Earlier this month, The Rust team was privileged enough to glimpse behind the curtain into Arizona’s evolving grassroots culture. Flagstaff's own Junetember Jam was, simply put, magical. Previously referred to as Juniper Jam, and classically as June Jam, the festival celebrated its 3rd year with one of its most dynamic and provocative lineups of musicians and educators to date. Featuring classes on organic living, self-betterment workshops, and a variety of self-healing and kink-friendly groups, June Jam has become a local favorite and a must-visit festival for the committed patron/attendee.
Perusing Playa Ponderosa has an intimate feel and showcases the natural and magical landscape of Northeast Arizona. Tucked deep into the woods just outside Flagstaff, Junetember Jam offers spectacular 360 views atop Playa Ponderosa and is accompanied by high fidelity sound on Danley, Funktion-One sound, and KV sound systems. June Jam does an amazing job not only showcasing one of a kind musical acts, but highlights the evolving culture around speaker systems as well. Sets from artists like Navigatorz, skysia, Vinja, Arcturus and more had this year's crowd entranced by sound design flexed on some of the world’s finest dynamic sound systems to date. With four stages spread out across a quarter mile footprint, the push and pull of different styles was brilliantly balanced, allowing attendees to have those magical moments of exploring a late night festival between stages and having the convenience of being close to camp and amenities.
With a population size of about 1000, June Jam is able to offer RV friendly campsites as well as regular tent camping that is both comfortable and responsible. This year’s staff had safety as the most paramount task at hand. Event organizers implemented a simple color-coded wristband system to help attendees indicate their comfort level for giving hugs and touch; Green indicating “go for it, I'm all in for hugs”, yellow indicating “no hugs from strangers”, and red indicating that patrons would prefer to keep personal space. Our team also met with the Good Eggs, a harm reduction service offered to festivals as a way of passing along helpful information about festival culture and experiences, as well as extending a helping hand to those perhaps going through a less than desirable experience.
With their team of highly committed dreamers, creators, and staff; June Jam was able to cultivate an experience for attendees that was both responsible and worry free. The atmosphere surrounding their four stages was created to be inviting and explorative with a fire circle, chill out spaces, and elevated art hanging amongst the trees, all just a stone's throw from where music was playing. The oasis area was just within a tree line and was complete with “tiki”themed stage design and a hanging mirrored bull elevated 12 feet above the crowd. Seeing team members walking and grooving with patrons filled our teams hearts, while the delightful smells and taste of a makeshift tostada bar on Sunday morning filled our bellies. The wide range of classes and excited teachers made our team feel welcomed into some more niche realms of festival counterculture, showing off the synergy between recreation and learning in alternative spaces.
With a focus on safety and cultivating a culture that is an homage to the best aspects of festival experiences, June Jam offers an experience that is uniquely pleasant and well-regulated. Our team at every corner made a friend out of a stranger, fell into deep and human conversations, and made renewed connections to ourselves. Being touched by magic comes to us when we least expect it, and our team lived in the magic of Playa Ponderosa, found family out of friends, and will be eager to make the trip back home to June Jam next year.
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