Page 50 - Zone Magazine Issue 018

| Interview with Madeleine and Glenn Goodhand - founders of Imagine.
How long does it take to curate a festival such as Imagine?
At this point Imagine has become a year round endeavor. We started sending out communication to our fans within weeks of wrapping Imagine 2016. We wanted to see what worked and what needed to be shown more attention. Imagine will always be a work in progress, which is the way it should be.
During the early years what was your creative philosophy and vision for the festival?
The vision has pretty much always been the same. Create a unique and inviting experience and focus on the customer's perspective. Being an independent festival has allowed us to press certain creative boundaries and help us to realize our vision as reality.
How has your vision changed over the years?
We don’t really feel like the vision has changed, as much as the scope of what we are looking to do. We are always looking to be bigger and better with each year and push things beyond a stellar lineup and some lasers. We want Imagine to be a fully immersive experience, a community and a culture for the scene.
What sets Imagine Music festival apart from any other festival?
I think that may be a better question for our fans. We live Imagine, so besides being aquatic themed, to us it is our refusal to settle for what’s easy and strive for what is unique. And that is why this may be best answered by the fans. You will get a million different answers because Imagine means something different to everyone.
Can you give us a sneak peek about any new things we can expect from Imagine in the coming years?
activations we have in store. There will be festival soccer, daily yoga classes from Exhale, The SkyDeck Experience by our friends at Insomniac, enhanced sound in the campgrounds and a ton more. Of course the splash pool, silent disco and some of the other favorites will be back from last year. As for the rest... you will just have to come see for yourself.
How do you want the attendee to feel when they arrive at imagine?
We want them to feel excited, full of anticipation and part of something larger. Our fans have helped to curate the event with their feedback and good vibes - they should feel proud of their contribution. If you are taking in the full experience and are camping- you are outside this massive speedway and not quite sure what to expect when you get on the inside. Imagine is an Aquatic Fairytale, we want our fans to be transported from the second they step inside the festival grounds.
What are the biggest challenges when choosing which artists get to perform?
Booking a festival like Imagine is always a challenge, but a fun one. On one hand you want those big names to get the fans hyped up, but you also want to expose them to artists they may not have heard before. A new festival pops up almost on the daily- we want to be known not just for the biggest and best lineup, but for the most unique and intelligent lineup.
On a more personal note what do you look forward to the most this year?
Seeing the fan reactions to what we have built over the past year... that and Tiësto.
Words By Andrew Lazar
I think the fans will be really excited for some of the new
50 ZONE-MAGAZINE.COM