Imagine Festival 2016 Review

I arrived at Imagine Festival with completely white sneakers, by the time I left they were a disgusting brown color, and it was entirely worth it. After spending four days in the heat It’s true what they say, Hotlanta is no joke. As someone who’s to been to almost every major festival in the country, Imagine was definitely in my top three favorites.

Staying Cool in HOTlanta:

Atlanta gets HOT and that’s putting it lightly. With a festival that ran from 12pm to 3am you spent a good portion of it out in the sun and heat. While enjoying the day time sets Imagine had ways to stay cool. For starters there was a splash pool, now how many festivals can say they have that? If you got too hot just walk on over and take a dip and chill in some water, instant relaxation.

In addition, they also had plenty of options for shade. They set up structures all over to make sure you had a shady place to sit when you needed a break. Not to mention they looked pretty cool too.

Set Times:

There was never a time when they had conflicting artists of the same genre. They did an AMAZING job setting it up so if you wanted to see an artist, you got to with no problems at all. The stages were close enough to hop between sets, but somehow didn't have sound overlap.

Performers:

Imagine had tons of performers doing aerial silks, hooping, fire spinning, and stilt walking all around the festival. They had open applications for performers around the country to send in a video of their acts and apply to perform on stage to their favorite artists. Everywhere you looked there were mesmerizing fire dancers, people in cosplay, and hypnotizing aerial performances in front of color changing fountains.

Atlanta-based group Incendia had their fire-domes set up in the middle of the festival with fire performances all weekend. This interactive fire-laden act appears to defy science in their performances.

Hometown Heroes:

One of the best things about Imagine is how supportive they are of artists from the Southeast. Everyone wants to go to a festival to see the big names, but you also want to discover some fresh new artists. If I learned anything while I was in Atlanta, it was that the artists are all like family and they support each other like no other.

It’s always nice to have good vibes with festival goers but it’s even cooler to see artists supporting one another on their quest to make it big. I had the pleasure to meet some of the up and coming artists like Domii, Yuki, Ra, Devious and let me tell you, they are all “gourmet AF.” Whether you’re from the Southeast or not, keep an eye out for these hometown heroes because they’re going places. Hopefully more festivals follow in Imagine festivals footsteps in supporting artists from their region.

Good Vibes:

This was the first festival I ever went to alone and as a New Yorker, this was uncharted territory for me. From the moment I walked into the festival to the moment I left I was literally never alone. Whether I was sitting in the grass or just wandering around there was also a friendly person willing to adopt me into their festival squad. There was never a time I ever looked around and saw an unfriendly face. Maybe it was the Southern hospitality thing but the vibes here are unmatched with any other festival I’ve been too.

As this festival is only in its third year it isn’t expected for it to be perfect and have zero flaws, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have the best time humanly possible. Since this festival is newer we’re looking forward to seeing all the growth and changes as it continues to develop. See you in 2017 Imagine Festival, I had absolutely the greatest time.