First of the Season - Sprung 2012

We hit the open road on Saturday morning, stocked up on supplies, pepped up on Monster energy drink and Stanford-bound. Mother Nature blessed us with perfect, sunny weather. The venue we arrived at was a welcome sight. Picture this for a minute; green hilly farmlands flanking a looming, almost protective mountain range, an enchanting riverbed surrounded by a grove of shade-bearing trees and a lot of excited people setting up tents in & around the venue for what was to be their home for the weekend.

Seeing as that the music only started at 5pm, we spent the day catching up with friends, exploring the venue and strolling through the stalls. As the afternoon progressed, more & more happy campers arrived, eager to kick off the outdoor party season. One factor about trance parties that I really like is the element of P.L.U.R (Peace, Love, Unity and Respect) - a mutual understanding between partygoers, a non-violent, community-like vibe that doesn't discriminate in any way. Although there are always exceptions to the rule, the majority of the people at Sprung were in full-on P.L.U.R. mode.

Great memories were already made in the afternoon before the music started. Chilling with friends outside the tent and joking around, taking a walk up to the top of the hill and sitting there with my girlfriend while overlooking the entire venue and the surrounding farmlands, meeting new, like-minded people, braving the portaloo's (which were fine in this case, but if you have been to an outdoor before you will know what I mean :)

The music started at 5, with deep, jungle-like dubstep vibes. The dancefloor started filling up for international psy artist, Ritmo, who's set was to begin at 6:30. It began, and it was awesome. See the video below of how Ritmo's set went down:

As the sun faded behind the hilly farmlands, the music got a deeper and faster. Lumo colours danced in the dust, kicked up by hundreds of barefoot stompers. The dancefloor was a hive of positive energy under the psychedelic decor. We partied for a good few hours before we realized that we might have drank a little too much, too soon. Having the comfort of knowing that our tent was within stumbling distance of the dancefloor , we decided to take it easy and call it a night.

Our first party of the 2012 outdoor season might have gotten the better of us, but we sure will be happily reflecting on the memories made over the weekend for a long time to come.

Big big thanks to Mystic Mingler for the awesome photos!