This weekend, I went to the Voodoo Music Festival, and it was an incredible experience in more ways than one. Not only was it the first time I had covered an event of this size, but it was also the first time I had ever been to a music festival. Sure, as a cradle Roman Catholic, I have gone on youth retreats, but this was different (and not just because of the slight traces of weed I detected in the breeze when I walked around).

For those who are unaware, Voodoo is a three-day music festival held at New Orleans City Park. The space was so large that they were able to fit four large stages, a huge line of concessions and place bars sporadically throughout the venue and rows upon rows of places for companies to sell their products. Despite this, there was still more free space where people could just lay in the grass and enjoy themselves. To put it mildly, there was a lot of walking and more walking. 

As media, I was able to interview multiple bands, take pictures with an amazing camera and even after everyone else had fought to be in the front line for a performance, I was able to wave my green pass and slip in a closed off space in front of them. I had the opportunity to go three days, but just opted for one since I did not want to risk ruining my camera in the bad weather. 

Nevertheless, that one day alone was magical, not just because I saw unicorns, Indians, fairies and ghosts, but also because I witnessed firsthand the beauty of human compassion. I would like to use this last bit of column space to thank the random stagehands, officers Gaines and King, the fearless, brilliant reporter and photographer, J. T. Blatty and the event workers with the golf cart. 

When it was nearing the end of the first day, it was dark, and my phone was about to die, leaving me lost and without directions to my car. These individuals went out of their way to stop what they were doing and help me as much as possible. I’d never met them, nor had anything to give, but they selflessly tried to get me to safety. It wasn’t just them , all day I met and spoke to amazing people. 

Yes, Voodoo was all about the music, but it was also the people there that made the songs worth being sung.