Embrace the Oasis: Discover Oregon’s Tectonic SHIFT Festival

Written by Nickolas H.

Awakening on a beautiful Pacific Northwest summer morning, golden sunlight casts a warming glow on your face. The air, crisp and invigorating, is filled with the promise of adventure. With your besties in tow, excitement builds as everyone packs up their camping gear, laughing and reminiscing about past events and festivals while meticulously organizing colorful costumes and quirky accessories. As the remaining crew and gear crams into the van, you can't help but feel a surge, knowing that an unforgettable journey awaits you in your very own high-desert oasis. Your destination: The Tectonic SHIFT Festival in Grass Valley, OR, just a few hours outside of Portland. When? Thursday, July 25th thru Monday, July 29th. For the five days that follow, you will be immersed in a celebration of community, artistic expression, and bangin' dance music.

To get the full dish on one of the PNW’s coolest gatherings, we recently sat down with local dance music legend and SHIFT-fest organizer extraordinaire - Endi Mienne. Through an animated regaling of its history and some amazing stories created along the way, we learned that the Tectonic SHIFT Festival started in 2016 as a fundraiser for the “Tectonic” annual Burning Man camp. If you’re not familiar with the format, the Burn is a bit unique in its hosting of art and entertainment camps entirely planned, built, and carried out by the attendees themselves, instead of your classic stage/crowd divide typical of large festival events. Over the better part of the last decade, Tectonic SHIFT Fest has evolved into what resembles a smaller cousin of Burning man itself (apple, tree). At the onset, the festival was led primarily by long standing Tectonic members, however this initial group has evolved throughout the event’s tenure into a diverse, caring, and committed team. They now boast some 50 volunteer department leads and four production heads, all of whom take no paycheck for their time and energy. Instead of taking any form of profit, all proceeds from ticket sales are invested back into the event and used to support the community art projects that participate within. The production team even goes so far as to provide a range of necessities to the artists and performers at no cost, helping to expand access and participation in the event.

While the underground dance music scene in Portland is a generally inclusive space, for the organizers of SHIFT, a safe and welcoming experience is not something they leave up to chance. Inclusivity at SHIFT is an ongoing conversation focused on how to extend a supporting embrace to all types of people. Fundamentally, their ideology centers on consent and the safe and free expression of all individuals - so long as that expression isn't harming another. Their stand on representation is even reflected in their organizational structure, where three out of the four production leads are women. As something of a rule at this point, the production team regularly incorporates new and diversely-situated talent into the team, bringing fresh insights and consistent improvement toward creating a unique and inclusive festival experience. And it should be noted that the folks at SHIFT are hard at work not only positioning their weeklong festivities as a queer and BIPOC-inclusive space, they also welcome all ages - from kids to the elderly, and everyone in between.

Ok, so it's a cool-ass arts and music festival that welcomes all forms of wonderful weirdos… “But what actually happens there?” you may ask. Well, when you arrive at the high desert location just east of Mt. Hood, you’ll immediately be struck by its unique charm, followed by a wave of confusion as you follow the trail of hand-painted signs and custom stickers engraved with the face of an old cowboy farmer (Fred, the land’s patriarch). Once you’re settled in at your camp spot and feeling that summer heat, you can find your way down to the sand beach on a swimmable pond, complete with a beach-side sound stage. Forget your float? Not to worry, SHIFT has you covered with a communal float share to get you out to the floating tiki bar. Now you must be wondering, “But how do I buy an awesome tiki-punch drink when all my cash is soaking wet?”…Once again, SHIFT to the rescue! Once you exchange your ticket at the gate, your money becomes functionally obsolete because everything at SHIFT is exchanged at no cost. There are no corporate vendors, no $18 beers, and no Live Nation goons found behind the scenes. Instead, you’ll likely be awakened to a flask of fresh tentside hotdog water - free of charge.

On top of two official stages packed with world-class entertainment - DJ’s, live bands, and acrobatic stage performers to get you in the festival spirit - independent theme-camps and sound-camps make up a significant portion of the SHIFT experience. Theme camps offer platforms for people to share their art and interactivity, and create their own camps structured around that art. With the intent of fostering both individual creativity and a sense of community connection, theme camps run the gamut from visual and physical art displays, to interactive classes and community yoga sessions, to food and drink pop-ups that will have your group satiated, both body and soul. Sound camps - which are independent sound stages brought by attendees - are the heart of Tectonic SHIFT. In continuing the tradition that started the event, sound camps provide local production companies and inspired individuals to showcase their own takes on festival offerings. By providing space and support for these camps, the festival democratizes and diversifies the experience, making it more inclusive and accessible for anyone wanting to share their art or form of expression. At SHIFT, you don't just attend the festival… You are the festival.

Both the crew and the camps are structured around prioritizing mutual support and self-discovery, taking freedom within responsibility to its logical conclusion as a demonstration of how greater society may reduce its own forms of self-oppression. Volunteer crews and festival participants alike are expected to adhere to the 10 Principles of Burning Man (or 11, as SHIFT considers consent a principle as well), with decommodification holding as a core tenet of those principles. Holding to that spirit, money is not exchanged on-site - well, with the exception of ice bags. Instead, you can grab a free drink at Nasty’s, a crusty bar that takes no drink requests. You’ll get what they give you and you’ll like it, even if it's a clown shoe full of Malort. The purveyors of SHIFT tell us that their whole ethos is about having a long weekend to disconnect from social media, avoid influencers, and forget about money. “It’s not a fashion contest; there's no judgment and no bullshit... Everyone comes with an open mind and equally ample respect” - both for the participants as well as the land. And thus far, SHIFT has carried on year after year without a hitch.

Ok, so if you’re anything like us at theactualportland.com, your life will not be complete without attending, volunteering, or bringing your theme camp to SHIFT 2024. Fortunately, you can find everything you need to do so on their website and socials linked below… until then, we’ll look forward to sharin’ one at Nasty’s.