Mysteryland kicked off summer and festival season with everything a girl could ask for in a festival – top-notch music, stunning production quality, and vibes that ranged from chill and groovy to wild and dance-y as you wandered from stage to stage. With headliners including Diplo, Dillon Francis, Porter Robinson, Dillon Francis, and Adam Beyer… Mysteryland had one of the most incredible lineups with perfect dance-able beats across several stages artistically inspired stages. But, beyond the music pumping through your veins, Mysteryland had so many details that were specifically designed to entertain, amuse, and delight festival-goers. From over-the-top artistic installations to comfy couches peppered throughout the landscape to interactive activities to bring out your inner child… Mysteryland was made to be played with, and our favorite experiences beyond the music were just as incredible as being within the pulsing crowd.
1. Immersed in Interactivity
From the moment you enter the Holy Grounds, it’s easy to see how Mysteryland transports you to a world of child-like playfulness, with interactive art installations, scenes that spark your imagination, and tiny details throughout the grounds to capture your attention and affection. From huge suspended hoop swings, to jungle-gym-like structures to climb on… messages in a bottle to love notes in tiny mail boxes dangling from tree limbs… stages you can climb and dance on to giant teddy bears comfy enough to snuggle under. All the little details of Mysteryland’s design captivate and inspire you to interact and play.
2. Sharing the Love
Heartfelt hugs during your favorite song are just the beginnings of the kind of love you experience at Mysteryland. This festival makes it easy to spread joy and happiness to your fellow festival-goers, with opportunities to write notes, share dreams, give hope, and put your good vibes out into the world for someone else to receive – from messages in a bottle to notes in mailboxes, and inviting hammocks and couches just meant to be shared with a new friend. There’s no lack of community at Mysteryland. In fact, it’s actively fostered no matter where you turn! Even the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly, taking their time to make sure everyone was safe and sound, even if that meant just offering a bottle of water.
3. Embracing Your Inner Child
In our hectic world of work, bills, commutes, and chaos – it’s hard to re-connect with the playful image of youth we once were. It goes beyond simply having an escape from reality… it’s creating fun, engaging, child-like experiences in our own realities! Mysteryland did a strikingly powerful job of bringing our child-like wonder and playfulness back into the forefront of our minds, with several attractions simply aimed to allow us to let go, laugh, and revert back to an easier time in our lives.
4. Finding Yourself in Awe
From a life-size game of Mouse Trap, to mirrored reflections of your true self, to huge fire-lit domes – larger than life spectacles left festival-goers in a constant state of wonder and awe. Truly losing yourself in the moment isn’t always about getting absorbed in the music. Sometimes, it’s about finding your own wonderland in a realm of artistic creations meant to inspire imagination. Underneath the stars, everything from lasers to fire to fireworks lit up the sky, and our eyes as we couldn’t help but stare at the sights.
5. Centering Yourself
After a night of dancing, sore muscles, and occasionally sore minds… self care is essential to keeping your festival experience physically and mentally happy. Not to mention, keeping up with hours of dancing through the night. Mysteryland offers peaceful retreats including deep house yoga in the early afternoon, and the Healing Garden working it’s magic all day, with massages, tarot card readings, the Imaginarium, timed gongs, speakers, and peaceful calm far from the pounding of the bass just over the hill.
6. Connecting With Your Crew
If it wasn’t the days of camping that brought you together, or the first excited, then tired walk to and from the festival grounds – then certainly, all of the other playthings at Mysteryland were sure to bring you and your crew closer together than ever before. Unlike Thirsty Thursday’s happy hour or Saturday’s crazy club night, something special at Mysteryland brought out those deep-down feels that usually only appear after a bottle or two of wine. Get ready for heartfelt talks at 4 am and cuddle-puddling into a hammock. It’s happening.
7. Going to a Club… at a Festival
Forget about the crowded, smoke-filled, ultra-fancy clubs of NYC… okay, it might still be crowded and smoke-filled, but this circus-themed club is the first ever of it’s kind (that I’ve ever seen) and the uniqueness alone, let alone the fact that it’s in the middle of a typically desolate field, is enough to make your jaw drop. The artistic qualities and details were absolutely stellar, complete with gold accents and decadent tables and booths made for relaxing with class. A welcome reprieve from the chilly nights, I never would have guessed you could be so happy indoors at a festival.
8. Getting an Adrenaline Rush
Beyond the thrill of your favorite song coming on, the bass beating your heart, and the confetti caressing your skin, Mysteryland offered adrenaline junkies a new way to play. Enter the swing: where you could have your favorite song, soul-shaking bass, and the bright sun beating down on you all while you whirl around for a full 360 birds eye view of the festival grounds. Talk about beautiful. Beyond that, you could try your skills on a mechanical bull, climb on top of decked out buses and domes, and dance above the crowd, all to your adrenaline’s content.
9. Embracing Your Uniqueness
There’s certainly no shortage of self-expression at Mysteryland, and part of the beauty is being able to express each and every aspect of yourself, even those that are a fantasy, in full. Whether you like to dress up in decadent costume or share your artistry in hooping, gloving, or poi, there’s endless opportunity to embrace and share your creativity with a welcome and encouraging audience. Leave your inhibition at the festival’s entrance, and enter a grounds where each and every piece of you is celebrated.
10. Writing Your Own Story
Mysteryland is really a choose your own adventure. You are the creator of your own story, your experience, your memories. Whether you want to relax and tune out the world, or ignite each and every one of your senses until they’re super-saturated, Mysteryland offers you those unique and diverse experiences like no other. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery… but at Mysteryland, you’re in much more than just the gift of the present. You’re exploring, creating, sensing, experiencing, and truly living in a magical world of mysterious fantasy, with every corner of your imagination coming to life at your fingertips. And it’s yours to grasp for the taking.
