As the dates of the postponed Spring 2020 Strawberry Music Festival approach, we are starting to think about what (and whom) we will be missing during the holiday weekend. Usually, this would be the weekend that we begin setting up at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, and festival goers, spread far and wide, simultaneously prepare for their migration to Strawberry. Each day from here on out marks a different milestone or memory for each of us, and being separate makes our shared experience very different and somewhat surreal. Regardless, it is such a comfort to know that we are together in spirit and so very inspiring to see some of the beautiful memories already being shared by attendees!
At this coming Spring Festival, Strawberry planned to commemorate the year 2020 by opening the Main Street building to a special retrospective presentation. We are excited that much of the material (memorable photos, calendars, flyers, posters, program pages, mailers, ticket stock, t-shirts, Christmas cards, etc.) has been digitized. Starting on Wednesday, May 20th, we will unveil new pages on the Strawberry website, in order to share these memories. Additionally, we will host corresponding conversations on our new Strawberry Festival Message Board, at the same time. We will kick things off with the Strawberry Camp Gallery, and then follow up through the festival weekend: pages dedicated to our artisan and food communities, galleries of images, historical perspectives, and other goodies.
The best part of Strawberry has always been what you make of it. So, naturally we need your input to create a true picture of the Strawberry community. One of the new website pages is an improved version of our old gallery of Camps. The new gallery will display a name and thumbnail photo that links to a more extensive profile page for each participating camp. To list your camp in the new gallery, please use this form to submit your camp’s media. Please be aware that all material is subject to review and approval by our site moderator and should be family friendly.
Another way for us to support shared experiences, is to provide a safe space for collaboration, conversations, and creativity. We have renewed our moderated message board as an alternative to corporate social media. It’s a place where you can reach other festival goers without having your data mined, shared or sold, by us or anyone. We plan to ask some fun questions and start threads for topics such as DIY camp decor, but the best conversations will invariably be the ones you start yourselves. Please note that you will need to sign up, to use the message board; we promise to not sell your personal data.
So instead of packing this weekend, why not take some time to pull together your camp’s memories, send in your submission for the camp gallery, and register for Strawberry’s forum to be part of the virtual message board during Memorial Day weekend? And now let us segue from our new world story to the story world of the festival with Strawberry’s playlist, which now features a very special recording of B.Z. Smith’s retirement story as told at last year’s Sunday morning Revival.
Despite the physical distance, our connections to one another have always stood the test of space and time. We hope the coming festival weekend, without a festival, still leaves you feeling recharged by the Strawberry way and look forward to the time when we can safely gather together again. Thank you for all your kindness, love, and support!
