Lucidity Festival June Event Canceled
County Officials Cited High Fire Season Risks and Evacuation Route Problems
[Updated: Thu., June 20, 2024: 12:45pm]
The Lucidity Festival, an art and music event that has been held for the last decade at Santa Barbara’s Live Oak Campground, has been canceled due to the fire and safety concerns of county officials.
In past years, the festival was held in April, but because of this year’s unusually long rainy season, the organizers decided to move the event to the end of June, according to Jonah Haas, cofounder and marketing director for Lucidity.
However, the end of June marks the beginning of high fire-risk season, and its location would hinder evacuation during such an emergency, according to Michael Gray, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. The campground lies next to the Santa Ynez River, which is still flowing and blocks one of the evacuation routes for the festival.
Last year, the event had more than 7,000 attendees, according to Gray, though event organizers say the number of attendees was actually closer to 4,500. Either way, the county projected larger crowds this year, which the fire department and the California Highway Patrol said would increase the safety risks. Currently, there is no official capacity limit for Live Oak Campground, though the county is in the process of conducting a study to determine the capacity for the future, Gray said.
An engineer-stamped traffic and fire safety plan is needed to receive county approval during the high fire season, but since the Lucidity festival had always been held in April, its organizers had not known about the requirement for a June event and did not provide the county with such a plan.
The Lucidity Festival, as described by its organizers, incorporates art and music that promotes spirituality, environmental consciousness, and social and personal awareness. Each year, the event centers around different themes. This year’s festival, which was to be named “Aurora’s Light,” will be held next year at a new location, Lake San Antonio North Shore in Monterey County, April 25-27, 2025.
Correction: An earlier version of this story inadvertently omitted the first paragraph.
