From 2016 to 2018 I was the Main Stage Art Director for the Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival. I was in charge of coordinating volunteers to set up the graffiti panels and the dance floor shade structure. LEMF was the music festival that started it all for me. After attending my first one in 2015, I was so inspired that I created my White Wookie Wolf outfit and started looking into attending others festivals. At my second LEMF, one of the producers walked up to me in my self made festival gear while playing Frisbee with friends and said "you are the reason we put on festivals like this" I wasn't 100% sure what he meant, but I think I do now: the inspirational snowball effect. It was at festivals that I was inspired to start creatively expressing and being my authentic self by others creatively expressing and being their authentic selves. It was hear I found the courage to start dancing again. It was here I found healing from trauma while dancing wildly with others. Dancing to songs from childhood were remixed into upbeat fun dance music. The most memorable moment at a festival was being taken by surprise by Last Resort by Papa Roach being remixed by Father Funk at Shambhala. This song reminded me of the first time I attempted suicide at the age of 12 as I played that song during the act. When this song came on, I was already dancing wildly and in a great head space, hearing the song caused the memory to resurface but being surrounded by awesome people in a great environment cause a reorganizing of the memory into one that no longer causes me pain. I stopped volunteering for the LEMF due to personal reasons.
