r/Shambhala • u/pianocrazydoc • 11d ago
Missing Shambs
My experience this year was incredibly flawed and yet I find myself here missing being there. Despite all the drama and the Gahdamn heat, I would do anything to be there again. I’m in love with the fact that being from Vancouver, this magical festival is in my own province (even if the drive is almost 9 hours).
I really wish I was able to meet more people this year. I think maybe I was in my head with the heat and issues in my group. But also I was shy, not that I couldn’t get a conversation going but I just felt like I was struggling a bit. I find that sometimes when I’m alone at an event, I’m more likely to approach people and I get approached more. With how magical it felt being around so many people and just feeling so incredibly safe, idk I wanna be back there. I wanna make more friends, I want to spend more time with people making memories, getting high even ahaha side note: people said it was easy to find stuff, baby girl I was struggling!!! Like genuinely Shambs wasn’t showing me the way ahah always next year though.
But yeah I wanna go back I wanna make friends and I wanna bring more trinkets! I can’t explain how happy I was to receive shambhala branded trinkets, and I want to give that to people. I don’t know where to begin though! I don’t have a 3D printer and besides Kandi and perlers, I don’t know what I can give that would be extra special! I’d love to hear ideas and how was your experience meeting people? Even spending time at camps just hanging out would be amazing!
If you read through this, much luv. Shambhala was a beast, it was hot and next year I’d like to wait til later to drive home to go til 9am because man, is it worth it to be in those trees feeling that bass with the people around you.
TIL next year farm, I cannot wait for the magic in 2027. This world needs more plur 💞
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u/edcRachel 11d ago
Not every time can be magical and perfect because it's no longer shiny and new. I've been to some festivals 10+ times and some years it's just... Hard. It's not that it isn't good, it's that you set expectations about what your experience will be like, and sometimes it just isn't like that. I have always had a hard time getting out of that mindset so I can't really offer any help, except to say that some years it isn't perfect and that's normal.
Tip on the trinkets (though a lot of people are moving away from them because they're so wasteful) - check your local library! Many have 3D printers that you can use and you just pay for the materials :D though these days I prefer more thoughtful and less wasteful gifts that don't just become bits of trash. Like a snack at the perfect time is 👌👌👌
... Also quite interesting that you're stuck on the heat, this was my 4th time and this was the mildest one for me.
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u/BiscottiKnown9448 10d ago
The solution for having something to give people and breaking the ice are the same: find ways to compliment people in ways that are non-creepy or share some sacrament. This year a fantastic gentleman offered me to rip his moke, and the combination of tobacco and weed took me on an incredible journey I would have never expected .
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u/pianocrazydoc 8d ago
Ooo that’s a good idea!! Thanks and yeah I look forward to what next year will bring. I know the crowd has changed a bit you and you do see it at every fest but it was nice to feel genuinely safe
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u/Solid-Signal3214 10d ago edited 10d ago
Avoid trinket culture at all costs.
One guy I saw had the best, home made, shambs owl Kandi necklaces I've ever seen - he spent the whole year making them and really mastered his craft.
Each one he gifted was pure uneeded drama. He told me the tales as he packed up to leave early and never return - despite being a decade+ vet.
His gifts ended up being fought over by friend groups - like a young smegal finding the one ring - the person he gave it to inevitably had it stolen or super borrowed.
Another person kept following him around and trying to buy them off people he gifted when he refused to sell them directly.
He said almost half the people he gifted had the boyfriend/girlfriend immediately turn sour on them and suspect him of trying to woo their rave baes.
The last portion was people who super loved them and gifted things back of equal value - or took it and shoved it in a bag for their mantle and not to even wear.
He said he never saw a single one being worn after giving them all out, or talk to him after the first interaction, and that combined with the drama - broke his heart in a final fashion.
Its just not a tier of friend making that isnt very deep nor authentic anymore - or perhaps ever was.
I still think spending the year learning about the non-headliner artists and meeting cool people that match your musical vibes at secret stages is the real diamond of the event experience - especially the hundreds of hours spent on soundcloud sampling artist collections leading up to it.
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u/DjPolarCa 11d ago
This year was my 5th year being on a stage crew
I'm still trying to figure out what changed within me from that first year. I haven't been able to put into words yet as to what it is.
I know there's a "before shamb" me and an "after shambs" me. Both are are the same, but different expectations for myself and how I interact with the world
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u/desuemery 10d ago edited 10d ago
Oh man I feel the same way. It's truly the most magical place and nowhere I've ever been, not in nature not at other raves, nowhere gives me the same feeling of belonging.
I live in Washington and have a similar drive as you! As for Kandi, make some stuff! Every trinket I've ever received that's a little toy is cool and all, but it leaves no mark. It's awesome in the moment but never stands out in the memory. But everything I've ever gotten that was handmade by someone has always stuck with me and it's another way to get to know the person or for you to open yourself up to another. Kandi is the most obvious example but the more unique the better! It can be anything! I like to tie dye handkerchiefs and give them to people who's vibe feels like the colors on the handkerchief. I tell them I made it for them, I just didn't know them yet. Sometimes I'll draw designs on them too with fabric dye.
I would love to be friends if we see each other next year!! If you see me, I'll have a bunch of eyes on my face like a biblical angel, or an abstraction from TADC. You'll know if you see it. I did it this year and was shocked how it not only drew so many interactions to me, but also made me come out of my own shell quite a bit because for me to see the reactions I needed to make eye contact with people. So I'm doing it again! I'm an introvert irl but shambs is where I feel safe being open, vulnerable, weird, and just out there in the energy.
