EDC Orlando 2021: A family affair to remember – WTSP.com

How one journalist’s reflection on EDC Orlando 2021 paints a larger picture about rave culture.
Eric Burks
Eric Burks
P.L.U.R.

What's a Rave, Anyway?

The Headliners

Mom's First Rave!

The Show

The Security

ORLANDO, Fla
If 2020 was the year that the Earth stood still, 2021 is the year that it began to spin again. It started slowly at first, barely noticeable. 
Students returning to the classroom. Fans returning to their favorite sporting events. But now, there’s little doubt that things are roaring back to normal.
The Electric Daisey Carnival, or EDC for short, returned to Orlando’s Tinker Field after a one-year hiatus last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
The big question: Would huge crowds return to the three-day music festival featuring some of the biggest stars in electronic dance music (EDM)? Or would lingering fears about coronavirus keep people away? 
After all, social distancing at EDC is improbable, if not impossible. And what of the post-pandemic economy, which seems to be impacting everyone and everything nowadays? EDC isn’t cheap, a three-day pass costing hundreds of dollars, not to mention potential travel costs, lodging, food and drink.
Well, if Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mission has seemingly become to put COVID in the state’s rear-view mirror, he need look no further than the most unlikely of places — a rave. 
Especially one featuring a crowd of tens of thousands of free-spirited, living-in-the-moment festival-goers who flocked to Central Florida to celebrate music, love, and life itself. 
If there is a COVID-19 hangover, EDC was the cure for many people who were looking to get back to normal.
EDC, which originated in Las Vegas 25 years ago, was in Orlando for the 10th time and it’s become an economic behemoth for Central Florida’s economy.
Organizers say the event was a complete sellout, drawing 300,000 people between Friday and Sunday. The economic boost is as enormous as the music is loud. 
The last EDC, in 2019, brought in about $51 million dollars to the local economy, according to the Orlando mayor’s office. Figures for this year have not yet been released, but crowds were noted to be larger than ever.
The Orlando area was hard-hit by the pandemic and the resulting halt of travel to the place that’s home to some of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. The theme parks have already re-opened, and EDC was the exclamation point that shouted, “we are open for business!”
EDC is the brainchild of Pasquale Rotella, who founded a company in California in 1993 that he dubbed Insomniac. It’s grown into a worldwide music festival phenomenon and its next stop after Orlando is Mexico City in February 2022.
This year’s event also came just one week after another large music festival in Houston, Texas called Astroworld made global headlines. The event ended in tragedy when 10 fans were killed and scores more were injured during a crowd surge. 
What then for EDC, in which tens of thousands of people gather in an open field in front of massive stages to dance in celebration as one? Look no further than the EDC mantra, which is P.L.U.R.
P.L.U.R is the acronym for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, and is everything EDC stands for. It is an unwritten contract between the promoters, the artists, and the festival-goers.
Despite there being many people in close quarters, there is no stage rush here.
As people move about the festival grounds from stage to stage, of which there are several, or dance in unison at one of the two huge main stages, there are constant, countless collisions between humans. 
Those events are always followed by a polite apology, a nod of the head, a smile, or a lending hand. 
This is more than just a bunch of concerts jammed together in one venue over three days, it is a cultural phenomenon where people are encouraged to express their individuality. And do they ever, but everyone is reminded that we are all one human family and that there is no greater responsibility than watching out for one another — even complete strangers.
There are signs everywhere that declare “All Are Welcome Here.” 
At EDC, nobody under the age of 18 is permitted, but other than that, there is no differentiation between age, race, or gender identity, let alone the shape of one’s body or the clothes that one chooses, or in some cases, chooses not to wear.
This is a judgment-free zone if there ever was one. The positivity is contagious and palpable.
Like most things, that depends on who you ask.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “rave” as a noun describing “an event where people dance to modern electronic music.” If you do an internet search, you’re likely to find references to drinking and illegal drugs.
That said, EDC sees the term not as derogatory, but as a term of endearment.
Do people at raves use drugs? Most certainly. Is it a prerequisite? Absolutely not. The use of drugs is discouraged and prohibited, and the promoters strongly encourage responsible behavior. 
The music, spectacular visuals, and people-watching alone are enough to entertain anybody with a pulse. To claim that most people at EDC are on drugs is a disingenuous assumption based on ignorance and not experience.
EDC doesn’t refer to the show-closing artists as headliners, as entertainment tradition dictates. Instead, they refer to everyone in paid attendance as a headliner. 
There is even a headliner’s handbook that encourages everyone to follow some very basic principles while they are at the show and then encourages them to follow those same principles in life each day thereafter. 
Headliners are challenged to take care of themselves by making good decisions, caring for those around them, respecting everyone that they meet, embracing individualism and spreading positivity. 
Simple on the surface, it reflects the organizers and the artists’ desire to create a culture of kindness and understanding that they hope people take with them into their respective lives long after the festival ends. 
The headliners embrace the role, and random acts of kindness can be seen everywhere, as people who are packed together in tight places have empathy and compassion for one another.
Among the headliners this year was this journalist, his 21-year-old son and my wife who was celebrating a birthday with a number bigger than she wishes to be published. 
It was a return trip for my son and I, having documented EDC Orlando 2019.
It was mom’s first rave, and although she was very tired at the end from all the walking, dancing and lack of sleep, she’s already committed to going again next year. 
After all, nothing makes you feel young than acting like you are.
Mom was apprehensive about going to EDC. The long days, the large crowds of people, and of course the prospect of having to use portable potties in a festival situation. 
My son and I tried to describe to her what she was about to experience. The massive crowds, the wild costumes, the scantily clad women, the carnival rides, the gigantic stages and the bass that thumps so hard that you feel it in your very being. 
