Texas Eclipse 2024

Today marks three weeks since the festival began allowing campers into the property.
And to this day, those lucky souls are still chatting, debating, demanding, discussing about what transpired - the great, the good, the bad, the ugly.

I was there for a total of 24 hours, up to the closure announcement.

Personally, I would have loved to attend the entire time, but due to my wife's work we were able to only plan for the final two days.
There are an abundance of rumors that had been swirling around since the day it started. 
I had been keeping close tabs on the Reddit page, discord and FB posts and chats (A bunch of them, including astrophotographers, flatearthers and a Shibari meetup!?!? ('non-vanilla only' baby) 

On this day three weeks ago, many many people were warning how severe the security had been. Confiscating cooking utensils, lotions/aerosols and medications - prescribed and otherwise - that many needed for camping nearly a week. Turns out the security were using the prohibited list for the
-festival grounds- rather than the more relaxed open camping list. 
This strangely incompetent mistake was a perfect representation of the poor organization that was embedded throughout the entire Festival to come. 

An interesting thing about this fest was they had several different types of camping styles that they were promoting and selling (glamping, bell tents, RV hookup and offline, camp-in-car, walk-in tents, and a 'family/quiet' section... They wanted this to be a mixture of an all ages event based around the amazing natural solar eclipse while also being a BurningMan/Woodstock-style Festival. Basically they wanted as many people and tickets sold as possible, no matter the oil and water conversion that it potentially would create. 
Keeping up with the online internal communications, much more complaints were piling in. RV hookup campers found all the hookups were taken - and now they had to be offline only. That would suck to plan for - bye bye refrigerated goods. One of the FB chats was for family/quiet camping. The ones that were already there kept people up to date about the goings-on and informed everybody that the section was Jam-Packed by Saturday afternoon. On the website, they specified actual inchXinch spacing. Reality was staff had no organization, no idea where designated campsites were, and allowed each camper to take up as much space as they felt. Kind of hard to regulate constant flow of 40k attendees I guess? Some said staff were looking into finding a second space for all the familycampers that had not arrived yet. One person claimed they were "bulldozing" more space at the venue to accommodate all the campers that had yet shown up. By Saturday night people were saying that all original camp spaces were full and they were combining everyone subsequent arrival into new space together.

So. I had purchased a family/quiet camping pass. Thanks to all the early warnings, I had extremely low expectations going in. I was resigned to the fact that this might be a klusterfuk and was actually kind of excited about attending and witnessing what it was firsthand. 
According to their website, Gates opened at 8AM and closed at 8PM for actual entry. According to people arriving, reality was it being based on if anybody was at the gate to work/ allowing people in after hours. Free for all/all hours.
We arrived at 9AM on Sunday morning. The drive down was beautiful with the natural wildflowers in full bloom. Turning onto the property grounds was a breeze and very minimal traffic, A big relief. We were basically the last wave of attendance so it seemed pretty relaxed. And I had hoped that with each passing day that they could have at least gotten their shit together in some capacities... 

We pulled up to the gate where security and K9 units were awaiting. My truck bed was completely full as well as backseats with two children and all their needs (and wants). I stepped out to let security do what they needed (or wanted). One guy walked up and looked in our cab. Turned around to see his partner still sitting in her folding chair. She did not give a damn care in the world. He basically had to force her up three times to do her job and assist him. Once she finally stood, all she did was play around with my kids, barely looked at our stuff. I am certainly cool with that! Oh and the other guy informed us family camping was full, wrote C.(ar)C.(amping) on our window - we'd be lined up and mingled with every other campers coming in.

We were then directed to basically do a u-turn around the red flag barrier to where they were setting up everyone who was arriving to camp. I will say it did not appear to be "bulldozed" as they had us pulling off the Dusty drive paths and onto all plant life which included the gorgeous bluebonnets, greenery, and the occasional cacti (which I saw posts about getting flat tires.) The big burly man directing us was very commanding, yelling at everyone to squeeze in tightly so they could fit as many cars as possible. Several were upset by this for various reasons. our neighbor to the left was a crew of Middle Eastern dudes, and when he brought up the cactus nearby them, the traffic director brushed him off and said "welcome to Texas". The passenger was speechless, I looked at him and said "..and not all Texans are assholes, just to let you know". I told them they could use our ground space that was in front of our vehicle, as extra for their crew, since we didn't need it (I have a pop-up tent setup in the truck bed.)

As we were setting things up, I noticed a family of three Wheeling a wagon with their toddler inside roll up and explain to the commander that they were walk-in campers (parked their car in the massive parking lot elsewhere) and were told to place their camp in this section, which confused the Commander, assuming it was only cars. He basically told them to set up where they stood. And car campers spaced around them. This was cool cuz my kids could play with this kid while we all set up. 
After chilling in our truck bed tent, sun was out and starting to heat up, we decided to brave further into the grounds and enter the festival. 

Reveille Ranch is a MASSIVE landscape. 

