A photo sits on my desk.
Over the years,
the desks have changed, the photo has not.

A moment in time, Wrockstock 2009.
More than just a memory.
More than just a festival.

I close my eyes.
Feel the crisp Ozark air.
The campfire nearby…
The warmth of the flames sustains me.

Wrockstock: wasn’t just a place.
It wasn’t simply an event.
Wrockstock was art.
It was joy. Family.

Wrockstock was love,

And love, you know,
is everything.

I was lucky enough to attend wrockstock five times. I’d been to many other conventions, and all of them were magical in some way. That feeling of meeting long-lost-friends you never knew you had was certainly present at all of them. But Wrockstock was an event in and of itself. Wrockstock was a family friendly music festival, deep in the Ozark Mountains. But anyone who’s ever been there will tell you it was so much more than that.

Wrockstock was were I went every year to learn about myself. It was where inspiration found me and helped me grow. It was where Madam Pince and the Librarians was born over a game of Apples to Apples. It was where I always knew I belonged.

I keep this photo of me, Michele, and Alex, taken by a person I don’t know (if you know who took it, please let me know!) on my desk at work. It’s been with me through three different jobs. I have looked at this photo almost every day for the past 11 years. In the photo, the three of us are sitting on a hill, overlooking a lake. I can almost hear the sound of wizard rock floating through the air. The simplicity of the image and the distance of the photographer, make this photo a perfect pixelated pensive.

I will never give up hope that one day I’ll be able to fall inside and revisit that day for real.  In the meantime, I continue do my best at reproducing the Wrockstock magic through poetry, prose, song, and video.

I will be forever grateful to its founder and host Abby Hupp for her unique vision, incredible kindness, and unparalleled dedication. Thank you.

---

Here at Wrockstock (single) by Madam Pince and the Librarians

Wrockstock III – Wroad to Wrockstock Nov 6-9, 2009
(CW – Alex Carpenter appears as an audience member from 1:58-2:38)

Share your Wrockstock memories in the comments!