Electric Forest’s 2018 Wish Machine Inspires Global Impact with 4,500+ Hours Volunteered and Over $75,000 Donated
RLeading into Electric Forest (EF) 2018, the 8th annual festival launched a brand-new Plug In fan participation initiative, The EF Wish Machine. The EF Wish Machine encouraged the Forest Family to spread positivity beyond the Forest and into their everyday lives. In exchange, HQ would support their wildest Electric Forest dreams coming true. With over 5,000 wishes submitted, Electric Forest (EF) is proud to report the Global Impact of the Forest Family and the inaugural EF Wish Machine Plug In Program.
Via the wishes submitted, the Forest Family did their part in making our planet a better place. From the USA and South America, to Africa and Asia, a collective 4,500+ hours were volunteered and over $75,000 donated to community improvements and charities around the globe.
Electric Forest is humbled by how, with open hearts and minds, the Forest Family so fully embraced The EF Wish Machine. For 2019, Electric Forest will continue to expand and evolve the program. Learn more about the wishes granted in 2018 here, and stay tuned for details regarding the 2019 program—to be announced soon.
Giving back has always been an important part of Electric Forest and its community. Locally, Electric Forest’s Music In Schools program works to support music education in Michigan public schools. In 2018, Electric Forest donated a total of $20,000 to the following Music In Schools recipients: Shelby High School, the David Markiewicz Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund, Montague High School, White Hall High School, and the White Lake Music Society Junior Strings Program. Since its inception in 2012, Electric Forest’s Music in Schoolsprogram has donated $91,000, helping bridge the gap between diminishing school budgets and music program resource needs.
Dueling Pianos Guitar Jam Sexy Sax
Electric Forest 2018 Food Drive, hosted in partnership with non-profit Conscious Alliance, collected and distributed over 35,700 meals to local Oceana County communities this year—setting a new festival record (over 15,000 meals more than the 2017 event). Each year, Electric Forest’s annual Food Drive encourages patrons to donate non-perishable food items in exchange for a limited edition Electric Forest Food Drive Poster. Meals are donated to the Price Family Food Bank, which provides food locally to such organizations as Lebanon Lutheran Church, Rothbury Community Church, Wesleyan Church, Teen Challenge, and many others. To date, Electric Forest has collected and distributed over 245,700 meals to local communities in need.
EF’s Food Drive, Music In Schools and The EF Wish Machine were just three of over 20 Plug-In fan participation opportunities at EF2018. The Her Forest Plug In Program offered women Forest-goers to connect and create with each other via panels, circles, and group camping. This year’s Electricology Plug In Program set a new standard of sustainable practices. In addition to EcoZones and EcoStores, Electricology and the Prize Cart Remix Plug In Program winners encouraged the Forest Family to clean up after special sets each night of the festival, distributing tens of thousands of trash and recycling bags and rewarding those who helped with prizes. In partnership with To Write Love On Her Arms, the Breaking Barrier Project encouraged the Forest Family to build a wall, and on it, set intentions for both weekends of Electric Forest 2018. The Forest Family recognized the words and symbols that create distance between us, and the community broke the wall down each weekend together.
From the Art Installation Sponsorship Program and the Brainery Workshops, to the Luminaria Program and so much more, Electric Forest’s Plug In Program deliberately blurs the line between event organizers and attendees. With this truly unique “open source” fan engagement platform, Electric Forest harnesses the creativity and passion of its community members, offering real and tangible ways for fans to participate in and ultimately help shape the Electric Forest experience. This is a big deal, since for Electric Forest – experience trumps all. Read all about Electric Forest’s 2018 Plug In Programs happenings HERE.
*Photos Courtesy Meg Ryan Hatchery 17*