General consensus is this map sucks. Hard to navigate, pathways are way off and confusing, legend is hard to decipher. 

We began our Trek from our "parking lot campground" towards the center of the map, the festival entry. But first we have to find guest services and register our children. They receive their own wristbands which are digitally connected to our wristbands in case of emergency. Lady at the check-in counter was incredibly nice. Provided our kids Eclipse-theme coloring book, festival pins, and directed us to where the kid-friendly areas would be. 

From there we headed in the direction most people were wandering in hopes of getting to the actual festival. There were some signs but not a lot and not very visible or noticeable. This was a major problem amongst all attendees - not knowing where the fuck you are and how to get where you're going, especially at night time -- many attendees got lost, whether they were under the influence or not. Also the factor that reception is bad, and GPS is unreliable marker.

I'd say it was at least half a mile before we finally made it to the fest line. They had a whole-ass general store prior to entry that included all sorts of camping and shopping needs (and wants). Next to that were the showers, that I hear were lots of fun including the nude group foam parties
Security into the festival grounds were more thorough than camp security but not by much. Metal detectors were in effect, they checked our bags but did not dig deep (kid privilege activated). I read that at certain entry points at certain times, They didn't even care, Just waved everyone inward. Continued inconsistencies!

WE ARE IN!!! I will sadly admit that I did not experience as many musical artists as I would want, mainly due to the kiddos. And I planned for Sunday as more exploring grounds/traversing the rugged landscape to get a feel for where everything was. The Monday had more of my favorite artists that I definitely wanted to catch...... But we'll get to that.

Cannot overstate how expansive and uneven the terrain was.  Our first stops were the kid area, yoga area, speaker stages, where we happened upon Vinnie Chase himself, Adrian Grenier. Or as my wife knows him, the hot guy from the 1999 teen comedy DRIVE ME CRAZY. She was absolutely stunned he
as there, and how he had a completely different persona than she expected.



We had heard there was swimming on the grounds, which my wife and daughter are basically mermaids so that was high on the list of things to do. It is super far though! Literally on the other side of the map from where we camp.  We passed by the Indigenous staging area, which held a fascinating firepit and a calming small secluded shaded stage. 



Then through a gorgeous winding forest trail with beautiful flowers, following the thumps through the woods to the Earth stage, where Coupe Deville was holding it down, while he had a nude hoop dancer in front and aerialist performer hanging to the side.

   

The hike across the creek bridge along the river to the swimming area was crowded, dusty, hot and sweaty. When we finally approached the quarry, incredibly packed, as expected. More nudity abounded. The fam dipped their legs in as the water was ice cold. Yet refreshing after the dustysweaty day so far. There was a dock where people lined up to jump in "safely" with an attendant observing. This is also where we saw horse cops patrolling, not the greatest smell for what they left behind on the walking trails.



Once we rested a bit we made our way back central, across the Earth stage where DJ Dragonfly was now holding it down. 



We were seeking The unique MEOW WOLF exhibit made just for this fest. It was spacious, several installs spread out. But honestly I would say overall kind of disappointing. It did appear to be much more entertaining at night, as I saw videos of performances on their makeshift stage.
Here's a couple I caught passing back through later in the evening.
 

Fam getting hungry, decided to head south where the massive food court located in the core of the festival action, close to the main stages. The soundtrack to our search for sustenance was Somatoast's swan songs.  



While crowd-watching and merch/vendor shopping, Tipper went on. And apparently, no artist was more controversial as Tipper - a hot topic of discussion on the chats and socials, or really it's the crowds that he attracts? General consensus appeared to be that they chronically talked, aggressively shoving and apparently trashing the grounds? I have always seen him as a joke, at least in comments on this board. Guess it was accurate?


Being basically Central to this solar system, I was wondering where to go the next. And I figured fuckit. Let's head to the deepest depths - discover the Psytrance stage. I found it funny that this mini-genre was essentially the red-headed foreign alien stepchild of EDM. 
To get there though was another long journey. We were in search of reloading water, but there were extremely limited options - a huge negative aspect of this fest. On the map they are dotted on the outskirts; not Central, easy to access. The one we were we supposedly closest to did not exist in reality. I asked staff. He said it should be there, but another was around the bend. During this long search, The Disco Biscuits were jamming away as our background soundtrack for thirst. Finally found water station tucked away in a corner. Not very many people using, considering how massive the overall attendance appeared.



We then crossed the bridge over to the secondary stages. It was fully dark and we enjoyed a bunch of the night time installations while listening to a mixture of ZIV and what should have been Mira, but according to her Instagram travel arrangements did not make it there in time, and instead it was DJ Jason Douglas, on the Moon and Sky stages that were literally right next to each other for some reason.




Making our way down distant vendor row. At the end was Sun stage - where Ajja, in the deep midst of a 3hr set, was blasting out to the tiny but dedicated die hard psytrance fans. This stage was scheduled virtually 24hrs straight each day. I felt for all the campers who were placed nearby.
   

