There's more than music in the Coachella experience

By Ali Standish

It takes more than great music to produce a great festival experience. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Coachella grounds were giant rocking horses made out of bits of tire. The whole place was filled with art and sculpture. There was a spinning metal tree, what looked like a thirty-foot tall spider, and really cool steam-powered kinetic art. You can see these works and more at Kineticsteamworks.org. Check it out.

But art was only one thing that caught my attention. Also on the grounds were unique carnival rides and a lot of other interactive stuff in case you got bored watching bands all day. There was a great variety of foods, from Chinese to Greek to organic vegetarian, and basically everything in between. Also incorporated into the event were a lot of efforts to be environmentally friendly. Cardboard recycling bins were everywhere on the grounds, and this year if you collected ten empty bottles to recycle, the vendors give you a bottle of water for free.

This stuff might seem secondary to the actual music, and yeah, it is. But by presenting a complete experience, Coachella becomes more than just a series of concerts, but a community with a real atmosphere and personality.