When Meaghan Mullaly—better known as Lozen—was trying to find her way to the Summer Solstice party last year, she made a very Pemberton navigational error.
"It's always interesting trying to find these venues," the local rapper and DJ says. "I was driving in the middle of the night through the bush looking for this turnoff. (I was told) to turn at the gym."
Turns out, she was supposed to "turn at the Jims'"—the last name of the family that owned the property hosting the event. "The land itself is pretty special," she adds. "It's very family (oriented). Every time I'm there I meet a daughter or someone who is part of the extended family."
The event—called FDK:: Summer Solstice 4.0—is set to return for its sixth instalment in Pemberton from Friday, June 22, until Sunday, June 24. While it sounds a lot like a festival, with a weekend lineup of DJs and music acts, as well as other performers and yoga, it doesn't identify itself that way.
"(T)his is NOT A FESTIVAL; this is GLAMPING (glamour camping) at its best!" the description reads. "Bring everything you need to spend the weekend in a tent with your best friends."
Lozen, who's DJing as well as performing during the hip hop showcase on Saturday, says there are a few other differences that set the weekend apart from a festival.
"It's a lot more of 'we're all jamming together' more than it being 'we're getting this guy and this guy playing,'" she says. "It's a grassroots vibe ... The capacity is 250 (people). It's less than a club."
Adding to the mystique, the event doesn't release its exact location until "the time is right."
"The vibe reminds me of Shambala," Lozen says. "What happens with a lot of (other) festivals is that it gets bigger, and bigger is not always necessarily better. You lose control of it."
The long lineup includes acts like Decibel Points, Gold Bullets, Mr. Twitch and Payne, to name just a few acts. "There's a lot of people I don't know on there, which I'm excited about," Lozen says.
For her part, Lozen has been hard at work mapping out her DJ set for the event. "I want to not get held down to any genre in particular," she says. "I'm trying to find stuff that makes me happy, that I get the goosebumps and smilely (from). I find the stuff that makes me smile."
Meanwhile, her advice to first-time solstice glampers: "Definitely be prepared. It's better to make sure you're taken care of than be the person who's not ... I look at festivals as a marathon, not a sprint. So many people burn out because they get gung ho and then they're not good for the next two days. And who cares if people don't think you're cool; go have a sandwich and a nap."
Tickets are $55 to $65 (depending on when the next tiers sell out). Get them at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3367397.
