Motion Notion '09

July 2009

James Katalyst is the brainchild behind Motion Notion. Birthed in 2000, the annual event is currently held in Drayton Valley. 3.5 hrs Northwest of Calgary and an hour Southwest of Edmonton, the party sees thousands of happy people every year

http://www.motionnotion.com/

This was my first visit to this event, and the virgin voyage for my new 1973 motorhome christened "TED". Why TED? Well, when I got the plates, the letters say TED, so it was easy. The weird thing, though, is that my car's plates say MAY. TED and MAY. Yep.

So, I drive the 3.5 hours (which really seemed a lot longer) in this huge (or it seemed so at the time) vehicle. 21', sleeps six, bathroom, kitchen. Total festival luxury. I highly recommend travelling in RV comfort. I've done the tent thing before, and I'll never go back. Spoiled now. BUT - it's not cheap. These things suck gas though, so, if you are looking for economy - skip it and make do with the tent.

If you buy your tickets early, they'll cost you just over $100CDN - they go up every month or so until at-the-gate prices of $200CDN. The ticket fee gets you access to all the music Thursday - Sunday, plus the camping. You have to buy, or bring, your own food and beverages, there are no showers. If you want hot food, bring a way to cook it, unless you are going to buy from the vendors. A general rule of thumb at all these events is DON'T bring glass anything. Enough people are running around without shoes and/or rolling around in the grass that the risk of injury from broken glass is very high. So, just don't bring it - for your good, and the good of your fellow partiers :)

Like most festivals, there are no official camping sites per se... you pick a spot in a big open cowfield to call home for the time you are on site. Some spots are better than others, and to get the 'good' realestate, you either need to get there early or have someone somehow reserve your spot.

This year, I arrived at the event on the Friday night. Luckily, we knew some people who had a nice spot picked out, relatively close to the main road down to where the vendors and mainstages were. At this event, there were three stages - two relatively close together and one a bit of a trek up and down a hill towards the river.

There was a great line-up of vendors, especially food ones. You could find anything you wanted to eat - from yummy vegetarian curries to delicious flatbread pizzas. Anything to satisfy the biggest pre and post-party appetites. Among the 'goods' vendors, there were GlowFur (always a huge hit) and funky hats, necklaces, dijeridoos, drums and pretty much whatever else you could want to find at a festival. I always have thoughts of that scene in The Grinch who Stole Christmas when all the Whos in Whoville are playing with their floob-floobers and ta-tinkers. And shake their jing-tinglers. Yep. Kinda like that.

Once you get down to the festival's main area, it starts to feel a lot more festive. Up in the cowfield, it feels a lot like a cowfield. Wiith a bunch of people sitting around. In a cowfield. Next year, 2010, Katalyst is starting a new initiative. He's encouraging campers, in the cowfield, to set up their own stages (kind of like Burning Man) and he's offering quite a substantial prize to the best set-up. Interesting concept, but, not sure how much sleep people are going to get. I don't think I'd be that happy camped next to a bunch of punks cranking dubstep 24/7. Sorry, maybe I'm just old, but THAT would get old pretty quick. I'm not paying money to hear amateurs, I'm paying to see big name DJ's - and if I can't get enough sleep to enjoy them, I'm not a happy camper. Literally. That said, I think it is a really cool idea, and I hope it is successful! Plus there are some amateurs I know out there who can shake the dust of the pro's. Should be some good beats regardless of the sleep.


It was a bit of a weather rollercoaster in 09 - with several downpours and thunder and lightening storms to liven things up. The huge skyline was gorgeous and more than one rainbow brightened up the sky. The ensuing mud was quite a fun addition - and watching people manouver through the mess, while equally messed up, was really entertaining.

The music overall was wide-ranging. There was something for everyone, but you might have to walk a bit to find what you liked. A nice chill-out type area was set up near a giant bonfire, so there was a place to relax and people watch. The smaller stage also had a bonfire to warm up around - a welcome addition at 3:30 AM.

Highlights included Small Town DJ's who ROCKED it. Everyone went OFF - it was literally pandemonium - half naked, costumed, baked and fried, they were all out shaking up their milkshakes on the muddy dancefloor. At this point with all the muck, it was pretty hard to find good dancing footing, so the moves were limited to general bouncing and smiling and arm pumping. A few people tried to bust out, but they usually ended up in a muddy heap. Thankfully there was some good speaker dancing to be had, and I found my way up to a box on the side of the stage and conducted some good booty-shaking there. I think a few leg lifts and twirls even happened. Fun times.

Of note: The naked slip-and-slide. Imagine a huge piece of vinyl rolled downhill, a baby pool full of lube, and a bunch of naked people making a run for it. More juicy flesh flying past than you can shake a stick at. Afterwards there is a party parade down to the river, where a mudfight ensues, followed by dancing at the river stage and a nice refreshing rinse off. Be sure to mark it on the weekend calendar. Shouldn't be missed.

AND Sanctuary: Every year a group of volunteers gets together to create a safe-space where partiers can go to relax and unwind. If things get a little too much, this is the place to really decompress in a caring, supervised environment. Kudos to the many people who make this special place an integral part of the festival experience.