WORDS AND PHOTOS BY: BRITTANY, NO FOMO
Electric Forest is offering the first ever women’s community program at a major music festival.
Festival environments have evolved over the years from being simply space to stand to see live performances to now incredibly intricate new worlds where the production of the festival can easily be the drawing attraction more than the live acts themselves. More and more festival producers, organizers, and creative directors are realizing that they can use their festival grounds to be a safe haven for attendees to express their full creative selves and to have heart opening interactions with other festival goers. Curating the landscape is half the battle. Curating the experiences that fall between the main stages and headlining performances is the heart of what makes the festival what it is.
Thankfully, music festivals have taken it upon themselves to not be labeled as a land of drugs but rather a land of opportunity. Festivals are no longer falling into the category of extreme escapism, rather, they fall closer to the classifications of entertainment, education, and most of all, inspiration.
Electric Forest famously known and perfectly named for their magical landscape of lit up trees and dreamlike stage designs has been ahead of the game from the production side with the visuals being quite the inspiration. Even though running through this festival is like escaping to a dream, year after year the festival has added more inspirational and educational experiences that can be game changing in real life. Leaving a positive impact on their festival goers inspired Madison House Presents to birth Her Forest at Electric Forest last year.
Her Forest is quite literally an area in the forest designed to uplift the experience of women at Electric Forest with a focus on connection, inspiration, and comfort. All Her Forest projects are ‘intended to create the most supportive and empowering environment possible’ for those who identify as a women and respect equality in the Forest Family. Simply put, it’s a safe space for gals to interact with other gals and to genuinely connect, stacked with performances, inspirational talks, and community building exercises, including the Women’s Circle each weekend. This year, Her Forest is expanding its reach by offering The Women’s Group Camp for individuals to camp with new friends, a Closing Circle for all genders on the final evening of the Second Weekend, and scheduling meet ups around the festival!
Kiki Federico, Her Forest Program Leader, also a women’s leadership coach and speaker based out of San Francisco, was brought on by Madison House Presents to curate something built for women. After her and the team roamed the grounds of Electric Forest interviewing hundreds of women asking “what they want” from a women-curated experience, they came to the resounding conclusion that women just want to be inspired by other women’s stories. Inspired by their seek for inspiration, Kiki and the team built Her Forest in 2016 to provide, ‘More connection. More inspiration. More comfort.’
“It started with the seed of awareness that there is a women’s movement – a revolution of sisterhood – growing all over the world…” Kiki explained. “I am beyond proud, excited, grateful, inspired, privileged to be a part of the team behind Her Forest – the first ever women’s community program at a major music festival. With the pillars of connection, comfort and inspiration, Her Forest is creating spaces for all those who identify as women and amplifying the feminine creative voice within the music industry – from production to artists to patrons.”
The reality of what Her Forest offers sounds like a dream, one that hopefully inspires the festival community and women around the world to continue the sisterhood that has once been lost in modern society but always sought after in our hearts.
Her Forest is looking for performers and contributors! Info here.
If that didn’t inspire you, two of the best lineups of the summer will…
Brittany, wow, thank you for your gracious words and enthusiasm around the Her Forest program, community… movement! We are so excited to be expanding this offering to include even more women, non-binary folks and men into these female-led spaces, highlighting women and the feminine force in festival culture. We have so much support and encouragement within Electric Forest and Madison House to have our voices heard and demonstrate what happens when we come TOGETHER… WE RISE. So much love! xo, Kiki