Mysteryland Brought Beauty, History and Unforgettable Moments to Thousands [Event Review]

In 1969, Woodstock brought 400,000 people together for four days of music, arts and culture. In 2016, and for the third year in a row, Mysteryland has given thousands the same experience on the same grounds of the unforgettable event. Driving into the grounds you can expect to be met with 600 acres of rolling green grass that stretches seemingly forever, a large sprawling center of the arts that holds a museum dedicated to Woodstock and an immediate feeling of peaceful, energy and overall excitement.

The Holy Grounds

Luckily, not far from the on-site camp parking, the campgrounds, known as The Holy Grounds, split into areas of general camping, easy tent, premiere, artist, crew, friendship and more. The neighborhood-like set up was surrounded by a plaza filled with everything you needed from a general store, to food, to a silent disco and beyond. When walking around the area, totems flew high and if you were on the right hill you could see the festival grounds from afar which created a breathtaking view. Some of our favorite eats were the burgers, breakfast tacos and endless coffee options available in the plaza. We even got a chance to check out the silent disco which drew a crowd until its cut off time of 4:30 am.

Festival Grounds

Climb the grassy hills of Bethel Woods and you reach the sacred land that holds the true magic of the three-day weekend. The iconic flags that Mysteryland places at the entrance swayed and as you entered you were met with stages, art installations, food vendors, fashion vendors, and more. On the way to main stage sat a makeshift dance off stage where attendees could challenge each other with anything from shuffling to break dancing. Decorations lined the walks and trees as well as plenty of food and drinks leading you to one of the best aspects: the stages and the artists that grace them.

Walking in attendees came face to face with the Boat Stage, a design fit for a Viking. This stage housed plenty of bass for those looking for some head banging action. Artists such as Black Tiger Sex Machine, who debuted their new helmets, Ganja White Night, Gramatik, Illenium and more took the stage bringing large crowds and memorable sets.

Keep going further into the depths of the grounds and you came to the Main Stage, a large gorgeous production with designs of birds and butterflies bringing color, lasers, lights and booming sound. Artists such as Rezz, who gave us some hardcore techno, The Chainsmokers, and Skrillex, whose set truly showed the capabilities of the main stage with his jaw dropping lasers.

Continue down the path and we reached the BangOn!NYC stage. Their return proved to be one of a kind with an amazing setup and programing. Surprise sets were played by Griz and Mija, and local artists such as N2N, Akki, Eau Claire, The Golden Pony and more graced the stage. Aerialists swung from the top of the pyramid, dancers grooved along with the crowd in unique costumes and the music that flowed from the speakers was nothing far from incredible. This proved to be one of our favorite stages to visit and throughout the weekend drew more and more people.

Last but not least on either side of the BangOn!NYC stage you could find the Spiegeltent and Big Top tent. Though the first night the Spiegeltent was used as a comedy club takeover featuring comedians such as Kyle Mooney, Seaton Smith and more it later transformed into a techno and trance haven with artists such as John Digweed, Lee Burridge, Art Department and more. When you entered it was a complete 360 degrees of smooth vibes and glowing windows. A large disco ball hung over head and created something that was out of the world and completely different from the outside stages. Across you could find the large Big Top tent who housed amazing artists such as Amtrac, MK, London based duo Infinity Ink and many more. Their deep house vibes had the tent filled day after day and even in the daylight hours you felt completely absorbed and lost a sense of time surrounded by all the high energy people.

With three days of mostly gorgeous weather, minus the bit of clouds and cold, the beautiful people and grounds, Mysteryland brought New York an unforgettable weekend. Artists played tributes to Woodstock artists, the museum was open to the public, giving attendees the chance to learn about what took place on these sacred grounds so many years ago. We even ran into attendees that had returned to see what it was like today and they fully enjoyed it. The organization was well done and the festival was one of the cleanest we had experienced. While many traveled from far away to attend this special event Mysteryland created a home away from home and the positive marks, new friends and memories created will remain with us forever. Until next year Mysteryland.

Connect With Mysteryland:
https://www.facebook.com/MysterylandUSA/?fref=ts
http://www.mysteryland.us/en/
https://twitter.com/MysterylandUSA

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