Author: moskothedrip

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Festival Coverage

Shakori Hills Shook My Soul’s Core

My sister and a girl posing for a picture during Kaleta and Super Yamba's stage performance.

By: Maha Syed

A woman playing with beaded lights caught on raw film.
A picture of a woman at Shakori playing with her beaded lights during Kaleta and Super Yamba’s performance on stage. This picture is a visual representation of how I felt post-Shakori.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any path will take you there.”

-Native American Sioux Proverb

Trust me when I say that Shakori Hills is a sacred place. The magic and energy that I felt every moment I was there is not something that I can capture through words alone. Please understand that the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival is a really big deal. I was truly shook by my experiences to say the least.

First off, I wanted to say that I have never been camping, I have never been to a music festival and that I have never even been to Pittsboro. However, taking in all of these new experiences was exactly what I needed for my emotional and mental well being.

I stayed for 2 days out of the 4 days that the festival took place. My night started around 7 p.m. on Thursday evening when I arrived to the festival. Then, I met up with my friends at our camp site.

A cute picture of my friend Mary getting ready to go out for Shakori. She is brushing on her eyeshadow and holding a lightbulb and makeup palette in her other hand.
A cute picture of my friend Mary getting ready for a night out on the town.

After we all finished getting ready, we walked out of the tent and began to wander around the campgrounds. There was so much to take in. I can recall the sky, which was flooded with bright dancing stars. The sounds of laughter were almost as loud as the music. Everyone felt so comfortable dancing and expressing themselves. The music on stage was incredible and soulful. There were bursts of joy and peace streaming out of my body. I felt like my entire body was on vibrate.

Now I am going to share a series of images I captured on my first night.

A gorgeous shot of the tall trees during the full moon from Shakori Hills.
Decorated pumkins outside of our camp site.
Some pumpkins that my friends decorated and placed outside of our camp site.
A man stepping out of his very beautifully decorated tent.
This man had a beautifully decorated unicorn RV in the spirit of Shakori.
A woman holding an engraved wand made entirely of wood.
This woman was holding a wooden wand that was engraved by a witch at Shakori.
Kaleta and Super Yamba Band jamming on stage.
Kaleta and Super Yamba Band jamming out on stage.
My sister and a girl posing for a picture during Kaleta and Super Yamba's stage performance.
Beautiful people that are vibing to music.

On the second day that I attended Shakori, I got to see the pace of the festival change.

I remember waking up to the sounds of nature and community stirring in the morning. The bright rays of sunshine woke me up before my alarm went off. It was a happy morning. I legitimately felt like Snow White.

Shakori during the day had more of a “family feel”. It was very wholesome to say the least.

The weather was gorgeous and the sky was clear.

A picture of a decorated golf cart and one of four performance stages.
A long shot that captures the “Shakoriness” of Shakori.
beautiful couple at shakori looking lovingly into one another's eyes.
A beautiful couple looking lovingly into one another’s eyes.
Mad element is pictured here. They are a vendor at Shakori that sells jewelry and crystals.
Mad Element is one of the vendors at the festival. They sell very cute jewelry and crystals.
SLC Dingles and Things is a windchime vendor at the festival.
A woman at the festival who runs and owns SLC Dingles and Things.

This festival changed my life. After digesting all of my experiences I realized that Shakori is the place to be. For me, Shakori is a place to escape the hustle and bustle of every day life and a safe space to explore my weird side. I had so much fun meeting new people, meeting farm animals, hugging trees and dancing with my friends. There was never a dull moment where I felt like my life was wasting away. I don’t even remember looking at my phone the entire time I was here. This is one of the best events I have ever attended in my life.