Origin

If you think that ravers invented the first party masks, think again. The very first party masks can actually be traced all the way back to France in the 1500s when rich people began wearing face masks to go along with their lavish costumes worn as they partied in the days leading up to Lent. In case you’re not familiar with Catholic traditions, Lent is the period of forty days before Easter when people give up certain things they love, like chocolate, alcohol, video games - you name it! Because Lent is a time for sacrifice and reflection, people party big leading up to it. In fact, Mardi Gras parades today are a continuation of the French parties of old. Back in Europe, masquerade, or masked, balls became all the rage as people went all out to enjoy themselves before giving everything up. That meant crazy costumes, lots of creativity, and of course, all-night dance parties. 

In the 1600s, the trend swept Italy, and the Italians took it up a notch. Artists began creating paper mache masks that were literal artistic masterpieces, and the wealthy wore them to their own masked parties. These masks were covered in everything from paint, to ribbons, to feathers and glass beads - imagine if they had had glitter! The ornate masks gave people the opportunity to really cut loose because no one knew the identity of the person underneath, for better or for worse.

Ever since those early days, masks have been a staple of the party scene, and the rave community has embraced them whole-heartedly. Whether you’re rocking a mask to keep the dust out of your mouth, nose and lungs, you’re using them to compliment your signature style, or you want to keep your identity concealed so you can really let loose, you definitely won’t be the only person wearing a mask at your next rave or festival.

Benefits

More likely than not, the people you’ll see wearing them are doing so for other reasons entirely. Benefits of wearing rave masks include:

• Avoiding dust: If you’ve ever attended an outdoor EDM music festival without wearing a mask, you’ve undoubtedly experienced the joys of inhaling a whole bunch of dirt and dust being kicked up by tens of thousands of your new best friends. Some festivals are especially known for their dustiness even in good years, including Coachella and Burning Man, which take place in dry environments that can send trillions of tiny particles into the air. In fact, a windstorm closed out Coachella in 2013, with dust blowing in from the surrounding California desert covering the festival grounds. Burning Man, which takes place in the Black Rock Desert, has especially serious dust issues because the texture of the dust there, called playa dust, is extremely fine - like, smaller than the particles of baby powder. That means that any breeze (or let’s be honest, serious dancing) starts to kick up those tiny particles, which quickly make their way into your airways and turn to mud as they mix with the moisture in your lungs. This can even lead to a condition called eosinophils (also called playa lung, no joke!), a condition in which the immune system begins to use disease-fighting white blood cells to attack the dust, which it recognizes as a foreign body. Over time, this can cause the airways to become clogged, preventing the body from taking in oxygen. Pretty serious stuff! Wearing something like a face mask bandana or a dust mask are ways to keep at least some of the festival funk out of your nose and mouth.

• Adding to Your Look: Obviously, rave culture is all about the music and dancing first, but a very close second is the fashion! At your next festival or rave, you’ll likely see everything from people wearing a t-shirt and jeans to someone wearing pasties and a tutu, and everything in between. Rave culture encourages people to be themselves and express themselves through their clothing and dance, and along the way, lots of people have added fun accessories like face gems, kandi, paint splatter, neon hair extensions, harnesses, thigh highs, and more to their looks. Why should rave masks be any different? Choosing a rave mask to go with your next festival outfit can be part of the fun and add to your look, or you can really let your creativity run wild and design your own look so you’re sure to stand out among the crowds. These masks differ from Halloween costumes. Some of the bestsellers are light up masks, LED masks, glow in the dark masks, purge masks, and half face masks. Many of these are even rechargeable to use for your next cosplay! Either way, adding a rave mask to your look can help take your festival-day vibe to the next level. 

• Letting Loose: There’s no place more accepting, loving, and free-spirited than the rave community, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is totally comfortable being themselves all the time, especially when surrounded by thousands of other people that are likely Instagramming every single second. The whole point of going to a rave or festival is to cut loose and vibe with your friends in a way that feels good for you, and a rave mask can help provide you with a bit of anonymity in case you don’t feel like having your super hot rave outfit splashed all over the internet. There’s something to be said for feeling like you can blend in with the crowd and do your own thing without worrying about being recognized, so if that’s a concern for you, a rave mask might be able to help!

 @amberrdaviss

Styles

At any rave or festival, you’re likely to see a bunch of different styles of rave masks, so don’t be afraid to opt for something unique. Creativity and self-expression are the name of the game at raves, after all! These styles are just a few of our favorites.

