The Big Idea(s)

=What's The Big Idea Here?= Teknival is a collaborative Do It Yourself (DIY) music festival. Being fairly freeform in it's organizational structure, there are often discussions, sometimes full blown arguments over what it is to be a participant at teknival, and what teknival itself "stands for". This page explores, collaboratively, that definition. Think you can say it better? GIVE'ER!!!

=What Teknival Isn't= Some common misconceptions about Teknival

Misconception #1: There is a teknival staff.
Truth: There is just partiers, some more responsible than others, some willing to invest more time than others. Staff get paid, and hence are more willing to put up with bullshit from others (ie customer service), because they're paid to do it. Throwing a teknival stage is not my job, or anyone else's job. Nor is picking up mounds of garbage left behind by people who don't pick up after themselves. I can't stress this enough

Misconception #2: It is immature and snobbish to express concern about the fact that many people at teknival act irresponsibly.
Truth: These irresponsible actions cause more stress, risk and work to those who are already investing so much. Although presented in an alarmist and extreme tone, most people who have been involved in teknivals past agree that there is much merit to these concerns. WEMF is a mess because people don't care about their mental or physical environment, or their peers. if the same attitude becomes the norm at teknival then it will become a mess too. There is much heated debate on messageboards all over the place, and although much of it has a negative tone, it exists for a positive reason. If you come upon such debate/ranting, it is there for a reason: if nothing else, because people strongly believe in certain ways of living/thinking/partying, and they don't want to see it hijacked and co-opted.

Misconception #3: Teknival is an event that is supposed to be enjoyable for everyone.
Truth: This event will not be enjoyable for everyone. If you expect all the comforts of a paid festival complete with paid parking attendants, paid medics and paid cleanup staff, you will be quite disappointed. Expect to have to drive for 2 hours to resupply your camp with the stuff you forgot to bring. Expect someone to yell at you if you throw your waterbottle into the woods or otherwise act irresponsibly (not even an "organizer", just random people who give a shit). If you read what these "snobbish" people are saying, you'll see there are alot of good points made both by people who have been involved in teknival before and those who came as a spectator but now feel attached to the ideas behind the festival. The enjoyment you get out of Teknival depends on how much you put into your fest.

Misconception #4: Those who post long-winded rants on messageboards about teknival are haters.
Truth:Everyone has an issue, a perspective, a bone to pick. Read it or don't read it. Divell is speaking personally now: like many people who have ranted on the subject, my intentions are to be constructive, help make the festival better, and to somehow keep it from sliding down the same dark path that other festivals have followed. Years from now, if/when ontario's teknival can no longer happen due to silliness and irresponsibility, i want to know that personally i tried to avoid it, that i tried my best to help spread the knowlege around, and that everyone i came in contact with (online or in person) at least gained some new understanding for what it means to be free and autonomous. with freedom comes great responsibility... i hope everyone is up for it!

Misconception #5: Teknival as a group of people embodies or subscribes to a certain ideology or set of ideologies.
Truth: the diverse group of people who participate in the fest come form a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, economic classes, religious beliefs (or lack thereof) and political methodologies. Although commonalities have been and are to be observed, the differences far outweigh them and, in this writer' opinion, are much more interesting and satisfying to study and take part in.

This doesn't mean we should turn away from the history of the movement, wipe away the political struggles of our pioneers in the stroke of a key, in fact, we should learn about and celebrate this shared history. What this means is that we should never project that past onto the people in the present. Keep your eyes open, the truth is always stranger than fiction.

The voice of the one does not speak for the voices of the many. The ideas of the one do not represent the minds of the many. We are all lost in illusion together, who is to say that their delusion is more complete than your delusion?

With that in mind, "we" in this post becomes a formal "I", refering to the intentions I myself carry, and the intentions that are observed by me to be carried by the community. We love recursion

Misconception #6: Teknival is a society of no consequences for one's actions
Truth: Don't think that you can get away with being a shmuck just because billy copper isn't there to club your nub. If you fuck up, and hurt someone else in the process, there's no guarantee that anyone will have your back. Nobody respects immaturity. Take care of yourself and your peers will support you. Ask and you may find the help you seek, but you're much more likely to gain allies by bringing an interesting challenge to the community than by bringing a problem that's already been solved 1000 times before. < This doesn't mean we don't want to help you succeed, quite the opposite, your strength (as a participant) is our strength (as a community). However, Leeches and energy vortexes are poison that must be weeded out of the group, not the individuals who display these tendencies, but the tendencies themselves )

Misconception #7: The Canadian freetek scene is inferior to the european one
This is the "our speakers are bigger" syndrome. Truth: in many ways the Canadian freetek scene is superior to the european one. what i personally see and what everyone from europe i met at .ca teknis told me is that this feels really good and right. there is way less criminality at the events, people are friendlier, there s less of them, the soundsystems offer a wider selection of sounds instead of all 180bpm hardtek all the time...the sites doesn t get invaded by burnt out traveller vendors and fry trucks, the cops don t show or don t care and so on...

We're talking biodiesel and solar power on our boards, not just endlessy discussing the latest roland groovebox or what crystal distortion was wearing last night. This is good let's keep it and our noses clean, stay away from babylon and we can have it for many years to come :]

Misconception #8: Throwing pay parties to fundraise for Teknival is wrong
Truth: Fundraising for Teknival is a good idea, no matter how it's done. Furthermore, if a fundraiser is meant to pay for only one teknival stage or area, so much the better! Who's going to organize the "Teknival Budget" anyways, You?