It may seem easy to lose a group of friends in a crowd of thousands, like at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Luckily, festivalgoers bear a creative solution — totem poles.
Typically standing at 7 feet tall, totems are a staple in festival culture. Bonnaroovians create these pieces to represent community — and to keep that community from getting lost in the crowd.
From towering poles glowing with LED lights to simple hand-held sticks featuring a stuffed animal glued to the top, the possibilities for creating these art pieces seem endless.
The Academy, a place where festivalgoers can learn everything from writing a letter to congress to the art of meditation at Bonnaroo, hosted a workshop to help attendees learn the craft of totem-making.
The Totem Foundation, a non-profit that aims to support young people hoping to attend live music festivals through mentorships, scholarships and international exchanges, sponsored the event.
“[The organization’s founders] love Bonnaroo so much and they wanted to do something that gives back to the Bonnaroo community,” said Skyler Courreges, an original member of the foundation.
The nonprofit transformed the tent inside Bonnaroo’s nonprofit village into a miniature totem workshop. At the event, festivalgoers learned about the goals of the organization while crafting pint-sized totems out of popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners and hot glue.
Totems represent community and bringing people together, Courreges said.
“You find your friends with a totem, and I think that is the ethos of what we’re doing,” Courreges said. “Like, we’re finding the next generation of friends.”
The event continued outside the village, where a crowd of people bedecked in tie-dye and body glitter crafted life-sized totems. The attendees, many of them new to Bonnaroo, created their first totem with friends.
Supplies dwindled quickly at the event, causing eager crowds to get creative with the crafting.
“Everyone took all the poles, which is the traditional totem way,” said Madison Kilway, a crafter and first-time Bonnaroovian.
Kilway and her friend devised a strategy to stack paper lanterns on top of one another and decorate the outside in dried palm leaves, creating a unique keepsake to remember the weekend.
Hannah Pesetsky, another first-timer, covered her totem in rainbow paper and baby dolls, but saved space on top to attach a Squishmallow that she left at her camp in Outeroo.
Pesetsky’s totem is a work in progress; she didn’t want to finish the craft in one sitting. She came with her boyfriend and two friends who tend to go on “side quests.” She hopes the totem prevents her from losing them in the crowd.
“We’re gonna deck it out all weekend,” Petesky said.
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