there is happiness yes, and peace, but not tranquility. The festival is a trip to wonderland for adults with the exception of alcohol. No alcohol is allowed in the premises, although we saw some beer cans but mainly it was dry of alcohol. Drugs on the other side… as in every electronic music festival or party.

We reached the festival via Nelson on Friday afternoon, it took us 3 hours to register, there was a line up of festival goers. The parking lots were full of happy campers and their cars (around 4,000). When we managed to get into our parking spot that was going to be our home for the next three days it was already dark. People in costumes were everywhere, nothing compared to the first edition that was “just” a big party organized by the youngest of the Bundschuh of the Salmo Ranch and it has become a tradition since then. Now the  family is involved in the organization of the festival. regarding the costumes Marvin Walker, the public relations manager told us

The costume thing apparently started innocently enough in the raver scene in Europe before coming to n.a. in the 80′s. Just a top hat and cane or something to set one apart from the ‘main stream’. Also with the psychedelic drugs present people started getting more and more extreme. I don’t think there was anybody really dressed up in the first year of the festival. The only pictures I’ve seen of that one was a bunch of typical looking Canadians in winter coats and hats in major rainstorm conditions all night long! Eventually as the crowds got bigger the costumes (and lack of clothing) started appearing.

Los Furios at Shambhala

We cruised through the 6 stages of the festival: The Rock Pit and my personal favourite where we danced to Los Furios who performed to an excited crowd. The Rock Pit also had Five Alarm Funk and Sex with Strangers which were not officially on the program but nevertheless performed an energetic set. Vitaminsforyou, Hey Ocean, Sweatshop Union, Delhi to Dublin among others paraded through the rock pit. The other stages with electronic music were The Pagoda with its laser show, The Village with its impressive stage, and the Laberynth, all with a visuals, majestic constructions in the middle of the forest which included lights and laser beams. Then there was the Fractal Forest where artists also left their trace in the trees. The living room is the other stage, its smaller and featured some speakers and performances, meditation and crystal healers.

All the action happens in a working farm next to the Salmo River, the beauty of the nature is astonishing. Shambhala becomes a small city. There are portable toilets everywhere with sanitation, there was a poop police who changed them often, there was a big First Aid cabin, art for sale everywhere, a sex education centre who provided condoms with a harm reduction component, there were testing ecstasy pills, exchanging needles and educating people about drugs, there were food vendors, showers and drinking water. Water is very important in this festival. There is a fire department with plenty of water for an emergency fire and diesel generators and back up generators for an electrical failure enough to supply the needs of 15 households. A well prepared small complex with lot of activities. oh yeah and the music. The music never stops. There is always a beat going on and people dancing. It was crazy.

The drugs. We got offered a couple of times, any kind of experience enhancers. Although Marvin told us the festival does not approve any drug consumption, they do have the information available and the resources to keep the drug users safe. Marvin assures it is the only festival in North America to do so. Generally people bring their own stuff but there are sellers that make it inside and peddle their product “discreetly”. Some sources affirm there are 150 undercover cops working the festival but we personally never saw one, unless it was one of those topless sunbathers or the guy with the banana costume. Marvin, who was the head of the talent  administration two years before this one said about the cops:

I know that we have unmarked detectives as part of our security – they investigate reports regarding serious complaints – drugs or whatever. They don’t go around trying to buy drugs or buddying up to people to see if they have drugs. Only if they have complaints of serious crime – usually thefts or weapons or reports about large quantities of drugs. We know that the RCMP
seem to have a mandate to focus on festivals and the drug scene so I wouldn’t doubt that they had some people on site but not with our knowledge or approval.

Anyways, in BC, the enforcement of the drug law for consumers is pretty laxed so don’t worry if you are an avid consumer of drugs and want to attend Shambhala next year, the police won’t arrest 9,999 people. We got a couple of grams of musrooms the last day and up we went flying revisiting the stages and facilities of the festival which this year brought some international acts as well.

This is the mountain we hiked

The day we hiked the mountain (took us more than 4 hours up and down) some guy threw fluorescein dye in the river making it green and confusing all the party goers.

It is typically used industrially putting it in pipelines etc to see if there are any leaks. It is non-toxic and is also used in medicine for angiograms – tracking small blood vessels for retina and cornea surgery. In large concentrations it can cause nausea or vomiting as well as allergic
reactions.

The whole experience was mind bending, we met very strange characters from Alberta, all BC, we saw a Mexican flag, a swede flag, we heard Portuguese, French and Spanish. We saw weird looking campgrounds and costumes. oh yes and there was the music. The non stop beating of the heart of Shambhala deep in the west Koots.

remember that the festival solds out days before the inauguration and check the website for entry times for next year. http://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/