While it’s moved around a lot throughout the years, Zen Awakening Music and Arts Festival always maintains its focus on both intimacy and nature wherever it goes.
“One of the things that's really important for people know about Zen, is that it’s not a music festival," Zen founder Niekko Chin told CL last year.
"It’s a transformational festival first and foremost.”
While there are some incredible musical acts and artistic installations each year, Zen stays true to that goal of being transformational above all else. Through both spiritual and cultural workshops and camps, Zen goes above and beyond when focusing on the internal self (where else can you get your pineal gland worked on by U.K. meditation guru Tracy Ash?).
On top of that, musicians who play each year generally blow up following their appearances at Zen. This festival has boasted names like Michael Menert & The Pretty Fantastics, Space Jesus, Russ Liquid, Toadface, and Jade Cicada, all months before they each rose to prominence on the festival scene.
We caught up with Chin once again to discuss what's new at Zen for 2019 and what he's hoping to keep the same. Read our full Q&A and get more info below.
Zen Awakening 2010, Zen Meditation Fields (FKA Forever Florida), 4755 N. Kenansville Road, St. Cloud. Nov. 16-18. $144-$222. zenawakeningfestival.com.
So is Zen staying at the same grounds this year or is it finding a new home?
We’re moving to Zen Meditation Fields, it used to be the old Forever Florida.
What are the new grounds like? Also, I’ve seen you guys posting about activities that will be going on there – can you tell me about those?
Yeah, so it’s a 4,700-acre preserve. It has a wildlife sanctuary, bird sanctuary, and flowers and native plants. It has horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, ziplining, kayaking… it’s really beautiful. It’s just all pristine nature, it really is a wonderful place.
Are you going to be doing the same process as years past where people go to the grounds early, camp on the ground for a bit, and put good energy into the area?
Yeah, of course. We actually already started that a week ago. We go out to the site and what we do is kind of walk the whole site that we’re going to have the festival on. We find what we call "the highest area" or "the highest energy impact center." This year it’s actually located right by the Sacred Fire next to this beautiful, little lily pad stream. What we do is meditate there, we do singing bowls there, and we anchor in the energy that we want to vibrate throughout this festival once we start.
For example, the energy we’re pulling in is peace, harmony, love, tranquility, people finding their divine life purpose and soul mission, and just people becoming awakened. Those are the energies we’re anchoring in every morning or night when we meditate there.
I was going to ask about the Sacred Fire, too, because that was just incredible last year. Is that still done by Organized Chaos by chance?
Yeah, Chaos will be there doing it again this year. We’re also going to have the effigy there as well. You remember the effigy we built that was called The Temple of the Soul? We built it all throughout the three days of the festival and people could put pictures of people they lost, pets they’ve lost, relationships that they’ve lost, things that no longer serve them. Sunday at sundown we burn the temple down as a way of releasing things that no longer serve us, letting go of things that are holding us back.
I remember two years ago, it was a big wooden lotus flower.
Yeah, yeah The Lotus Temple. Now it’s called The Temple of the Soul.
Do y’all have any ideas on what it may look like yet or has that been decided yet?
The guys are designing it now. We do everything through reclaimed wood, so whatever they can source and find. I am sure they’ll build something beautiful out of it. It’s Bob and his sons; they’re construction workers who have been going to Zen for three years and always create really beautiful effigy burns for us.
I love Zen because it’s so much of a spiritual festival, but it also has a lot of cultural elements too. Is the Bhakti stage coming back, or the Native American camp?
We’ll have the Native American village again this year, but we’re not doing a Bhakti stage per se. We’re changing the Bhakti stage to the Zen stage and that’s where all the Kirtan, the chanting, the mantras, all that stuff will be this year.
Will Incendia be returning as well?
We probably won’t be having them back this year only because we’ve had a lot of challenges with the Osceola County Fire Department. They have really strict regulations there, so I don’t think they’ll be back this year just because we can’t get the fire permits in for their stuff this year.