• Seamless mask bandanas: If you’re interested in comfort, style, and breathability, you’ll probably opt to choose a seamless mask bandana for your rave look. These multifunctional masks can easily slide to cover your neck, mouth, and nose, and you can also wear them as headbands, wristbands, hair ties, and whatever else you need. Seamless mask bandanas will protect you from dust and damaging UV rays while still releasing body heat, so you don’t have to worry about getting overheated from your mask.

• Face Mask: The classic face mask has been a festival go-to for years and most closely resembles a mask worn by medical professionals (glammed up for raving, of course). The masks loop behind your ears, so you don’t have to worry about them sliding down while you dance.

• Punk/gas mask: There’s no doubt about it - if you really want to make a statement, the punk/gas mask is the way to go. These things are just straight-up cool looking, and you can make it suit your style by adding beads, sequins, glitter, and anything else your mind can imagine. You’ll still be able to breathe with a gas mask on, of course, but there’s no denying that these things are less breathable (and therefore hotter) than the seamless mask bandanas or ear masks, so you might want to skip one during those boiling midsummer festivals and stick with goggles instead.

Take Time to Explore the Forest

This is something I can’t stress enough! Once you step inside the festival grounds you’ll realize how expansive the forest actually is. My first year I made the mistake of staying at the stages all day and didn’t give myself enough time to soak everything in. There’s surprises waiting for you everywhere, make the time to find them!

Bring a Gift for the Giving Tree

I mentioned this in my last blog post, Electric Forest Prep 101, but don’t forget to bring a gift for the giving tree! The giving tree is an Electric Forest tradition. All you need to do is bring a small gift (the more thought the better) and place it on the giving tree inside the festival grounds. After leaving something, you get to choose a little gift for yourself from the tree. You’ll never know what you might find there!

Check Out all the Art Installations

The art installations are by far my favorite part of Electric Forest. Artists from across the United States apply to feature their art in the Forest, and they pick the best of the best. They range from as small and detailed as the gnome garden pictured above to the giant wooden sculpture down below. The installations are fun to look at and are great photo backgrounds too!

Discover New Artists

I know all your favorites are going to be at Electric Forest, but hear me out. You’ll most likely be able to see your top picks at another festival, so why not branch out and check out other artists? There are over seven stages at Electric Forest with sets going constantly. Chances are you’ll find a new artist to add to your favorites in the process!

Photo Courtesy of Electric Forest

Support the Vendors

Electric Forest is a dangerous festival if you love shopping like me. There are vendors from across the US selling unique items you won’t be able to get anywhere else! Don’t forget to stop by the Electric Forest merch tent as well!

Photo Courtesy of Electric Forest

See you all in the Forest!

Got a creative side? Channel your creativity by becoming a photographer or videographer! Imagine how fun it would be to get a photo pass and attend festivals and document the experience? You’ll get special access to the photo pit and enjoy the festival from the best spots at the entire festival while capturing the festival’s best moments. Not only will you get all those perks, you’ll get to meet amazing people including your favorite DJs. 

If you have a way with words, you could become a writer! Usually when you think of a writer you think of someone who writes a book, but there are so many fun writing options that are EDM related. You can write for a music magazine or an EDM blog. The reason I became a blogger is because I knew I loved to write and I was so passionate about EDM! That’s why I write for savormeditation and I also made my own blog called EDMoholics. You can combine your love for music and express it through your words by writing. There are an endless amount of music blogs, websites and magazines out there that you can strive for! Do it well enough and you could get press passes to all the festivals you want!

Be part of the show and become a dancer or performer! If you are someone who loves to dance then this is the perfect career choice for you! If you love expressing yourself through dancing then being able to get up on stage or walk around the event would be a dream come true! Seeing all the amazing performers is one of my favorite things about going to festivals. They always add such a fun aspect to the experience. Not only will you get to move to your favorite music and have all eyes on you, but you get to wear the coolest costumes and have so many other passionate dancers up there with you who you can share this experience with together!

Be hands on with stage design and stage production! All the lights, sound system, and decorations are made possible because of everyone involved in stage design! You can look and see how to be part of a stage production team or even be an entrepreneur and work on starting your own company! Without the production, these festivals wouldn’t even be possible, so it’s cool to know that you would be working as such an important part of the rave and festival puzzle. Also seeing the crowd have an amazing time and in awe of all your hard work would feel so rewarding!

These are only a few jobs that have to do with the EDM and rave lifestyle but there are so many more career paths out there that are also involved with this culture! Raving and EDM is your passion so you should really look into doing something where you can get paid to do what you love. Combining your skills with your passion is a match made in career heaven! If you are doing what you love, you will never feel like you are working because you will be getting paid to do what you love. When looking at your future career, think outside of the box and look into work that involves your love for EDM.