Written by Elise Olmstead.
Beauty in the Backyard is an immersive creative arts experience at Camp Ramblewood in Darlington, MD, taking place October 3-6, 2019. The venue is set up perfectly for a fall festival, featuring cabins and indoor stages to escape to when the weather is chilly, as well as an Open Fire Jam with Sunset & Chill to warm your hands and your heart.
Photo by Max Gold.
The festival is thoughtfully curated with a variety of genres ranging from jam to electronic, consisting of mostly small/local, up-and-coming, and mid-level musicians. Music will span over 4 stages and 4 days. Musical artists include electronic bass headliners Gangus, DRRTYWULVZ, and Deerskin, plus psychedelic jam bands like Tweed and Solar Circuit, plus some more experimental acts like You Bred Raptors.
Besides the musical acts, one of the most exciting aspects of Beauty in the Backyard is the art and workshops. There will be an art gallery of 15 talented visual artists and live painters including Won Cho, James Wallace, Kirstie Connon (pictured) and Frey Golbach, many painting expressive and psychedelic pieces to expand your mind, focusing heavily on color, abstraction and exploration of consciousness.
In addition to the traditional visual arts, NEWP Visuals will be bringing projection mapping and live visuals by the innovative Jacob New. Jacob is the creator of a “black mirror” interactive television set where viewers can play with a combination of thousands of effects on their reflection. NEWP Visuals is sure to transform the landscape into a trippy playground of lights and colors.
Photo by Amy Johndro
If that wasn’t enough of a feast for the eyes, performers will be wowing audiences with their fire, dance, and flow skills. Performance artists include Kinetic Spinners, Wild Lavenderr, Sha Golanski, Astral Lotus, and Hoopfairy.
The list of workshops makes Beauty in the Backyard a hippie’s summer camp dream, and the 30+ classes and lectures are not to be missed, or you will regret it. How could you miss out on the opportunity to learn about mushroom foraging or Japanese rope bondage? Some of the food related activities include Alkaline Vegan Cooking and organic gardening, making this festival especially friendly for the plant-based peeps who can also grab a bite to eat at some plant-based vendors. Get your body moving with Acro Yoga, African Dance, Intro to Flow Toys and Props, or Somatic Dance. Brush up your musical skills with a Vocal Activation workshop, or Wip & Rip: Music Feedback and Sample Collecting with Partica. If you are interested in sports and athletic fun, then join in some Ultimate Frisbee or slacklines that will be set up at different levels and disciplines.
Photo by Amy Johndro
Beauty in the Backyard provides an impressive amount of music, art, and activities to keep you busy during this four day event. This is not the event to languish lazily at the campsite. Be sure to rise early, stay up late, and eat a nutritious breakfast, because you’ll have a full schedule ahead of you each day. Keep an eye out for the release of their schedule so you can plan your party itenerary, but in the meantime, grab your tickets before prices go up, camping is included with your ticket and full weekend passes are currently going for $140 on the website.