We’d warned her that most of the people there would be our son’s age, her shoes were bound to get dirty, she would be jostled about and trips to the bathroom would be well, adventurous.
We arrived at the site on Friday afternoon, having made as many preps as possible. The weather was pleasant, but we were worried about the possibility of rain, and cooler temperatures were forecast to set in after sunset.
As soon as we made it through security, we were immediately at the first stage, called Neon Garden, where thousands of people were jumping in unison to a heavy bass beat by an artist named Hot Since 82.
I glanced at my wife, who was grinning ear to ear, and I knew that it was going to be a positive experience for all of us.
Over the course of the next couple of days, we had many people approach us and tell us how great it was to see folks from “our generation” there. Seemingly a bit obnoxious at first, we realized that it was a 100-percent reflection of the positive, genuine affinity that they had for us. 
We heard things like “goals” and “mad respect” and even had lots of people make heart signs towards us with their fingers. We also got photographed a lot.
All we’d done was to buy a festival ticket, and my wife and I were being treated like celebrities, and only because our family’s first television sets were of the black and white variety. It doesn’t happen very often, but for once, being old was not that bad. 
Our son reveled in the time spent with his parents and his friends seemed a little jealous of the memories that we were making together, however non-traditional that they were.
Not once did we feel out of place, or uncomfortable in any way. Sure, it was tiring as hell. Exhausting. We arrived in the late afternoon each day, staying until the last thunderous note as the clock struck midnight and tens of thousands of people made their orderly way to the exits. 
Then it was off to some raucous after-party at a local establishment before retiring to our hotel in the wee hours. We’re typically in bed before the late news begins, so this was a test of our physical strength and our will. It was by sheer determination, with the help of coffee in the morning and energy drinks by night, that we made it through two days of non-stop fun. 
By Sunday, we decided that we were pushing our luck, bid adieu to our son and his friends, and headed back to the Tampa Bay area, exhausted and already talking about next year.
Communication can be difficult at EDC, to say the least. One thing they didn’t have back at Woodstock were cell phones. Now, everybody’s got one and most people were holding their phones in the air, streaming the festivities live to their friends who weren’t fortunate enough to be there. 
Even typically reliable, simple text messages weren’t always a guarantee depending on your location. Nevertheless, this crowd is quite savvy at navigating the throngs of people and finding their friends. Time and time again, I would text my son a simple landmark, or cryptic description of our location, and amazingly he was able to find us. 
Totems are permitted at EDC, which are handmade signs or objects that are fixed upon the top of a pole, sometimes as high as ten feet tall. 
People are very creative with their totems, many of them illuminated with battery-powered lights and sporting a wide variety of objects, such as stuffed animals, or colorful flags. 
They’re also used to help groups of people find one another, and to convey messages to the crowd. Those messages are typically P.L.U.R friendly, about love and music, and on occasion can get a little racy. 
Politics are noticeably absent at EDC. Of the hundreds of totems being lovingly hoisted above the crowds, we saw lots of creative, colorful messages, but nothing political.
The festival grounds surround Camping World Stadium near downtown Orlando.
There are two massive main stages on opposite ends of the grounds, named Kinetic Field and Circuit Grounds and then there are several other smaller venues throughout.
The festival is open from 1 p.m. until 12 a.m. and across the three-day event, there is a performer simultaneously on every stage.
In between the various stages, there are carnival rides, other exhibits and open spaces for people to gather and eat, drink, or rest.
Every person who enters the grounds must show a valid ID and must be 18 or older to enter. Those who are 21 and older are given a color-coded wristband that differs by the day. Only those with wristbands may purchase or consume alcohol on site. 
Those in attendance also consent to a TSA-style search and go through a metal detector. There is a long list of prohibited items widely published prior to the event to discourage anything inappropriate or dangerous to others to enter.
True to P.L.U.R., the crowd is remarkably well-behaved. According to the Orlando Police Department, just three people were arrested during the festival and another four were ejected from the premises. 
Orlando Fire reported treating 461 people and transported 36 to the hospital. For perspective, that is from a crowd of 300,000 people, representing but a tiny fraction of the crowd. 
They also noted that medical calls were down 25-percent from the last EDC Orlando in 2019. Most of those calls were minor in nature — dehydration, overindulgence, and the like.
Besides appropriate police and fire presence, EDC also has its own quasi-security team which it brands as “Ground Control.” 
The team’s mission is really to assure the safety and enjoyment of everyone in attendance. The porta-potty sections are massive, and Ground Control regularly knocks on doors doing welfare checks. They’re not there to discourage anybody from having a good time, but rather to make sure that everyone does so safely. 
There is also a sheltered area named “Oasis” where people can go to escape the crowds and seek assistance, or just rest if necessary. Basic medical care is available on site at first aid stations, or from roaming medical practitioners, always free of charge and with no questions asked.
EDC Orlando was a great bonding experience for our family. The positive energy, the music in tandem with the phenomenal display of lights, visuals, and pyrotechnics, proved beyond a doubt that you are only as young as you feel. 
If they would only bother to shed the stereotypes, the world could learn a valuable lesson here: There’s only one Earth, and we’re all in this together.
Rather than dwell on our differences, why not instead focus on those things that we have in common? 
The rave crowd can easily be dismissed as a bunch of attention-deficit ne’er-do-wells, but they might be onto something. America is already great, we just have to have to look at it through the right lens to see it.
The pandemic seems to be waning bit by bit and although it’s not time to let our guard down completely, maybe it’s time to start living again!
As for my wife, she’ll be getting a 2022 festival ticket in her Christmas stocking this year. Ssshhh, don’t tell her, it’s a surprise!
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