The elephants go marching at Electric Forest.

Yesterday after yoga in the sweltering Michigan humidity, my friends and I decided to wander the campgrounds to see what was going on.

During the day, the campgrounds are filled with amateur vendors selling jewelry, cocktails and more. One girl wandered past me with these awesome elephant earrings, and I decided I had to have them:

I met another girl selling pins and stickers, and she traded me one of my elephantjournal.com stickers for an elephant sticker she had:

There was also a group of campers who had set up a hugging booth for free hugs (and $5 whiskey gingers). I asked for the “Rothbury Rainbow” hug, and a beautiful red head decked out in black leather supplied me with one delicious squeeze.

Then, we headed into the forest to see Kyle Hollingsworth’s Brewru Experience. Hollingsworth, member of String Cheese and beer coinsurer, talked about the different microbrews at the festival and answered questions from the crowd.

The first set of music I saw was at the stage in the trees of the forest. The Infamous Stringdusters definitely had the crowd excited and the setting sun provided a beautiful (although dusty) scene to dance in.

The String Cheese Incident’s first set started right after the Stringdusters, so we left a little early to get a good spot. String Cheese definitely did not disappoint.

I absolutely love dancing in Cheese crowds. Everyone around you is so happy to be exactly where he/she is. It’s a really good feeling to look around and just see happiness.

If you forgot to smile, this girl was there to remind you:

The strong Colorado presence in the crowd couldn’t go unnoticed, especially with the giant flag waving around:

A fellow elephant also made an appearance!

After the first Cheese set, a couple of my friends and I decided to venture off to check out Griz. Griz is a Michigan DJ who sounds a bit like Pretty Lights. The festival definitely was not prepared for what a big crowd he would bring. He was set to play at an indoor stage, and there were at least 300 people who had to stand outside to listen while they blasted the music through the P.A. system. Despite the space issues, the 21-year-old delivered a raging set and had people dancing harder than I’ve seen the whole festival.

After Griz, we caught the last half hour of the second String Cheese set (so good!) and headed off to another stage to see Sound Tribe Sector N9ne.

Sound Tribe is probably my favorite band, so I hold them to pretty high standards. Last night, their set was just okay for me. They did cover The Grateful Dead’s Shakedown Street, but that was really the only highlight. They’re playing again tonight though, so maybe they were just saving up all the good stuff.

After Sound Tribe, we went back to camp for some late night snacks and a few hours of rest before the morning sun makes it too hot to sleep.

I’m so excited for another day of music; the energy is starting to build, and I have a feeling tonight’s going to be a big party night.

Check back to elephant tomorrow for more adventures from Electric Forest, and follow my updates on Twitter at @cassES89!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cassandra Smith is an editorial intern at elephant journal.  She is a fifth generation Colorado native who believes dance has the potential to liberate human consciousness from its cultural prison.  Cassandra formerly trained at Boston Ballet and is currently a senior at University of Colorado Boulder studying journalism, sociology and philosophy. Read her blog at cassandralanesmith.com.

Like elephant journal on Facebook.