“Shake your Shakori!” That is the welcoming greeting from people at Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance near Pittsboro NC. Our first experience with this festival was for one day in the spring of 2017. I was given a free pass from a friend and, although I had heard of the festival for many years, I had never checked it out. We decided this was a good opportunity to take the family down for a day. We have three teenagers who did not grow up going to music festivals and sometimes don’t quite know what to think of the scene. But as parents, we think it is a fun time to spend together as a family so we headed out. Everyone had a great time, in fact we stayed later than expected because the kids were having so much fun at a stage that had a DJ rocking out. We were excited to go back for Shakori in the fall for the full weekend and we’ll be back this coming May 3rd-6th. Here’s what to look for to get the most out of your Shakori experience:
CAMPING: Camping at Shakori is a great experience. To start with, there is soooo much space! I made two loops around the grounds looking for a good spot and I don’t think I even saw all the camping spots. That’s for car camping alone, there is also the wooded tent camping. All the camping is on site, that’s getting harder to find at many festivals, and for a very reasonable rate you can car camp (another thing becoming more of a rarity). If you want to keep it simple and tent camp then you have many options including nice shaded, wooded camping. The car camping is separated from the stages by a hill and woods so the camping area stays pretty quiet. You might think it sounds like a lot of walking but Shakori has a great system of tractors and trailers circling the festival grounds. You can jump on these at many stops and ride until you get where you need to go. This a wonderful way to get around and also see the festival grounds. If you want to enjoy camping but not the hassle of packing, set up take, down clean up etc. Project Shelter has what you need! Project Shelter website. They can provide tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, coolers, lights and more. All in all, our camping experience was great! 
Side note: Parents(!) please don’t think of these trailers as entertainment for your children and let them ride around for hours unsupervised. It makes it very dangerous for all the passengers and difficult to get gear on and off.
What to check out in the festival: To be honest, I still feel like I’m discovering new things at Shakori Hills so the best I can say here is be sure to cover all the festival grounds. For one thing, head to Meadow stage. Main stage is always great but take some time to check out the bands on the Grove stage and in the Dance stage also. Another unique feature is the Indigenous Crafts, a great shopping and learning area. There are many reasons to go to music festivals aside from the music. Shakori caters to many different types of festival lovers. For a variety of activities there is the fire pit area, the rock garden- Peace Park, Sustainability exhibits, and Healing Arts area. I’m not forgetting the kid’s area but I’m saving that for the next section.
Kids activities: The Kids area and over all kid friendliness of the entire festival really impressed us. As I said, we had the whole family there and wanted everyone to enjoy themselves. The kid’s area proper is a large tent situated in the middle of a gentle grassy slope. Here you have bubbles, coloring, books, craft supplies and scheduled activities. A parade makes its way through the festival grounds and kids can grab costumes and participate in the festivities. This area is staffed by many volunteers to help make sure kids are content, entertained and they are knowledgeable for answering questions from parents. If you follow the schedule at the kid’s tent you will be bringing home a variety of handmade jewelry, tie-dye shirts, and colored pictures; and probably a 
worn-out child. For older kids there are specific music acts for them to enjoy, plenty of space for them to spread out and lots of kids their age for making new friends. One special thing about Shakori, that I have not found at any of the other festivals we attend, is that teenagers can participate as volunteers if they are working with a parent. We think that is super cool!
Family Friendliness: If you want to bring your family to a multi-day music festival then Shakori is a great choice. It provides great camping, a wide variety of music, plenty of activities and a super team of staff, volunteers and vendors to make sure your weekend is awesome. There is a wide range of food options from local vendors and beer and wine is for sale on site. As with any festival plan for rain and sun. A wagon is great way to make getting stuff around easier. Bring your hoola hoops, tie-dye clothes and comfy dancing shoes and you are sure to have a memorable festival experience. It will be so much fun you’ll have to come back for Shakori in the fall (Oh yeah! It happens twice a year!) We hope to see you shaking your shakori in just a couple weeks!
