Wanderlust Festival displayed the same values and mission as last year but showed exponential growth in such a short time. The small music and yoga festival was originated in the minds of music producers Jeff Krasno and Sean Hoess and inspired by Krasno’s wife Schuyler Grant, a yoga instructor. The seed was planted six years ago in a small shared studio space where Jeff and Sean saw an emerging culture and the impact that the music world has on a mindful lifestyle. After Grant’s yoga studio began to expand, the music studio got the boot and so began the brainstorming for Wanderlust Festival. The concept was divine and brilliant. The name, while tossed around these days, is fitting for the weekend experience at the festival. Krasno explains Wanderlust just as defined, “an innate desire to travel or roam”. Whether your adventure takes you to Copper from Denver, Aspen, or from out of state, there is a sense of getting away that is good for the soul.
Yogis throw your hands up (Photo Credit: Amanda Spilos)
This year’s Wanderlust brought a more blended crowd - yogis of all levels, a few more men than I recall from last year, some younger faces, and families. The Copper Resort festival has quite the advantage being that it is open area for the public. This provides free exposure from folks that wouldn’t otherwise experience what is Wanderlust. Hoess made an excellent point - you’ll never see fences anywhere at the festival - not even at the photo pit (annoying). This allows for a sense of openness, lack of restriction, and the “roaming” piece that the festival embraces. New activities catered to different lifestyles; paddleboard yoga with BOGA filled up so quickly and has become a huge success for Wanderlust. Other activities outside of yoga included rock climbing, white water rafting, mountain biking, and a new New Belgium brewing bike tour. What a great opportunity to try new activities with a sense of openness.
Fashion played a large role in this year’s Wanderlust Festival with their huge sponsor, Lululemon. I mean, who doesn’t want to look damn good in a pair of yoga pants? Not only that, you want to feel comfortable as well. While Lululemon’s gear can come with a pretty penny, it’s designed to breathe, be comfortable, and last. Some new trends I’ve seen emerging are those crazy, cosmic yoga pants. Pretty wild, I’d say, but they are a reminder that yoga is fun. Tie-dye patterns, floral prints, and bright colors in addition to those galaxy-esque pants.
Paddle Board Yoga (Photo Credit: Amanda Spilos)
Oh, and food. Food, of course, played a huge role in Wanderlust - as always. This was fantastic marketing not only targeted to the festival go-ers but those famished mountain bikers coming down off those trails were able to load up on samples versus a $12.00 resort hotdog. Lyfe Kitchen was a huge contributor this year, hooking it up for media (thanks!). With a couple restaurants in California, their meals can be found in Whole Foods, Natural Groceries, Safeway, and even Albertson’s. A quick grab-and-go meal that is healthy, nutritious, and delicious. I swear, they didn’t make me say that. The whole grain pilaf was out of this world. The most fascinating and humbling thing from a large, and still growing, company was to see Chef John Mitchell in the tent prepping meals and interacting with the festival go-ers. This spoke volumes to the company, their mission, and values. Other fantastic sponsors included Kind, So Delicious, Keifir, and Evolution Fresh to name a few.
Music played a major role at this year's festival (Photo Credit: Kelly Perry)
It’s always great when the music makes sense with the weekend theme. Moby, along with Caravan Palace, and Quixotic was such an awesome pair to the weekend. The music scene at the festival can be a little quieter than you may expect, but the crowd for Moby this year was huge in comparison to what I saw last year. The energy was high and it catered to a large demographic - the younger crowd for the upbeat tempo and those that followed Moby during his prime when he collaborated with Gwen Stefani and remixed huge names like The Beastie Boys, Nas, Metallica, and David Bowie.
Moby rockin' the decks (Photo Credit: Kelly Perry)
The festival is continuing to expand, upward and outward. There are plans for international destinations like New Zealand and the opportunity to take your compass and really “find your true north”. While we are regularly seeing festivals close their doors due to low ticket sales and funds, it’s great to see Wanderlust become so successful with such a powerful message.
-Amanda
