BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY AT THE HEART OF ELEMENTS LAKEWOOD FESTIVAL

IT’S CLEAR THESE GUYS WERE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT SINCE 2007

Photos: Brittany NO FOMO & Chris Lazzaro – Freedom Film LLC & Julian Cassady

The word of mouth buzz scattered across Brooklyn and to the lucky few in Manhattan of the underground warehouse party scene emerging just in time for our generation. The flyers and invites were flashy enough to capture our attention, and the descriptions for the events listed out these odd and fantastical offerings that were a perfect blend of whimsical and downright crazy. Interest peaked.

Photo: Brittany NO FOMO

Maybe without even intentionally doing so at first, the BangOn!NYC crew defined the “warehouse party” and gave new meaning to what a “rave” in our day meant. They set the standard for the quantity and quality of art and music needed in one night to be considered a successful “Brooklyn event” and also were the kings of setting event themes. One night out in a cold warehouse packed with curious party people, surrounded by DJs, art, aerial performances, and light shows… and we were hooked.

Photos: Brittany NO FOMO

Fast-forward years later, and OGs Timothy Monkiewicz and Brett Herman expanded their warehouse parties into entire one day events under the co-title Elements, and now ten years later, we all danced under the Pennsylvania stars at their first ever weekend festival: Elements Lakewood Music and Arts Festival.

Photo: Brittany NO FOMO

The weekend set at a summer camp already had a perfect Memorial Day Weekend backdrop. Groups of friends overtook cabins and decorated them to their custom themes from Pickleback camps to alien infested cabins, making each bunk a party of its own. Like all BangOn!NYC events, every turn had an activity and interactive element like volley ball, rollerskating, rock climbing, human foosball, yoga, and pirate ship dancing that intertwined with a packed electronic music schedule. In their usual stunt-driven fashion, there even was a crew flyboarding in the lake. Seriously.

Photo: Brittany NO FOMO
Photo: Julian Cassady Photo: Brittany NO FOMO

Staying true to Elements, the Earth stage designed by Rhizome set a beautiful wolf and moon setting for headliners like Tipper and Ott. The water stage overlooked a pirate ship on a lake and became the hub for the best day parties with a sea of rainbow attired dancers. The ZERO air stage floated beautifully in the woods hidden under the shrubbery of the trees for BangOn! annual acts like Lee Burridge. And the fire stage had, well just that. Explosions of fire lit up the sky to end the outdoor music on Sunday night behind DJ Dirty Looks b2b with The Golden Pony, both are performers and the creators / production hands of the festival. Talk about a busy weekend.

Photo: Chris Lazzaro – Freedom Film LLC Photos: Brittany NO FOMO

From an outsider looking in, you are intrigued by the uniqueness of the event and the impressive lineup, elaborate art, and slightly whacky programming. You are whisked away into another world, but you cant quite put your finger on why you love the event so much.

The reason for your enjoyment?

The collaborative community.

Photos: Brittany NO FOMO

Photo: Julian Cassady
Photo: Brittany NO FOMO

It’s no surprise when you see one of the founders ride his pink decked out Harley throughout the camp grounds and then give a shout out during the closing set to the beautiful girl dancing on the speakers, Hannah Mac, for designing it for him. Yes, you did recognize all the costumed men and woman dancing on poles and aerial hoops from the House of Yes in Bushwick. And of course, that was the BangOnNYC! boombox you were dancing on that you’ve seen at the last five events. It’s not an accident that the events and festivals inspire the Brooklyn community so much that they have no other choice but to get their hands dirty and become involved in the spectacle… offering all of us their talents.

Photo: Brittany NO FOMO

Elements Lakewood Festival can be viewed as the finale of all these friends collaborative efforts over the years – a successful adult summer camp extravaganza that pulled out all the stops. Or… it can be viewed as just the beginning.

Soon you’ll be one of us… too inspired by it all to just attend,
but you’ll have to become apart of it.

Photo: Chris Lazzaro – Freedom Film LLC

“We want to thank all the attendees who participated with wonder and excitement and made this first year spectacular. To everyone who came out and took a chance with us, to all of the artists who worked so hard and put their hearts into collaborating with us. We couldn’t be more thrilled to party with such an exceptional community of leaders, pioneers and rock-stars, you made this the best weekend of our lives. We can’t wait to see everyone at Elements NYC August 12 & 13 and next year at Lakewood 2018!”

– Timothy Monkiewicz & Brett Herman, Partners of BangOn!NYC

Up next?
Elements Festival NYC – August 12th & 13th