Festival of the Chariots

People watching at its best.

Surreal.
That’s probably the most fitting description for it, at the moment.
It’s a giant festival promoting love and peace with these massive wagons covered in vibrant fabrics being the center of attention. People waved fans in front of a trio of statues perched on one chariot while the tumult below unceasingly chanted, «Hare krsna!» At the same time, bored-​looking teenagers swung back and forth on the loud ziplines, flying right above the festival attendees’ heads.
The day before the event, that rampage happened where the man drove up onto the boardwalk, running over a dozen people and murdering that lady visiting from Italy for her honeymoon. The tragedy didn’t deter people from coming out in droves for the festival, picking up a free vegetarian meal and putting on garlands of orange flowers. Harry Perry rolled by, smiling and playing his guitar.
At the festival no one spoke of the incident. Most just dreamily shifted back and forth to the drums as the scents of incense and the occasional intoxicant wafted in the breeze.
It was fitting since the festival honors an incarnation of Vishnu, the preserver of the universe. It was a time when the area could have been sparse or reduced to mourning and yet life rolled on.
It’s a really positive space and further contributes to the boardwalk being an escape from the mundane.

The Festival of the Chariots is such an amazing experience. It is beyond fantastic; I recently attended and was able to be part of the parade. There were beautiful voices chanting and leading the way through the Ocean Front Walk from Santa Monica to Venice.
The colors of the floats were so vibrant, participants shared flowers with everyone and they were so friendly in doing so. I honestly felt that these people have the greatest amount of love and are so nice as to share it with everyone. By the end of the festival, I was so ready to convert.
They had free food that could feed 20,000 people, yes! 20K people. The food was really good too. There were also other tents that had different vegetarian dishes for sale and yoga classes + other various workshops.
They also set up a stage in which they performed beautiful dances that had the crowd going.
Overall, such a beautiful experience. So much love in the air.
Hare Krishna

chanting and dancing
chariots on golden wheels
love is in the air

I had a dream yesterday.
I dreamed that I was part of a huge festival that was a celebration of life. There was a parade, led by three tall chariots that were decorated with thousands of flowers, and colorful balloons.
At least 40,000 people walked with the chariots, right through the center of the town I was in!
The big chariots were pulled by the crowd, with ropes.
Only in a dream could this happen, I’m sure… sta​t​ic4​.px​.yelp​.com/​b​p​h​o​t​o​/​o​e​K​O​T​E​K​n​N​-​X​l​C​L​-​W​P​X​v​7xg/l
In my dream, the chariots had enormous golden wheels
and the crowd danced and sang and chanted as they walked in the procession.
Everyone was so happy and kind, and love was in the air. You could almost breathe it in, love and joy were everywhere.
The parade of chariots ended up at a beautiful beach where there was a delicious free feast for 20,000 people!
No animals were harmed to produce the food, it was all vegetarian.
I dreamed there was music and dancing, in the warm sand under the blue sky and palm trees.
Beautiful people were dressed in colorful costumes.
Everyone came to the celebration in peace, there was not a hint of conflict.
Everyone and anyone was welcome, no one was turned away.
The party lasted all day, and at the very end I was showered with golden flowers as people threw them from the giant chariots.
In my dream, I wished that the dream could be true.
And then I woke up, and in my hand was a golden flower.
I also had a terrible sunburn… ;)
Holy crap what a party.