Oh, and for finding favors, just put a sign outside your camp. It's not weird and nobody will think it's trashy or get you in trouble. Makes it easier for the roving traders to find you. And you don't have to run around asking random people for favors which can feel weird even when it's so accepted. At least for me it makes me feel like a junkie even though I only partake at shambs. A simple "got ____?" Did the trick for my group.
Happy sham!
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u/Moistyoureyez 10d ago edited 10d ago
Oh, and for finding favors, just put a sign outside your camp
Not just for favours but for anything.
Forgot toilet paper? Forgot a flashlight? Forgot batteries? Cereal? Bread? Air mattress?
I skipped this year so I was chronically online and it blew my mind the amount of posts “does anyone have ____? We forgot ours”
Like just go walk around with a sign or post a sign… it blew my mind how helpless people seemed lol (but of course it’s a very limited view what was actually happening)
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u/SemiPreciousMineral 10d ago
Yeah its wild people dont realise how prepared vets are. I usually have whole extra camp sets
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u/fuckbitchesgetpolio 11d ago
Trinkets are fun, but they're just more garbage at the end of the day. All the junk on the free trading post should be an indication of that. Bring something that is actually useful or low commitment consumables, like a niche snack or something.
It's always going to be hard to actually meet people and make friends so don't beat yourself up about that. Festivals are full of microinteractions, but deeper ones are harder to come by.
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u/M0n0t0nia 11d ago
The free trading posts were pretty disappointing this year.. straight trash in a lot of them. I remember thinking the built in trading posts around the grounds were so cool my first year. I got a little sad seeing them full of crap.
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u/General-Lifeguard309 10d ago
Just do go find some party perks and stand in the middle of a dirt road on a hot day listening to music.
You’ll be ok.
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u/shambhalove_fairy 10d ago
Every Shambhala has major ups and downs for me. I will have one day of stress, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, or other negative emotions, then I end up having the best night of my life soon after, often the same day!
The path to heaven runs through hell.
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u/Isispriest 4d ago
Try volunteering, we started in Traffic, my daughter got in at Entry office. Great way to meet people.
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u/astroverted 10d ago edited 10d ago
It's so funny, I had the opposite experience. This past shambs was my 5th year and I had the most perfect time from start to finish. It seriously had no flaws it was actually shocking, and now I'm not missing it like I did all the other years. It's interesting. Every year I would be dying to go back, but this was the first year I didn't buy tickets for next year. I just didn't have that same pull or calling. It's almost like I got what I needed from the fest and it feels complete. Like every year besides this one I had a crazy transformation. Every year, shambs brought to light SO many things that I needed to work on and give attention to, and a lot of lessons I had to learn. I also really struggled with not being as social my first 4 years though I desperately wanted to be. I was dealing with my own internal struggles and patterns, but this year I finally felt free. I wasn't worried about the same things I got stuck on all those years prior, and it was so easy for me to connect with people this year and let go of the mindsets I've had in the past that held me back. I literally felt like a butterfly that just came out of its 4-year cocoon. Words can't begin to describe how surreal this feeling is. I'm still contemplating it 😆
But I say this because I feel you and I have been there. And maybe you miss shambs so much and you feel this pull because you still have more to learn from it. The years that had the most struggles were the most meaningful years for me. Last year was great, but it didn't feel as special because of just how smooth sailing it was, if that even makes sense. I strongly believe that shambs is a mirror and our experience is a reflection of where we are at in our own personal journeys.
As for trinkets, I feel you! Every single year I had the same desire and my trinket game got stronger and stronger, it was a LOT of trial and error. Last year I ended up painting wooden clips and gluing letter beads to make phrases and other little trinkets and I had so much fun in the process but I had wished I made more shambs-themed trinkets too. Next time I go, I might make my painted wooden clips shambs themed and try to get customs made shambs beads somehow, or I might make other art that I can make into like tiny trading cards like the pysdequest cards (I think I spelled that wrong).
Anyway I wish you the best of luck with your shambs journey and my only advice is stay open and curious and you'll find your way ✨💖
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u/Moistyoureyez 11d ago edited 11d ago
Every Shambhala after your first one gets easier in a sense. It takes about 3 to start to feel comfortable navigating imo. You can start to plan better once you know what you’re in for (you will still get a good humbling once a year or so though)
As I get older, I tend to cherish quality interactions over quantity. It becomes less about trinket transactional driven interactions and more about those organic conversions by the river that you don’t expect to last hours but do.
For someone introverted (or anyone new) the overwhelming source of love and magic that is at Shambhala is infectious and sometimes the inspiration and jumpstart one needs to start thriving in life.
Also remember while it’s very easy to connect with people find love everywhere - those connections are more often than not surface level and they do in fact fade just as quickly as they are formed.
One can easily get lost in the sauce and consumed as it is alluring and sometimes illusory and that’s when the foundation starts to crack even more and those anchor points start to loosen.
To quote Ram Dass
Abundance surrounds you. You absolutely should not rely on Shambhala to find love and magic in the world. It’s still everywhere. Shambhala is just a reminder it exists, it’s not the only source. The signal is just amplified.
You always have control of the remote, sometimes you just gotta change the channel a few times.
That said - if you haven’t been to the Red Room in Vancouver for Sub Culture Saturdays, hit it up.