Photosynthesis Festival 4.0 is this weekend and I’m super-duper-cheesy-saying stoked. This year (like last year, and the year before that) is in a new location. Akin to the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts, Collective Flow has been plagued with bad venue karma. Last year’s venue, Dragon’s Sphere Recreational Park, was an incredible find (now with a white sandy beach area thanks to the truckload of sand brought in by Collective Flow, Photosynthesis Festival’s producers) and everything was lined up to hold all preceding festivals there. Too bad the owner was committed… as in really tight jackets and padded rooms. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up.

In a mad scramble to find a new location for a 3-Stage, 2,000-person festival, Collective Flow negotiated another dream location: Hobuck Beach Resort in Neah Bay, Washington. Set on the northwestern-most tip of the Olympic Peninsula in the Makah Nation Reservation, this venue doesn’t need a truck to deliver sand – it’s right on the beach. Bikini and sarongs all day! WOO-HOO!

This year’s line-up is also a fantastic one, with Tipper, Kevin Saunderson, Ceephax, Christian Martin, KiloWatts, Richard Devine, The Flashbulb, Pezzner and Lulacruza leading the charge. As always there’s not shortage of Cascadian artists representing; Seattle and Portland favorites are playing, as some other artists from around the US.

The on-site vending was stepped up significantly this year so if you prefer hot meals to camping food you’re in luck. The Farside Cafe will be onsite serving up organic, non-GMO eats, Skinny Phoenix with doner kabobs, turkish sandwiches and other yummy things, Da-Pressed Coffee with your morning, afternoon and evening espresso, Herbucha with the morning-after kambucha, and Harmony Chai with… um… chai.

For a helpful list of stuff to bring (choose at your leisure) check my post from last year. You may, however, want to add galoshes and raincoats to this year’s list, just in case. While the rest of the country is braving record-breaking heat waves, the weather in Seattle has been, to be frank, completely shit. It’s MID JULY for pete’s sake! Why am I still going to bed with leg warmers and sweaters?? But as any Northwest native will tell you, the weather patterns here are 100% erratic and impossible to predict. So next weekend could be in the low 80s with 40% humidity. You never really know. Let’s all do our sun dances and keep our fingers crossed. I didn’t spend 6 weeks preparing for bikini season for nothing!

Regardless, the festival will be a great one. Each year is better than the last with the crew gaining more experience and attendance growing exponentially. If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, do so soon and save yourself $20 from purchasing at the door.

OH! And check out the fancy new website (wordpress designed by yours truly *bow*). Loads of information there, including video clips and audio samples of the artists performing.