Are you going to Boomtown Fair : parsley, sage, ketamine and wine

When I told people that I was going to Boomtown they mostly looked at me like I was making the worst possible life choice and said "oh Ellie, it's not for you."

   Some background for people unfamiliar with the festival: it is the world's largest immersive theatre experience; once you enter the site you are part of a complex story told through performance; it is infamous for excessive sex, drugs, booze and music. I, on the other hand, am not infamous for sex, drugs, booze or music.

   I heard that some time ago one of the organisers took some drugs and was instructed by spirits to save the world from the climate emergency. Whether you believe in spirits or not, it shaped the story and values of the festival this year.

   So Extinction Rebellion was invited. We rebelled against the pretend millionaires, oil corporations and bankers in Paradise Heights. We printed our symbol on people's clothes (and bodies), we staged fake protests with a model of the pink boat, we walked the streets shouting "join the rebellion!" at passersby, we picked up litter, we dressed as bees and pretended to die.

   It was totally surreal. The drum and bass never stopped. I mean, seriously, it never stopped. I woke up at 8am and I could still hear drum and bass. Nobody was ever entirely sober. In some ways it was utter make believe, but sometimes, when I thought about it from another angle, it really was Boomtown Fair; a party on a monumental scale, a carnival of excess, a weird new world that only existed for 4 days.

   The XR team had a challenging time. We were spread too thinly, and Boomtown had asked for more than we could provide. This wore our tempers thin too, and we took it out on each other.

   After a difficult first day I realised that I wasn't asking for help when I needed it, I wasn't delegating tasks to other people when I had too many. Slowly over the next 3 days we started to learn how to work together, it was still messy and imperfect and difficult but we looked after one another, offered each other breaks, coffee, water.

And when we took to the streets with a pink boat made of ply board chanting and singing, the inebriated people of Boomtown chanted with us. The response to our presence was so positive.

   I feel pretty sad that I won't have much chance to get to know these people better. But I'm grateful for the difficult bits, because that's how you grow.

   I'm not sure what else to add except that it's always a pleasure spending time with XR people. They are so weird and they wear funny clothes and eat some bizarre stuff, but they truly care about the earth and all the beings that live here. It just blows my mind every time I think about it.

I think I'll end with a photo, we actually look pretty respectable in this one.

Photo by Jo Rogers