not-your-average-suzie: April 2010

Todd and I are getting ready for our annual pilgrimage to Indio, California to worship the sun, palm trees, amazing friends and music.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival started in 1999 and aside from a 'bye' in 2000, has been going strong ever since. Booking the most up-and-coming as well as established and respected musicians, the festival now draws around 70,000 die hard fans every year to the lovely Empire Polo Fields outside of Palm Springs in Indio, California.

Ear and eye candy abound at Coachella. Aside from incredible beats, the lush, green, grassy grounds at the festival are also replete with amazing large scale installations, many of which appear at Burning Man. Performance artists, The Do Lab out of Los Angeles, create a mini world that could be called a post-apocalyptic circus with dancers, performers, DJs and glowing plant pods. Cyclecide also makes an appearance at Coachella bringing their bicycle-powered rides to the masses. My favorite sculpture so far was Big-Rig-Jig, a wonder of physics and scale by artist Jeff Ross that appeared on the polo grounds in 2008:

People watching at Coachella is peerless. Southern California is not lacking in very attractive, fit, and stylish folk that all apparently attend the festival. Celebrity spotting is a sport here as well. In the VIP section, we've spotted Steven Tyler, The Hoff, Adrian Grenier, Dita von Tease, Perry Farrel, and Elijah Wood, among others. I even high-fived a sort of incognito Danny DeVito (that rhymes!) outfitted in maintenance overalls and walking with the janitorial crew. It is also fun to spot the musicians who also congregate in the VIP section before and after their sets.

The best part of the trip for us, however, is the crew we go with. Over the years, we have curated quite a posse of creative, intelligent, positive, loving friends that connect up from all over the country to share this experience. Every year, the weekend gets better and better even though we all wonder "how this year could possibly top last year" (and yes, those quotes are on purpose, because someone says it every single year). We have come to realize that each and every person contributes in a way that cannot be matched and for that, each person is in his or her own way, a Legend. 'Legend' has become the individuals in the posse's calling card.

Half of the fun of the festival is the part that we call "Nochella," which means the times were we are not at the festival. Instead, we are creating an amazing experience at the large house we rent for the week. About half the people are DJs, so we have constant incredible music. Two friends are setting up the tiki bar room to be a 24 hour karaoke club. I set up a photobooth in the garage for secret-yet-not-secret photos. We have also created a system of "poolside servers," in which everyone takes turns with a partner to work the pool for an hour at a time, preparing and delivering drinks, snacks and food. Everyone works a little and the rest of the time, one gets food and drink service while chilling by the water or taking a dip. It's a brilliant way to enjoy the pool with your friends!

Costumes and participation rule the school with a Thursday night theme party (last year was Wack Hats, this year it's Wack Face Paint). Vintage Palm Springs attire, such as caftans and tunics are encouraged during lounge time.

A full report will be expedited upon return, but in the meantime, a show of photos from previous years are presented below.

Photobooth & snuggies: