To truly be a part of the psytrance community means more than simply attending every festival that one can. A “conscious” festival goer views the entire psy-scene as a collective whole and takes into consideration how their participation at parties can affect others.
Conscious attendees are aware that their actions can have both positive and negative results, not only at single events but for the wider psytrance community. It seems logical that any small improvements to individual events will help to create a stronger, more welcoming and enjoyable scene for all involved.
The Cape Town trance scene is one of the best in the world and will undoubtedly improve even further with the attendance of “conscious” festival-goers.
How Can you as Festival-Goer Improve Your Party Environment?
1. Help each other
First and foremost, attendees can help nurture a more trusting and inclusive environment by putting the needs of others ahead of their own. Even simple acts such as collecting litter or making space for other campers all go a long way to improving the overall mood of a festival.
Keeping an eye on each other from both a security and health perspective is vital to the success of a festival. Festivals quite often cover a large area, and it can be easy to lose your friends or campsite at night.
If you see somebody alone or in distress, don’t feel shy to ask if you can help them.
2. Litter and the environment
The global psytrance community is founded upon principles of respecting nature so it should be a given that all attendees clean up after themselves. However, sadly the case is often that campsites are left littered with trash or overflowing bin bags. While any decent organiser will always ensure this trash is cleaned up after the event ends, it leaves an unappealing environment for participants who may still be enjoying the party.
Festivals often feel impenetrable from the prying eyes of the outside world but there are many critics of our scene who would like to see it destroyed. Each and every one of us are responsible for ensuring that doesn’t happen and projecting an image that we would like the world to see.
Keeping one’s campsite clean throughout the festival is a simple act that not only improves the experience for everyone but makes your final clean up much more manageable.
A “conscious” person always takes pride in their living area, even it is just a temporary camp.
3. Report harassing or suspicious activity
While the vast majority of festival-goers are peaceful characters who mean you only well, the all-inclusive nature of the scene unfortunately also attracts some unsavoury participants. Event organisers will always have a dedicated team of staff on hand to deal with any situation that arises. Should you or your friends ever feel unsafe or see any suspicious activity, don’t hesitate to report the incident to the staff.
To keep yourself safe from any threats to your health or security, avoid purchasing things from people you don’t know or trust. If you feel uncertain about someone or start to feel sick during the festival, speak to a staff member immediately.
When you practice a heightened awareness for those around you, you will usually find they return the favour.
4. Don’t drink and drive
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs displays a massive lack of respect for your fellow human beings. South Africa already has a terrible record for drink-driving; the psytrance scene should lead by example and help to improve South Africa’s image.
As a conscious festival-goer, if you are intoxicated at the end of a festival always stay an extra night and sleep it off.
5. Work together with the organisers
Festival organisers always put in 110%, not only during the festival but for months prior, to ensure every attendee gets the best possible experience. However, festivals are constantly evolving events and it’s impossible to predict and plan for every situation that arises.
If you have a problem or are unhappy about something during a festival, tell the staff. Almost any problem can be rectified easily but organisers can’t help if they don’t know what’s wrong. Writing a bad comment about a festival after it’s finished only informs staff about the issue when it’s too late and doesn’t help anybody.
Please feel welcome to speak to staff about any issues you have – don’t wait!
Conclusion
The positive, enlightening and peaceful aspects of psytrance culture are intended to be communicated to attendees through the festival experience. The scene is an important global community that works to create a more liberal, loving and open-minded society through its promotion of freedom, peace and acceptance of all. However, it can only survive and grow if each individual festival-goer participates consciously and respectfully for mankind and nature alike.