Recently, DIY festivals have begun to gain popularity. These are special events that do not have powerful media support and senior sponsors. "Karelian Sea" is an analogue of an open-air apartment building, although locals often call it a coven. Despite this, residents of neighboring villages are loyal to open-air celebrations.
What is a festival?
First of all, the Karelian Sea is a meeting of like-minded people. The choice of a forest site is not an accident - in this way only interested people come to the festival. At the same time, the action takes place in a picturesque place - surrounded by rocks, forests and lakes. Every year, teams from different parts of the country come to the performance, and guests from Finland and Sweden arrived at the fifth anniversary open-air.
The festival lasts up to three days. All this time, guests live in tent camps. All the time outside performances, it is occupied by open-air discos and lively communication. Many who regularly attend the rock festival are already familiar with each other, so the event is almost a meeting of old friends from different cities.
Features of this event
The first and most important feature of the festival is a responsible attitude to the environment. Only vegan cuisine is served at the bar, and on every fifth tree there is a large bag for garbage. Karelian Sea has become one of the favorite places for youth gathering due to the special approach to organization. The site is especially monitored for cleanliness, so open air does not cause complaints from the authorities.
In 2016, Moskovsky Komsomolets called this rock festival dubious, since it did not have a big name for any company. The festival works and organizes people who are not indifferent to punk music. Information about the organizers is really quite closed, only nicknames and general information are known, everything else can be found directly at the festival. The venue and ticket prices are announced online a few days before the event. On the one hand, this approach to organization seems dubious, and on the other, it fuels public interest. Only interested persons arrive in the Karelian forests .
How groups are recruited
Another distinguishing feature is the selection of groups that perform at the festival. Here you will not find big names and fabulous fees. Especially carefully, teams are selected by style. Here you can find bands playing hardcore, black punk, dibit, grindcore and neocrast. You can relax not only day and evening, but also at night, when the dance floor opens. At the jubilee festival, six DJs performed at once, playing specific music, understandable to the underground audience.
Despite the fact that eminent groups are already striving to get onto the Karelian Sea, the organizers give preference to groups that do not fit the definition of “mainstream”. This allows visitors to learn new names. In addition, thanks to this approach, an unusual audience gathers. Here you will not find young people who drink heavily who wave imperial flags or sing Tsoi with a guitar. The Karelian Sea festival is completely unconnected with politics; young people who enjoy their age visit it.
Where to get tickets
The event is closed, which means the need for compulsory purchase of tickets. The price changed every year. For the presence at the anniversary festival, it was necessary to give 700 rubles. It is necessary to transfer money to security at the entrance to the tent camp. The amount is announced shortly before the festival, at the same time information appears on social networks with a map and contacts of the organizers.
The collected funds are used to pay for the things necessary for holding a musical event: providing sound and light, transfer for groups and arranging the camp. Tickets for the festival are distributed on the spot, no tricks will help get through for free. At one of the five "Morovs", the principle of practicing was practiced - all those who arrived without money were sent to work in the kitchen, in a bar, or to help with technical matters. Later they decided to move away from this principle, as there were too many people who wanted to relax for free.
How is the event
Organizers arrive at the venue a week before the festival. At the same time, a team of security and kitchen workers is recruited. Such an event cannot take place without security, as strict selection of guests is not carried out. There are people who are alien to the principles of mutual assistance, and also often mass festivals attract lovers of easy money. Nevertheless, the festival is relatively quiet.
The action itself takes 2-3 days. Every day is clearly painted, but lining is possible due to being outdoors. For example, a storm can interrupt a performance, and in some cases the musical apparatus simply cannot withstand the glow on the stage. In addition to performances, there is the opportunity to eat a full vegan lunch or snack on junk food. For those who are used to relaxing with strong drinks, there is a bar, and for those sober, a tea room is organized.
Incidents
Unfortunately, mass events are not without incident. The most high-profile case occurred in 2016, when one of the visitors - a girl of 15 years old - was found dead in the Ilaksa River. The last time she was seen on the second day of performances, later she disappeared. At the same time, all the personal belongings and documents of the girl remained in the tent. Parents began the search too late - a week after the Karelian Sea was completed. Incidents at such mass gatherings are not uncommon, but in most cases, the guard manages to identify thieves or scammers. Also, periodically, festivals are visited by representatives of law enforcement agencies.
Another incident associated with the event, can be called the death of one of the organizers - Dmitry. In early January, he died in a fire. Residents of Petrozavodsk and the Leningrad region knew the young man as a talented organizer and creative person. Everyone was invited to a funeral on January 18, 2017.
Visitors reviews
In general, visitors and group members respond positively to the event. The rock festival in Karelia is one of the few places where you can relax in a variety of ways. For example, a volleyball court is broken on it, the game on which does not subside until late in the evening. The selection of groups leaves no one indifferent; during performances in front of the stage, an atmosphere of rave and freedom reigns.
Only two points can be called a drawback: very often visitors lose things (in most cases they are easily found with friends and acquaintances, as well as through a group in one of the popular social networks), as well as frequent delays with the time the performances begin. In 2015, on the first day of the festival, the beginning was postponed for 5 hours, but this did not reduce the degree of fun among the audience.