Friday, April 29, 2011

Hooping.Org: So You Wanna Hoop at Music Festivals

Hooping outdoors while live music blasts and a blissed-out crowd meanders around you can be an awesome experience. When your hooping at a festival, everyone seems happy, you have space, and endless music to which to hoop -  it's an event seemingly custom made for hoopers. But, recently some folks have been having difficulty with festival hooping. Lara Eastburn breaks down some tips, tricks - and, importantly, basic hoop etiquette when embarking on festival season. 
Music Festival season is upon us, my friends. And my guess is that there will be more hoopers on-site than ever before (YES!). While it would seem to us that hooping and open-air music festivals should go together like sunshine and smiles, festival hooping can sometimes be stressful or even meet resistance. Whether you’re a festival-veteran or just learning the ropes, here are a few things to be prepared for when hitting the gate with your hoop.
Hooping at All Points West in 2009
Getting In: Hoopers have reported in recent years that festival officials have asked them to stop hooping or not to bring hoops into the festivals. This is a rather rare occurrence, so don’t fret. Just be prepared. In general, I like a hoop that coils down for convenience. But it will also attract less attention at the gate.
Hoop Haters: I know, the idea of folks who are not friendly to hoopers seems ludicrous, but they exist – like Jackie Briggs in Salt Lake City for example. Take a quick look at festival discussion boards and they often tell us otherwise as well. The majority of complaints though come from festival-goers who deeply resent the amount of SPACE that hoopers take up. Looking for your fellow hoopers? Look out in the field behind the crowd. No matter how much you’re feeling it, my hooping friend, in front of the stage is not the place for you and your 4-foot wide hoop.
Hoop Magnets, Hoop Hogs, and Hoop Thieves: Be prepared for a hundred people to ask to use your hoop. And be prepared for some of them to use your hoop without asking you. Read More 

2 comments:

Shannon said...

I can't believe people are anti hooping. But I guess those are the same people that comment on my FB saying I only talk about hooping.

And I forgot I had even opened the tab for the Jackie Briggs thing and was like, "why is there anti hooping on my computer?!"

HMPH!

Spooky said...

Yeah, I think that Lara brings up a great point that most of the time - it's other festival attendees. I think that as long as hoopers are respectful of the space, lots o' drama can be avoided. (and if they still aren't liking the hooping, they clearly haven't tried it yet!! :))