The Magical Reality of the Yonder Mountain String Bands Mulberry Mountain Harvest Festival

In magical reality magical elements blend with the real world. A magical reality narrative/history will observe these magical elements and present them in a straightforward manner. And so it is with Elephant Revival's origins (see 'The Magical Reality of Elephant Revival' www.libbyhome.blogspot.com, 'The Narrative of the Voyage of the Bloody, Snake Chariot'). And so it is with this narrative/history of the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Festival. For starters there is a supernatural strangeness to the weather. At the very beginning of the first festival in September, 2006, a monster tornado appeared in Thursday's twilight, and was headed for the main stage. At the last possible moment, before carnage was to ensue, as festival-ers prepared to die, the whirlwind miraculously leaped over the valley. In 2008 'The Wailers' struggled to perform in 60 - 70 mph gusts of winds, and pouring rain, in the leading edge of Tropical Storm Ike, which made a strange and fateful dog-leg to pass directly over the festival. The main performance tent, The Harvest Tent, collapsed a second after the last person was persuaded to leave. The sound equipment was destroyed in the wind and deluge. Trees fell. Some fell on vehicles. Few camping tents and no porta-potties were left standing. During this year's festival it began pouring Friday morning. The mud happened. Even though Elephant Revival has been part of the festival since 2007, this was the first time they played the main stage. They began to play at 2 p.m. It was very original- Woodstock-like. There was an amazingly large crowd dancing in the rain and mud. Daniel Rodriquez warned everyone about the "brown acid." And then in the midst of the pouring rain, as the band played the title song for their second album, 'Break in the Clouds there appeared patches of blue sky, then the rain ended and the sun appeared. But then, on Saturday, the last day of the festival, radar showing intense storm heading for the festival could be viewed on smart phones. Many packed up and fled. That was the choice of my party. We encountered a band of intense rain in North Fayetteville. We could barely see. And yet we kept on moving until we were through it. About 20 miles down the road we skirted a band of intense rain and lightening. Multiple lighting strikes illuminated the twilight sky simultaneously in a way that I had never quite seen before. It was the most vivid, terrifying natural fireworks. Meanwhile back at the festival, many packed, and yet, they stayed for 'Leftover Salmon' and 'Yonder Mountain'. 'Leftover Salmon' played an amazing set, under a very ominous sky. And then when Yonder Mountain was midway through there fourth song - all hell broke loose. There was intensely pouring rain, and thunder and lightening and falling trees. Again, it was a miracle. Nobody got killed. Nobody got seriously hurt. Most all plan on returning next October. This thing with the weather is just the beginning of the magical reality of the festival. There's much more. And this is not to say that the Yonder Mountain String Band Mulberry Mountain Harvest Festival is only for music lovers with a strong death-wish. Its about more life in life. Its about more music in life.