We only have to wait a year - the Swing Festival

The wait lasted all year, and four of the anniversary festival Swing the days passed imperceptibly quickly. But the wait was worth it. Started as a small festival, this year it has grown to ten years Swing and again invited to go to the already well-known Pakretuonė forest. Traveling to the festival for the fourth time to spend the best days of the year among moss, pure forest air, freezing and body-shaking music sounds, among joyfully beautiful people, I already knew what to expect, but I am glad to discover that it made In the swing feel like the first time. In a good way of course. Ten years For swings - ten memoirs.

• Journey. We left on Thursday morning, so there was no rush. The trip, as always, is part of the festival itself. Familiar roads, Labanor hill smells of the upcoming festival. Escape from work, from the dust of the city and travel to a magical forest - this alone is fascinating and makes you look forward to the whole year. There was certainly no shortage of directions, even though we already knew the way very well. There were no queues, the security is very friendly, so the confidence of the festival is excellent! I don't know if we were so lucky or if we were smart enough to take a few days off for the festival and come right after it started For swings, then neither queues nor angry people cause any problems. Music and dancing on the train is a novelty of the festival. I really want to travel by train, if only next year.
• Environment. The forest floor, friendly and orderly neighbors, the lake, moss, the forest tracks, which were exposed to sunlight during the day and turned into light-filled tunnels into music spaces at night. Beautiful, fresh, nothing was missing. I can't imagine anymore Swing somewhere other than what is happening now. A magical place.
• Music - this is why you go to the festival. The tenth Swing summoned the entire guard of Lithuanian and foreign musical soldiers. Four scenes - Low, Less, More and High won the hearts and bodies of visitors. Thursday dances under the tent of the High stage, experimental virtuosos of the Less stage, the Low stage lost in the woods and the queen of the festival, the More stage. There was everything, there was a lot, there will be something to remember. The most awaited LIVE performances, which were certainly not lacking. LIVE performances by Function and Xosar showed what the More stage means. Next to them is the long-awaited appearance of Ben Klock and Ryan Elliott, which can be called Friday's number 1! The live performance of Mesijaus showed that Lithuanian sounds deserve applause. And where is everyone else - Inga Copeland and her LIVE performance on the Less stage were as expected. Everyone found their favorite, everyone immersed themselves in their music. Without words, because music doesn't need words, music needs feelings.
• The other shore. Did the new thing work out? In the swing or not, will be seen next year, when the other shore will survive or quietly disappear. There didn't seem to be too many people traveling by cheap boats from one coast to the other, and the pier that became everyone's favorite lied next to the Less stage was not properly utilized. Such good memories from previous years, welcoming the sun on this hill... Plus, it was possible to arrive a day earlier and settle on the other shore, but only a dozen tent residents were happy about that.
• Visualizations. Hanging in the water or air during the day, nature gave magic at night. Endless photos with geometric labyrinths of lights shining at night only prove that visualizations get a big plus this year. Going for a walk along the shore of the lake, traveling from the Less stage towards the Low, was a real treat. Night, lights and magic and crazy beauty. Water, air, trees and finally the scenes became the basis of the visualization of lights. Close your eyes and you can still see…
• Order. I have been to more than one and more than five festivals, so I can safely say that I have never seen such an order. The forest looked as if it had not been touched by human hands - either very tidy and forest-loving people gathered, or the festival volunteers did their job very well. Cultured people, cultured environment and a very clean festival.
• People. Like every year - beautiful, colorful, with a smile on their face, wearing sunglasses around the clock, friendly and showing love not only for the festival, but also for each other. But that's why we gathered to express our love for what we love. Good techno and people.
• Forest discoveries. I don't know about others, but we love the forest and its goodies. We came not only to the festival, but also escaped to nature. We walked for kilometers while wandering around the forest, we picked sardines with strung strawberries, a lot of blueberries and unexpectedly found squirrels, which enriched our dinner. What could be better than picking mushrooms from the forest and making a steaming dinner out of them. Civilization in the forest.
• Weather. Before the festival, we checked the weather forecast several times every day. They were not happy at all, so instead of short dresses, shorts, bathing suits, we rushed to find boots, raincoats and warm sweaters in the last days. But there wasn't a single drop of rain, the coolness from the lake was even pleasant, and the fresh air was pleasing as we walked from the Less stage to the More stage, where the sun especially forced us to uncover our legs and enjoy the warmth. I don't know what kind of devilish pact the organizers made with the weather gods, but if you can, please do it again next year.
• Waiting. It's only Monday, it's still hard to realize that Swing ended My heart is still beating, my hands are still moving from the sounds of techno in my mind, it's hard to go to work, I want to prolong everything... But what's left for us earthlings is to wait a year and live in memories. Good things get used to quickly, so enjoy them!

Author: Roberta Remeikaitė