Kaya Fest 2019
You couldn’t have asked for a better day to be out enjoying Bayfront Park last Saturday, and Kaya Fest took full advantage. It just so happened to be my first time out to the venue (how I could be born and raised here and manage that, don’t ask me) and I couldn’t imagine a better introduction. Intimate, but clearly capable of doing justice for acts with bigger productions behind them. The “just right” portion of porridge from Goldilocks in the form of a music venue.
The first thing that struck me about Kaya was the emphasis placed on education when it came to cannabis culture. Whether this was a proactive way to quiet down conservatives, a way to capitalize on the new political shift regarding the plant, or a combination of the two it definitely seemed appropriate. They even went so far as to host an “Education Before Recreation” Symposium at HistoryMiami Museum the day before the actual festival. The educational lectures covered topics including Medical Marijuana, Industrial Hemp, and the myriad of legal implications involved with the budding industry.
At the actual festival on Saturday there was more knowledge to be gained, with a fair amount of vendors and tents geared towards spreadin’ the good word. Getting there early, you could take time to browse those and the many handcrafted and appropriately “earthy” types of products on display.
I’ve been to my fair share of festivals, everything from bigger ones like Bonnaroo and Hangout Music Fest to the smaller ones like Virginia Key Grassroots or Swampfest. It’s a hard thing to find the right balance of atmosphere, production quality, and acts so it’s always nice to find a new one that gets it right.
With big names including Busta Rhymes and Pitbull, not to mention of course a whole bunch of the Marleys, it was nice to see some acts I’ve never heard of, but enjoyed nonetheless. My favorite types of festivals are the ones where the bookers do such a good job that you can stumble onto any act throughout the day and get into whoever’s on stage.
Definitely look forward to checking this one out when it returns in 2020, and you should too if you missed out this time around.
More info:
https://kayafestivals.com/