We retraced our steps back to the space between Moon and Sky stages, awaiting Bob Moses, who was really one of the handful of acts my wife actually knew/ wanted to see. 

In that time waiting, this badass drone show appeared, performed by Nova Sky Stories




Spoonbill started at same time as B.M., and had some cool flame dancers open the set.




bob and 'bill dozed the kids to sleep (guess they can't hang, the losers) so we began our long ass trek retracing our steps back out the festival grounds -- this time in the dark. 




Once we made it across the wristband checkpoint, there were pedi-cabs awaiting near the General Store.  I heard many were charging ridiculous prices, but ya know what, with how extensive and rough the terrain is, and after a long 10hrs hauling around kiddos, I was willing/beaten down to shell out for the mile ride back to the truck. 
Eleven hours later, at camp, unloaded and crashed into our (truck)bed, We could hear the distant doldrums of Zed's Dead, as well as the space laserbeams, all the way in car camping. Essentially our EDM white noise and nightlight to drift us off to dreamland. 





Babybro jumped on me at 7AM ready to party for round two. I scrolled through on the app for the day's schedule - getting pumped to catch Bad Snacks, Captain Hook, Kerala Dust, LPGiobbi, TrippSt., Tycho, Seth Troxler, Clozee, and STS9 who I haven't seen in a damned decade...... welp. As I was organizing things together, My wife and I vaguely overheard our campneighbors to the right - The girl cursing The fest and we hear the word " canceled". We look at each other then the app, and I see a message from 20 minutes ago stating:

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How ironic considering that they were initially very stern about people NOT leaving the premises on the Eclipse Monday, advising it was a safety hazard due to traffic being expected as insanely clogged throughout the path of totality and especially in these rural areas with Small narrow roads.


They are claiming that due to tornado warning and threats of lightning they are canceling the Eclipse fest - only four hours prior to the actual eclipse. 
How ironic that a natural occurrence beyond the festival's control was the cause of cancellation on the day that the festival was celebrating a natural occurrence that the entire program was based around. 

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We felt seriously lucky that they decided to organize campers as first arrivals furthest in and last arrivals closest out strategy - fill the cup up. 
We decided that before all hell could potentially break loose within and just outside the ranch, we bolt out. 
After dismantling and restocking the camp we roll off the plant life parking lot, dodging bluebonnets and cacti, turn around the Dusty bend and EXIT

I am incredibly bummed out and disappointed about how this event suddenly devolved and dissolved so abruptly. Many others were as well. They questioned the claim it was due to dangerous weather because despite it being mostly cloudy, not a rain drop was felt in the area throughout eclipse Monday. Rumors abounded, like the fest took advantage of the insurance clause, or the town's Sheriff department pushed to end it following death(s) and overdoses that increasingly occurred. Only one confirmed death - a 67 year old Burning Man veteran went into cardiac arrest while walking back to Alamo camp - just about the furthest you can go - in the dark late at night. Family traveling with him have been very vocal on the fest socials about how poorly planned and organized the festival, but in this case of emergency it was very apparent, as the chain of command for responding to the incident was over 40 minutes before medics arrived - and apparently did not have proper equipment. www.dailytrib.com/2024/04/11/despite-rumors-only-one-texas-eclipse-festival-death/

As a festival goer and an emergency medical technician, I can only imagine how nightmarish that scenario was for everyone involved. How difficult it is to get around in general, the EMTs probably didn't know where to go either - and that failure starts at the top.

Overdoses were prevalent based on boards' personal stories, as you would expect at this type of event and in this opioid epidemic crisis we are in. But Narcan cancan be a life-saver, and sounds like many were holdin'.

Many who had a negative experience have been on the warpath - still! - about trashing the festival and hard quest for a refund. The defenders who had an enjoyable time still post about the good times in the groups. With a listed capacity of 40k people - probably more - you are bound to have a whirlwind of emotions and diversity of experiences.
Speaking of whirlwinds - the fearful weather finally hit the grounds at 4AM Tuesday morning (music was originally still scheduled until noon Tuesday - PSYTRANCE!) Despite all the activities being canceled and requests to evacuate, thousands of campers stayed. The thunderstorm downpour quickly turned that pesky dust into miles of mud. But it did not dampen the spirits of those dedicated to the Vibe, creating their own ceremonies and dance parties, making mudpies outta mudslides.

Post-Script

Back to Monday morning, after escaping infamous and notorious Texas Eclipse Festival
Instead of heading straight towards home, I wanted to find a fun place to experience the whole basis around the festival's creation. So I searched the map for an special spot in preparation for totality. I discovered a nice local park WITH A BEACH! on Buchanan lake. This is a huge win for the mermaids. 




While all the gathered people at the park and along the lakeside stared up at a scientifically magical celestial event - my toddler daughter ended up not giving a damn. She was staring down at her hands in the rocky sand, soaking in her happy water place. "Why did it get so dark?!?" Focus on what makes you Vibe I suppose



PROMINENCES!