Virtual Reality "Dreamwanderer" wanders to Desert Daze
Desert Daze, coming soon to the Joshua Tree Retreat Center/Institute of Mentalphysics, has far more than its enormous roster of live music to offer festival goers. There's the Mystic Bazaar, an "enclave of mystics, wanderers, teachers and bright souls," that set up camp in the heart of the festival, providing an immersive program of soundbaths, yoga (of course), shamanic ceremony, classes, and guided plant walks (stay away from the Jimson Weed/Datura!).
This year, there's even a rather innocuous Ford Econoline transit shuttle, like all those airport shuttles we're so fond of, that had been forgotten in the back lot of a used car dealership in Olean, New York. The mundane shuttle van has been transformed into The Dream Wanderer, a touring virtual reality gallery showcasing original virtual reality artworks by Buffalo, New York-based arts collective, Flatsitter.
Desert Dazers are in store for a "gorgeous and immersive" VR exploration of spiritualism, vivid dreaming, and the afterlife. The experience is titled "Lily Dale," and is based on a small faith-based utopian community in western New York of the same name. According to The Dream Wanderer folks, everyone that lives in Lily Dale believes we never die.
Lily Dale was founded in 1879 as a camp and meeting place for spiritualists and freethinkers. Residents claim to communicate with the dead. The "Guidelines for Spiritualism" are posted on the wall of the Assembly Hall in downtown Lily Dale. Guideline #4 notes: We Never Die.
The VR experience of THe Dream Wanderer incorporates interviews with Lily Dale mediums, motion capture from movement artist Ginger Wagg, and a deck of hand-drawn tarot cards by artist Bobby Griffiths.
For the past five months, The Dream Wanderer has visited more than 30 cities in three countries. The Dream Wanderer will be at Desert Daze and in the Joshua Tree area, October 10 - 23. Experience Lily Dale, and find out where it will wander next HERE.
