Four survival tips for an Et Cultura virgin:
Not all festivals are created equally and Et Cultura’s content and approach makes this festival unique, so having survival tips is necessary to help you navigate the five-day event packed with interactive, music, film, art and so much more. How do you make sure you get the absolute most out of your Et Cultura experience? Well, with so much going on it’s important that you get a jumpstart on it now. Here are four survival tips to make sure your Et Cultura experience is legendary.
1. BUY YOUR TICKETS EARLY AND IN ADVANCE!
Five full days of content for $75 is an incredible price. Who hasn’t paid $30-50 for one show or outrageous prices for other festivals? This is a steal! Do not risk waiting it out for individual day of tickets, as you might not be able to get in since others have their 5-day pass in hand. Besides, Et Cultura tickets and badges are something you want to wear and show off.
2. BE SELECTIVE ON WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE
Browse the schedules (see below for schedules) for interactive, music, film and art to know in advance what you might want to see in order to maximize your experience. Interactive generally falls in the morning and afternoon, with leading thought leaders early evening. This give you an opportunity to munch on tasty local bites from food trucks and then easily wind up at a music venue to dance the night away. Don’t forget to make it seamless. Saturday and Sunday yoga will help those feeling a bit achy from the night before and the accompanying DJ will be sure to put you in a trance that will help you forget your worries. Even with help from local purveyors of coffee and yummy juices you will sure to be primed to continue the march.
3. BRANCH OUT AND TOUCH YOUR SENSES
Et Cultura is all about your sensibility so make sure you feed your mental and emotional capacities. Expand your mind at O.P.E.N. curated interactive events that challenge you to think, watch films that create meaning and tell stories, listen to music that drives you to move with the sounds. If you are into energy, there will be plenty of that. Last year at the riveting Hip Abduction performance there was a group of spinner’s a la 1960/70s Deadheads.
4. ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY TODAY, TOMORROW, AND YEAR ROUND
What makes Et Cultura different than the rest of the festivals out there is it’s all about the community. Et Cultura is driven to elevate the community nationally and to support areas in need locally. Interactive themes for instance have been selected because of people like you, your neighbor, your family and friends who feel these topics are important and worked hard to create these events to raise the profile of the great things that are happening here in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. So make sure you join in. Et Cultura doesn’t stop after the five-days. The themes that are introduced will become part of continued dialogue throughout the year within our communities, districts, and areas where we make changes for meaningful impact. It is through this engagement that we bring forth the achievements to celebrate at next year’s festival.
Theme Schedules
Steve’s top picks
RAD Schools:
Youth Skate and Bike Jam
Aresty Speaker: Geoffrey Canada
Live Well:
Dr. Michael Greger, Author of How Not to Die
Aresty Speaker: Dr. T. Colin Campbell
Future Cities:
Metathesis St. Petersburg
Aresty Speaker: Michael Sturtz
Seeds:
The Urban Ag Revolution
Aresty Speaker: Will Allen
Music:
The Hip Abduction
Slowdive
Talib Kweli
The Budos Band
The Florida Bjorkestra
Films:
The Key to Dali
Blood Road
Brimstone & Glory
Arts:
A horse that paints (no joke)
Projection Mapping Project
all views expressed are my own.
