From the moment you arrived at Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon, it was clear that this festival would be good. This was a far cry from the festivals purchased by large concert promoters. The care & intent was clear from the beginning. Cascade Equinox was put on by the people behind Gem & Jam in Arizona and 4 Peaks Presents, giving the festival a clear level of organization, security, and care not present in more commercialized festivals these days. Getting into the festival was relatively painless and decently quick. If you wanted to get particular about your spot and not fuss with the mass public on entry day, you could even purchase an early entry ticket that allowed you to set up camp the night before.
With camp set up, it was time to enter the festival and start our adventure. And my oh my were there adventures to be had. As an all-ages festival, Cascade Equinox made a strong effort to ensure that there was always something to do, for everyone. There was even daycare offered during the day and a host of child-friendly activities, including a Ferris wheel and carousel! Part of the allure of this festival was its combination of music from various genres, high-quality art installations, workshops, and vendors. Of course, music was the main attraction, but with so many other reasons to be at the festival, it felt inviting for many people. Honestly, the crowd skewed older than any festival I’ve been to, and it was refreshing.
Art, Vendors, & Installations
Walking into the festival, you were immediately greeted with interactive art installations, flow toys to rent and spin with, and a wide variety of high-quality vendors. The vendors of The Nomadic Market ranged from rave staple apparel lines like Lobo Creations & Phoenix Rising Design to local and world-renowned jewelry such as Third Eye Pinecones, with many other local & talented artists with goods on display. I ran into many festival goers who had purchased new outfits, changed in camp, and returned to sport their new style.
Moving into the Culinary Commons, there was food for everyone. Cascade Equinox took great care to bring in high-quality, fun food vendors to keep your hunger at bay all weekend long. The breadth of food offered was exciting, from Gyros to skewers, quesadillas to wood-fired pizza. A favorite among our group was Dump City Dumplings, which served up awesome steamed buns late at night. All the vendors were in good spirits, even during the rain of Day 3. Something you don’t see at every festival, but maybe something you’d expect from a festival this close to Bend was the craft beer on offer. 10 Barrel Brewing, Sunriver Brewing, Wild Ride Brewing, and more were offered on draft, while additional beer stations offered cans for easier dancing. There were even craft cocktails served out of an Airstream. Overall, the Culinary Commons provided an excellent way to fuel up for the day/night ahead.
Moving between the 6 stages, the Culinary Commons, The Grove, and more provide you with ample opportunity to check out the experiential art on offer at Cascade Equinox Festival. These ranged from large interactive crustaceans to incredibly intricate earth mandalas that lined the trees and paths between stages. My favorite art experiences came from the Cosmic Drip stage though. A literal barn full of live art headlined by The Haven PDX. From the moment you walk in, your senses are absolutely blasted by some of the most insane, mind-bending art you’ve ever seen. Many artists on display were actively working on pieces, interacting with festivalgoers, and dancing to whatever musical act was on stage at the back of the barn. Many artists incorporated color-changing lights into their designs, which fit perfectly with the festival’s vibe and made for genuinely mind-melting pieces.
The entire Festival felt very thought out and intentional. This wasn’t just a place to party, it was a place to come and be with people you love, enjoy the great views of Central Oregon, immerse yourself in the many experiences on offer, and free yourself from inhibitions for a weekend. This was never more apparent than in the music acts that Gem & Jam and 4 Peaks Presents brought into Oregon for this festival.
Music
The musical lineup was, again, intentional. Each day they had a clear golden path through the music, with enough variety throughout its 5 stages that you venture off the path to your heart’s content. There were still plenty of conflicts to have an inner battle with yourself over who to see, but luckily they cleared some stages during the headliners to control the flow. The early afternoon acts each day set an airy vibe that perfectly ramped up the energy to the headliners of each day. After the headliners, it was time to head inside and get a bit nasty with enough Bass music to satisfy even the heaviest of Bass Heads. There was even a dedicated chunk of time for a Grateful Dead Takeover and a Dead House set by my girl LP Giobbi.
The festival brought in acts big and small, highlighted by A Tier headliners: Pretty Lights, Big Wild, Phantogram, Goose, and Trevor Hall. These acts lived up to their name, especially Pretty Lights, which hadn’t toured with the full band in around 5 years. The DJs and bands around the headliners truly captured my attention, though. The jam bands and folk artists that littered the afternoon into the early evening were a joy to listen to as you danced in the grass or shopped at the Nomadic Market. Some of my favorites were Gone Gone Beyond, Dirtwire, and (being a Eugene native) High Step Society. The bands really showed out, even Sunday in the rain.
When the sun went down, the dance music came to life. From the smooth deep house grooves of Emancipator to the Dead House rhythms from LP Giobbi, the face-melting bass from Jeanga to the incredibly vibey The Librarian. Bass music fans were eating good Friday and Saturday with great sets from Soohan, Tripp St., Opiuo, Of the Trees, Antennae, Josh Teed, and more. Every DJ really brought it and had the dancefloor moving. My favorite weekend sets came from Saturday with Of The Trees and Antennae elevating my experience. Sunday paved the way for the house heads to have a bit of a time while the entire vibe of the festival was slowly winding down after the ripper of Friday and Saturday. LP Giobbi stole my heart, yet again, with an infectious energy on Sunday night. You could tell she loves what she does, and many of our group were instant fans after this was their first time seeing her. Christian Martin closed out the trip for us with an energetic house set littered with some drum and bass to keep the energy high till the very end.
I have to give a special shout-out to the festival for highlighting performers. Ahead of the festival, you could apply to be a part of their performance art teams and do all number of flow & dance, including fire spinning. It was great to see this emphasis on the community. They even had HUGE silks set up for aerial dance next to the main stage!
Areas of Improvement
Being the inaugural year of the Cascade Equinox Festival, not everything was perfect. The number of porta potties could be increased next year, with a more rigorous cleaning schedule, but I feel that could be said for just about every festival. Next year, the other areas for improvement came from the lack of clear signage for basic needs around the festival and the water stations. I would have loved to see clearer signage around where the Med Tent was, where the water stations were, and how to get to the showers. Speaking of water stations, there could definitely be a couple more of these, with the addition of lighting. I soaked myself a few times trying to fill my water and not seeing how full it was. Overall though, these are small gripes for the amount of fun that was to be had at the festival overall.
Final Thoughts
Cascade Equinox Festival was a real joy to experience. Every aspect of it felt like there was a decent amount of thought placed behind it. The music was great, the vibes were amazing, and the art/vendors really elevated the whole festival. I can’t wait for next year!!
