Touring With Nomadic Festival

Touring With Nomadic Festival

At the time of this writing, we are in the process of acquiring a vehicle to help transport the nomads across the country this summer. We are also talking to others with vehicles who may want to tour with us. To help avoid some of the financial chaos of last year, we're asking that people travelling with us be able to provide at least two things:

Be able to provide your own food. We will be making stops at supermarkets and co-ops for those looking to purchase food. Many cities will no doubt also have soup kitchens and/or ground scores, however, don't rely entirely on these. There will be some food sharing going on, but we will not be acting as a kitchen.

Be able to contribute gas money. We are expecting those travelling in our vehicles to help pay for gas. We will not be providing free rides across the country. As much as we'd like to, we simply can't afford to.

Some people join us just to get to the next town. We don't mind this, however, please keep in mind that space preference will be given to the long-term nomads touring and performing with us. Likewise, the above rules apply to those travelling to the next town as well those travelling with us farther.

A few tips to keep in mind when preparing for the tour:

Remember to pack light. The vehicles will be carrying both people and equipment and the more baggage you bring, the less room there will be for the rest. However, this shouldn't discourage you from bringing materials and equipment for putting on performances. We encourage all people to bring along puppets, masks, costumes, performance gear, etc. If you have something large that you think would be beneficial to Nomadic Festival, please contact us so we talk about arrangements in bringing it along.

Bring absolutely no drugs or drug paraphenalia on the vehicles. What you do is your choice, but please purchase and do your drugs in town. If you are found with drugs in the vehicle, you will be asked to leave. The reason for this is that drugs in the vehicle can lead to the arrest of all the passengers in the car and the vehicle being impounded. There are also federal drug forfeiture laws that allow for the police to take complete ownership of the vehicle and not return it. Though we don't forsee this happening, it has happened to some of us before and we are NOT willing to take a chance at the tour being delayed or cancelled due because of this.

[Note: If you live in San Francisco, please come out to the International Drug Peace Rally on June 15th to protest the War on Drugs and the insane laws that have been allowed to be passed under the guise of fighting the drug problem].

If possible, contact us beforehand. That way we have some idea of how many people will be touring with us and where we're going to be picking up new people. We'll also be able to keep you updated to last minute tour changes.

You can join with Nomadic Festival anywhere along our tour route. If you contact us beforehand, we'll be able to work out details about where to meet up. Of course, you can always just show up at one of our shows and hop aboard. Advance notice is nice though.

If you reside on the East Coast and want to participate in the full tour, you're best bet will be to meet up with us at the National Rainbow Gathering in Washington/Oregon. If you are having trouble finding a ride to the Rainbow Gathering, give us a call and we'll try hooking you up with some people out there.

nomadic@musespace.com