Rothbury

The crowd moves as one--
like gears of the universe.
Minds become one--
as absolute experience
is shared among us.

The music courses
through my veins
igniting my soul
so that my entire being
dances to life's rhythm.

As the tie-dye sky morphs
to a lush cobalt blue,
the surrounding energy
becomes electrified.

I look around me--
smiling faces emerge,
splashed by a kaleidoscope
of superb colors
and glow of inner ecstasy.

I smile to myself
as a thought enters my mind--
There's no place
I'd rather be now
than where I am.

-Ailee John

Rothbury 2009

So, I think that it might be fair to say that there's no place on earth like Rothbury, Michigan. Rothbury is something like a modern day woodstock, if not what original woodstockers' couldn't have imagined in their wildest dreams!--Ok so maybe they could imagine it, but to actually witness it as something tangible? Probably not. This past summer I was lucky enough to have a good group of friends who agreed to make the grueling 11 1/2 hour drive out in a small volvo standard overflowing with our camping apparatus which we would use for the weekend. We were all super and excited and I think I can speak for all of them when I say that we were not to be disappointed. The energy was unbelievable from the moment our car pulled into the gates to begin check in, to the day that we departed. Adventure and marvel was around every corner and not once throughout the weekend did I meet a mean and uncaring soul. Everything and everyone was absolutely exquisitely beautiful in its/his/her own way.


I think that there is a lot to be learned from a festival such as Rothbury. People may think that it's just some place where crazy hippies go to relive their glory days and take large quantities of mind altering substances.. and while that may very well be a part of it, it's so much more than that. It is a uniting, an understanding, a place where you can go to be yourself. And the amazing thing is that whether your love be art, music, people, food, crafts, clothes, or just a good time it's an experience that you are sharing with many others on a level not of this world. The peace, the love, the learning is all authentic and genuine. Needless to say, I plan to be in attendance next year!


I still run into people all over the place who have gone to Rothbury and share the same feeling towards it as myself and many others. So if you're looking for adventure or you need a life changing experience, or you're just plain bored.. consider a ticket and a trip, but more importantly, memories that will last you a lifetime. 


until next time-- peace and love :)