What The Fest: A Love Letter

Driving down the Columbia Gorge on the way to Dufur, Oregon, you get the sense that something magical is about to happen. Maybe it’s the towering cliffs and wide open river, or the stillness heading into the forest, but either way the feeling of joyful expectation is real.

From the moment we rolled into the car inspection rows we were greeted with smiles and hugs and all the jokes. Whatever WTFest is doing to select staff and volunteers, it’s working.

After a quick inspection (no glass,  no fireworks, no ferrets) we loaded our gear into our carts and journeyed into the forest to find a camping spot. For festival folks that don’t have their own cart, a $5 deposit gets you a sturdy cart to help lug all your gear down the hillside.

We are accustomed to the Paradiso camping experience – the crowded, no shade, windswept party scape. What The Festival camping is so much more deluxe. We wandered around the forest until we found a flat shady spot close to the dragon stage. Immediately our neighbors came over with offers of food, drinks, glitter and general assistance. A few helped us build our tents!

The iconic enormous disco ball greeted us at the entrance, and we basically danced our way in to the festival. 

Nothing can prepare you for how awesome the splash pool stage is on an 80 degree day, dancing to Whethan and Hotel Garuda and the FunkHunters while chilling in the splash pool- one of our top festival experiences to date. 

The lineup was outstanding, Big Wild was a religious experience and we loved getting to see Whethan again. 

What struck us the most was the sense that this festival is the closest to what it would be like if our friends planned and executed a festival. What The Fest doesn’t gouge you on drinks, food and amenities. Yes, you can pay for a yurt or the OMG experience, but even the the general admission walk-in camping feels intentional, curated and carefully executed. Every detail from the water refill stations, to the showers to the illuminated forest, seems built with love.

Packing up and driving out we all reflected on our experience at Wolf Run Ranch, and how even though our bodies were tired our spirits felt rejuvenated. One of our crew spoke about how she felt like she was leaving a kindness bubble and that heading back into the city felt jarring after spending a weekend being truly known and cared for. 

What The Fest is doing it right. It is truly an oasis in the forest, a place where kindness rules, partying is a religion, and everyone is family.