That makes sense. What about the Middle Earth stage?
Middle Earth is still going to be there. That’s where we have all the main stage acts and headliners.
You guys have some really cool headliners this year, what are some that you’re really excited about?
I’m really excited about Human Experience, I love him from l the festivals I’ve seen him at on the west coast. Desert Dwellers are amazing too. Those are the main two that I personally am excited for this year.
I’m really excited about Zebbler Encanti Experience, I was so happy to see them added onto the lineup. Changing topics though, can you tell me about The Front Porch Busking Stage?
Every year, we have a hidden stage that some people find and some people don’t. We’ve been doing that since 2015. We never put it on the map because we want you to find it. It’s an impromptu stage. Last year it was actually the PoeTree Stage, where people could go up and do poetry, they could do fire spinning, they can do spoken word, DJ or dance. It’s always hidden though. This year it’s called The Front Porch Busking Stage. Since the site is so much bigger this year, we figured we would take a picture of it and post it so that, even though it’s not on the map, people will know to look for it on their own. Anybody can perform there.
That’s so cool. The Kreaturez last year added a magical element to the weekend with their wild and surreal costumes – will they be returning?
Kreaturez will be returning this year.
This year we’re going to be doing the Sway Poles, which we did last year. We’re also going to be doing the Water Bowl, which is our contortionist in a big, giant fish bowl. It’s gonna be cool.
Is there anything else you wanted to add?
Yeah, absolutely. This is going to be a very different feel this year, way different than any other years in the past. A lot of people though don’t realize that a very large portion of the festival-goers that come to Zen each year are co-creators.
Of the 5,000 people that come to Zen, 2,500 are coming in for free. They’re either fire performers, bands, DJs, workshop presenters, volunteers, media; it’s a huge undertaking. This festival was never designed to be a money maker or big production. A lot of people come there and they’ll say, “Well you guys don’t do a lot of production, and you don’t put up any lights.” We want you to come experience nature as it is. The greatest designer of events and event space is Nature and the creator. So when they come to Zen and are able to unlock themselves from their cell phones, from lights, from stimuli, and will be able to connect more to nature, more to themselves, and really have the kind of spiritual awakening that they need to have.
Without all the crazy stimulus that goes on at most other festivals, it makes it all about your alignment with yourself, your awakening, finding your divine life purpose and soul mission, giving to the community, and really really connecting to the Earth and to your higher self. That’s what we want people to realize: don’t come expecting a lot of production. We’re not Hulaween, Okeechobee, etc.
We aren’t going to throw all these lights up on trees and do all that production. Nature is what we want you to experience for three days, we want you to totally immerse yourself in the grounds and environment and really appreciate being with the community and feeling that vibration of oneness. That’s what we want people to realize about Zen.
That was an incredible description. I’ve really watched Zen grow over the last few years, I think this will be my third or fourth year, and I look forward to seeing what you guys have for this year.
This year is going to be beautiful and a lot more heartfelt. One of the things we’re bringing this year, Tracy Ash, is an amazing presenter all the way from England. She does a whole lot of very powerful awakening type workshops where she just totally cracks open your pineal gland and gets right in to it. What would normally take you five to six years of meditation, yoga, and studying to achieve, she’ll break you open in two hours and totally get you connected and right on track, so we’re really excited to see what people experience with her. She’s well respected in the industry and has been around for about 20 years or so, so she’s our keynote speaker this year.
Also, Chief Black Fox, the great-great-grandson of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, he’s coming back to read us some ceremony and teach people about native culture. We have a lot of really strong presenters, healers, and teachers coming to Zen this year. We’re focusing a lot more on the transformational aspects while keeping a balance between all the music and workshops.
Wow, that sounds really cool and enlightening, I can’t wait to hear them speak. Is there a schedule or map out yet of the campgrounds? I am so excited, and look forward to seeing all the changes this year. You guys always do a great job.
So do you man, thank you. We love you.
Love you all too. Thanks again.
This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2018.