Tag Archives: orange county

Flower Moon Music and Arts Festival (Chapman University)

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Collector: “Do you participate in any specific rituals or festivals?”

Informant: “We have Flower Moon. It’s a Music and Arts Festival that’s been happening every year for the last three years on the last week of April. It’s usually at the same venue the Garden Amphitheater in Garden Grove, California. It has three stages. And we have 15 different artists, five artists per stage. And it’s not just the music it’s also the arts because we get six different vendors who are all champions to us in the arts. Artists, by the way, are all Chapman students and alumni. And we also get vendors to come sell clothes, jewelry, and food. And it’s like basically like our version of Coachella because it’s the weekend after both the Coachella weekends happen so we call it Coachella weekend three.”

Collector: “How much does it cost for a ticket?”

Informant: “$20 for Chapman students and $30 for general admission. And it’s sponsored by our school, we get sponsors from SGA. So Student Government.”

Context

The informant is a female undergraduate student at Chapman University in Orange, California. She is co-president of The Collective, a music club on campus that’s responsible for organizing the Flower Moon Festival each year.

Analysis

The Festival showcases Chapman Student’s artistic and musical abilities. The financial sponsorship from Chapman University shows that the school enables artistic expression. They provide a space where student’s talents can be appreciated and commodified. The showcase restricts artists to a very niche group: Chapman students and alumni. In my opinion, this makes the event more attractive to people in that university folk group. Ticket price differences urge students to attend, as they get in at a discount. 

Legend of Blackstar Canyon

Nationality: Caucasian- American
Age: 27
Occupation: Student
Residence: Irvine, CA
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English

The Warning Sign

This sign warns individuals that the county is not held responsible.

My informant tells me that there is a very eerie hiking path within a canyon in the city of Orange. This canyon warns it entrants that the area is not maintained by the city and also the government is not responsible for any injuries or loss that occurs in this place. He states that this was a local spot to hang out in during high school, to either go do drugs or go and get scared. My informant states that kids in high school would take flashlights and cameras, to go and take pictures of the haunted landmarks while night-hiking.

The landmarks that are known are the haunted tree, overturned bus, the forsaken campsite, and also man known as Blackstar Bill. The haunted tree is supposedly haunted by the ghost of many unfortunate people that were punished with nooses there by white supremacists. These ghosts are miserable and angry and if you do something disrespectful to the tree, ghosts will appears. My informant stated that his friend decided to urinate on the tree and they heard noises, thus they ran away as fast as they could. The overturned buss is another landmark that is known for being haunted, as children died there unfortunately as the bus driver loss control. The forsaken campsite is known to be a very eerie-looking campsite that looks like it has been left alone for a long time. Supposedly there are very insane people that live at this campsite that are the remnants of an abandoned mental institution. There also is reasoning that this campsite is home to Satanists and White Supremacists who meet here. Lastly Blackstar Bill is a deranged mountain man that lives within a cabin in the woods. He will shoot at you with no regard for human life and will state that you are trespassing on his property, thus he has the right to kill you. These are the landmarks that kids usually try to get to a night and take pictures of. My informant states that he once went there and saw odd red eyes within the overturned bus and never has gone back. He also states that there are signs along the hiking trail that state that police will not help you beyond these points.

My informant states that the Legend of Blackstar Canyon is still prevalent within many Orange County high schools. He states that he told his younger brother about this myth and that he already knew about and also ventured there before.

This definitely is a legend quest that offers high school kids on a boring night a thrill. What is interesting is that the landmarks are shared by many different high schools, yet with different stories at some parts. An example of this would be the haunted tree; instead of summoning a ghost when you anger the tree, another version is that you summon a very demonic creature that resembles a chupacabra. This could possibly be a latino spin on the legend, but this demonstrates how legends change for different people. What makes this a legend is the fact that there have been sightings of Blackstar Bill by many people. However the meeting site for occultists cannot be proven. Either way high school kids perform this ritual to state that they have been there and survived. It is basically a rite of passage for these high school kids, once they can drive and get there.