Rules & Guidelines

  • Day Pass Holders must come to the Box Office and show their confirmation receipts.
  • Day Pass Holders may not enter with food, drinks or coolers (Water is permissible).
  • Zen Awakening Festival occurs rain or shine.
  • All tickets are non-refundable. This means that there will be no refunds under ANY circumstances whatsoever.
  • All attendees will be issued a non-duplicable wristband, which must be worn visibly on the wrist at all times. If you “lose” your wristband- you will be required to purchase another at the gate. There will be Peace Patrol checking wristbands throughout the festival.
  • Zen Awakening Festival is not held responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged belongings during the course of the event.
  • Please camp at designated locations and respect the non-smoking Camping areas.
  • Camp and walk as lightly as possible upon the land.
  • Avoid haste- Minimize waste- Don’t leave a trace. (*see detailed explanation below)
  • No glass bottles.  Please decant all your beverages into cups.
  • The use of illegal drugs is prohibited.  We encourage you to participate in the festival in a lawful and healthy manner.  This is a family-friendly community-building experience.
  • The legal drinking age in Florida is 21.  We have ZERO TOLERANCE for underage consumption. Public intoxication will also be cause for expulsion from the festival without a refund.
  • Only Registered Service Animal permitted on festival grounds.
  • Please use recycling containers and compost bins.
  • Independent sound systems are not permitted.
  • No unauthorized vending is permitted.
  • No fireworks, firearms, or weapons of any kind permitted on the festival grounds.
  • No open ground fires allowed, period.  
  • Please gift one hour of your time over the weekend to help meet any needs that you see in the community.
  • Don’t just come out for the entertainment- BE the entertainment! This is YOUR festival!
  • Please bring sacred object or gifts from nature to contribute to our community altars.
  • The Central Fire and Drum Circle is a cigarette/drug/alcohol-free zone.  This space is set apart for community singing, dancing, story-telling and Drum Circles.
  • Doors open at 4:44 pm and festival begins at 7:00 pm on Thursday, November 17th.  Attendees must leave premises by Monday, November 21st, at 12 Noon.
  • Any “Ground-Scores” of tents, equipment or personal property are considered theft.  Please do not take anything that is not yours and report any lost items to Zen Awakening Festival Staff.
  • Please be respectful, peaceful, helpful and courteous to each other.

We have worked very hard to bring to our community an event that is sacred, authentic, affordable, sustainable, open-source, decentralized, inclusive and non-proprietary.

 

LEAVE NO TRACE

Leave No Trace (LNT) is the practice of “pack it in – pack it out” that requires a complete sensitivity to the earth.

It is a technique based on personal responsibility of one’s actions relating to and resulting in generating refuse and impacting the land. It is a conscious approach to realizing the impact man has on our planet and adjusting his/her actions accordingly. If you are not aware of the details of this concept, PLEASE take the time to educate yourself and respect our earth.

Principles.

  • Understanding what is “refuse”
  • Taking responsibility for your own trash
  • Taking responsibility for other’s trash
  • Leave the land as you found it – low impact and no removal
  • Enforcing and spreading LNT awareness

 

Understanding what is refuse.

The concept of Leave No Trace means just that; leave the land in such a way so that no impact is identifiable. This means, not only minimizing the alterations of land during one’s use, but leaving absolutely NO refuse whatsoever. Refuse then should be understood as ANY material, not naturally occurring, discarded by man. This includes (some items not always perceived as trash):

  • Gum
  • Gum wrappers
  • Cigarette butts
  • String
  • Cloth
  • Fruit peels
  • Toilet paper
  • Microtrash (small loose items like confetti, feathers, staples, nails, etc.)
  • ANYTHING man-made

Timeline of Biodegradation (examples):

  • Banana peel = 2-10 days
  • Cotton rags = 1-5 months
  • Paper = 2-5 months
  • Rope = 3-14 months
  • Orange peel = 6 months!
  • Cigarette filters = 1-12 years!!!

 

Taking responsibility for your own trash.

Taking responsibility means making sure ALL unnatural items leave with you. This means carefully collecting all of your refuse into proper disposal/recycling bags and visually combing the land of any smaller items that may potentially be overlooked and left behind. Furthermore, one should take steps to reduce the amount of refuse generated prior to visiting nature by eliminating extra, unnecessary packaging, and combining items when possible.

 

Taking responsibility for other’s trash.

This practice is crucial in the Leave No Trace ethic. We must get past the idea that someone else’s trash is their responsibility only. In a place where communities gather, the responsibility should be seen as that of the collective. One must realize that cleaning up someone else’s trash along with their own DOES make a difference. Not only does it eliminate the trash of irresponsible individuals, but it promotes the collective awareness among and beyond those working to make a difference.

 

Leave the land as you found it – low impact and no removal.

This is the idea of minimizing the impact on the land you are using. Take care when using a vehicle on sensitive land and be aware of the heightened sensitivity when the earth is soft and muddy. When building campfires, make sure to properly contain the fire itself and return the site to the state it was in when you arrived (returning rocks and wood when using a primitive campsite). If the land contains fragile vegetation, take extra care to avoid disturbing the ecosystem and use pre-existing trails–ALWAYS–when available.

 

Enforcing and spreading LNT awareness.

Aside from actually following the LNT ethic, this is the most important aspect of practice. Educating others about these concepts spreads the awareness of what is refuse, and reinforces the idea that everyone working together does make a difference. Along with educating others, is it extremely important to enforce these practices to those who fail to take responsibility. When one is confronted on their actions, or lack of, they will be forced to face the reality of their carelessness. They will then, hopefully, realize that the accepted ‘norm’ is, in fact, to be responsible and ecologically aware.

One person can make a difference and many can change the world!