I was doing such a good job of posting from Tribal Fest, but then my bestie Niffer arrived and we were rooming together and I wanted to spend all night chatting instead of blogging from my tiny keyboard. Then I was driving home and wanted to rest instead of typing. But now I am back and well-rested after a night in my own bed with my own kitty curled up against my belly, and I want to gush about what a wonderful time I had! So let’s look at it day-by-day.

Friday: Got to the festival nice and early for “The whole shebang” with Dusty Paik. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Dusty? She’s just made of awesome. Her workshop was about taking a piece of music and developing a whole concept around it, from character to costume to movement. Most of the workshop was spent sitting on the floor listening, writing, and drawing, and then we were given the chance to present our concept to the rest of the class. I decided to be brave and go first, and I got some nice feedback on my piece. Then I got to sit back and watch other students dance and some of them blew my mind! Lots of beautiful concepts and skillful dancing and raw emotion.

After that I had a couple hours to hang out, shop, and watch the show. I was able to see my friend and former troupemateish (she was in Skirt Full of Fire while I was in Fire & Gold, so we danced together in big group numbers) Kamrah dance for the first time since she moved away. She rocked it! Here’s the video if you want to see for yourself. I saw a lot of other really good dancing too and was feeling really inspired, but also intimidated because I was going to be taking the stage on Saturday!

Then it was time to run back to the rental and let Niffer in, because we only had one key! I got her settled in and we made our way back to the festival and I had to immediately pop into my second workshop of the day (and last one of the festival) which was a hair workshop with Brandie Franks of Diva Dreads. There were only a few students so it was really casual and chatty, with Brandie demonstrating hair and answering our questions and doing different styles on everyone. There was a nice range of hair lengths and types present in class, so she was able to address different needs which was not only helpful for the person with that hair, but for any of us who might be going home to help our troupemates whose hair is totally different from our own. I was really impressed that not only did Brandie discuss how to use the dreads she makes, but she also talked a bit about how to make your own, or braid fake hair directly into your own hair, or use yarn falls. She acknowledged that not everyone could afford nice dreads or braids and gave budget-friendly alternatives and was totally cool about it.

Once I was out of my workshop, I did a little more shopping and then we dropped our things off at the room (there may have been a lot of 25 yard skirt purchasing going on) and had a delicious dinner and hurried back for the last couple hours of the show. More amazing dance, topped off by an awesome closing set by Rachel Brice and her troupe Datura. Such skill! Such beautiful costumes!

Saturday: Got up early and started putting on my face for my performance. Possibly the most makeup I have ever worn! To create the faerie image I was going for I had to apply foundation with a damp sponge, which blotted out the freckles I’ve had for my entire life, making me look very much not like myself. Then there was the epic amount of dark blush. The outrageous eyebrows. The PaperSelf lashes in the shape of stags with butterflies on their antlers. The shimmery earthtone eyeshadow. Niffer provided a helpful second opinion, telling me when to add more and when to stop. Then we hopped into her rental Mustang convertible (hell yeah!) to drive over to TF so I wouldn’t sweat my face off on the walk over.

After watching more inspiring and intimidating dance, I went over to Brandie’s booth to have her do my hair. My original plan was to do it myself and then ask her to give it a looksee and throw in my bobby pins if needed, but I’m glad I just had her do the whole thing because she built this amazing style that really put forth the woodland creature image I wanted, like some sort of Greco-Roman nymph with my flowing curly dreads. Oh yeah, and she pinned the heck out of everything so not a single flower flew off and not a single piece of fake hair got in my face after a spin.

Backstage was crowded but also a great atmosphere, with people taking time to compliment each other on their costumes, give encouragement and hugs and ask when you were going on stage so they could try to catch you before or after their own performance. There was a stage manager to keep everything running smoothly. Before I knew it I was dressed and ready to go on stage and then my music was starting and it was time to give it my all! I was a little nervous but the troupe directly after me was super sweet and blowing me kisses and wishing me luck before I stepped on stage. So lovely!

I feel pretty happy with what I did. For the rest of the weekend, other dancers would walk up to me and compliment me on my dance, including a huge compliment from a really big deal dancer that I still can’t believe really happened. People enjoyed my theme and how well my costume, music and movement went together, which is what I always strive for. I am feeling so inspired and encouraged to live up to what others think of me after my performance. You can watch it here if you’d like.

With that done I was able to watch more dance, have some yummy tea and dinner with Niffer and come back for still more dance, this time with Fat Chance Belly Dance and other awesome ATS troupes wrapping up the night.

Sunday: No workshops! No performances! Time to just relax and have fun. A tiny bit of “Ok, it’s the last day, I’ll kick myself if I don’t buy this” shopping, including finding the perfect belt for my troupemate Ashley who had specifically requested that I keep an eye out for a tribal belt for her. Then lots more watching of dancers, a little break to explore Sebastopol and eat some food, a fond farewell to Niffer, back to the show to give good-bye hugs to my vendor friends, and then the last of the show where Beatbox Guitar performed live music for ITS dancers including Black Sheep Belly Dance and Tribal Fest host Kajira, and then House of Tarot did an almost hour-long final act. WOW! It really is worth staying for the end of Sunday if you don’t absolutely have to get back to work Monday morning.

Then I had to go back to my room and pack up all of my stuff. Uh oh! It seriously looked like a belly dancer had exploded in there. And in my excitement about being able to drive and buy whatever I wanted, I forgot that it might still be a good idea to bring an extra suitcase to consolidate everything instead of having half a dozen shopping bags of various sizes. Oh well. I made it work, even if it took several trips to get everything into the car.

Monday and Tuesday: The long drive home! First I stopped to pick up some yummy local food and drink to take to my aunt and uncle who were going to host me for the night and for my husband back home. Then I stopped in Cotati to visit my friends at Out on a Whim and buy some beads. Then, other than a quick stop to fill up my gas tank, I drove straight through to Redlands. My route back was different from my route up and this time I passed within 3 miles of my hometown and drove the way we always took to visit my family down in Redlands. Such a weird feeling! Some things were unrecognizable and some were still the same, like the Charlie Brown Farms, and the little cafe by where we would turn off to go camping.

I had a nice overnight visit with my aunt and uncle and their lovely pets. I haven’t really spent any time with them as an adult so it was nice to get to know each other. And hanging out with family was much more pleasant than being in some weird hotel by myself. Especially when my aunt and I were watching TV together and her dog had his big ol’ head in my lap. So relaxing!

Tuesday I hit the road, got to Phoenix right on schedule to give Jen her bag o’ skirts and wine, have a little catch up, and then HOME! I don’t know who was happier to see me, my husband or my pets. The corgis tried to follow us out to the car when we left for dinner, surely convinced that I was going to disappear for a week again and they were going to go with me this time. Topher slept curled up next to my belly all night. And while Lira seemed more interested in the pile of bags I brought with me, she did just sit in my lap while I was writing this blog post.

It’s nice to be back home, and I’m looking forward to dancing with my troupemates tonight… but GEEZ do I miss Tribal Fest! So many wonderful friends, so much dancing, so much encouragement, so much shopping. Oh, and the weather! Sure, it was hot the first few days, but Saturday and Sunday were so beautiful I could cry. I loved being able to walk everywhere. Main Street Sebastopol was so cute, full of local shops and restaurants that made me wish I wasn’t spending all my time and money at the festival. I can’t wait to go back next year!