Author: Ashley Nicole Lombardo

“I try to get people who are working to break into the entertainment industry, but who aren’t employed, acting jobs and modeling gigs. For actors, I procure a couple of podcasts. It’s Boca Casting, but it’s really a big community. Being able to have that person-to-person interaction is what it’s all about. I met a dude camped next to my tent, an artist who’s struggling. I like to make the connection and find the beauty in whatever they’re doing.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from Boca Raton, Florida

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida

“I work with clothes and with clay. I do linework, dot work. I flow. I’ve done some stick n’ pokes. I have a lot of mediums, and I’m learning how to balance them. I’m a creator. The thing about creating something—in physical form—is that it’s the only thing exists like that. No matter what medium it is.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from Jacksonville, Florida

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida

“I’m most excited to see Vulfpeck. I discovered them on Spotify. It was random, but it started with one song: ‘It Gets Funkier.’ It kept playing. Then they started releasing more parts, and now there’s three. Every time they add to it. It’s kind of the same rhythm, but they do it differently. I saw them last year at Fool’s Paradise in St. Augustine. I liked their vibe… the way they were talking on stage. The bassist Joe Dart was chilling by himself, I think it was during Chris Robinson’s set, and I told him, ‘Whatever it takes, make sure Florida is always on your list.’ It’s all about the music. The music is, at the end, what drives everything.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from Miami, Florida

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida

“I’m on a team with a bunch of other artists, and we worked on the floral installations. It’s Assyrian floral design. My friends made the flowers and plants in front of the beach stage, and I helped put together the pieces in Yogachobee. One of them is a yoni. But you have to know what a yoni looks like… because you’re not going to see an actual vagina. It’s feminine energy. The world needs a little more feminine energy. We need more nurtuting—more love, caring, understanding and compassion. And that’s what we’re here to bring.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from Athens, Ohio

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida

“This is my sister and my best friend. We came to Okeechobee last year—it was my first camping festival. Nothing is wrong with any style of dress, but we were in jeans and crop tops. So we’ve been thinking about how to express our style since last September…we’ve been morphing into this. She’s so good at makeup. I can’t draw, I can’t paint, but I picked out her entire outfit. Throughout the year, we evolved into what we are now. We’re dressed like this because of Okeechobee. The festival ignited our creativity.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from Evansville, Indiana

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida

“I’m from New York. Well, I’m originally from Costa Rica. I’ve lived in a lot of different countries, but now I live in New York—most of the time. When I was little, we moved around because of my dad’s job. I’ve lived in six different countries: Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Israel, Chile and the U.S. I learned a lot about the diversity of people. When you spend time in different places, you realize that people are very different. But in a lot of ways, they’re really all the same.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from New York, New York.

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida

“I made my coat. I have an Etsy page where I make fur coats and different things that interest me. I’m pursuing costume design for theater, so every day I’m sewing. Every day I’m creating clothes for people… for characters, really. My grandma taught me how to sew when I was 10 years old, and it’s all I’ve been doing.”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Traveled from Miami, Florida

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival 2017

Sunshine Grove

Okeechobee, Florida