After a sad and emotional week where two elderly relatives of mine passed away, I decided to flee the ever oppressive state of Maskachussetts and come to the wonderful and more free state of New Hampshire to attend PorcFest. If you've never heard of PorcFest you are not alone. Although it's in its' 17th year, I had just heard about it sometime last year and ever since I have wanted to go. Basically it's a giant outdoor gathering of freedom loving people, many of whom call themselves libertarian, some of whom may consider themselves ranging from agorists to anarcho-capitalists, minarchists, Austrian economists and more.
I tend to be fascinated by anarcho-capitalism and after three months of a totalititarian lockdown initiated by the powers that be, I thought it only logical to attend this festival. So far I have attended engaging talks by a Youtuber known as Liberty Doll, enjoyed Tone Vays' panel on Bitcoin as a tool to defund the state (he doesn't think that is possible btw) and keynote speaker Tom Woods enjoyable speech on How to be a Better Human. The other bonus to this this event is that it takes place on a campground with beautiful mountain views and you can camp here for the duration of the event. There are also some amazing vendors selling everything from silver coins, crystals, delicious cbd infused coffee, hippy clothing and jewelry and more. There is a nice couple from Hadley, Massachusetts, offering hemp plants, seedlings and the dried flowers (none of which will get you high supposedly).
My overall impression of this event is that generally the other people in attendance are easy to talk to, wanting to embrace free principles. Many are anti-establishment but in a productive, forward looking way. I have found it relatively easy to strike up a conversation with random attendees. There is a sort of hippy meets bitcoin enthusiasts meets Ron Paul people, vibe here. Don't really know how else to explain it.
I went to one panel where Free Staters were talking about how they started a meat farm up in New Hampshire and ways they were able to form a community and defy social distance mandates. I loved that panel because it shows how people can just think for themselves, innovate, come to together and do their own thing, despite a growing sense of fear and reactionism in our society.
For the cost of 2 bch (Yay! I finally got to spend a little of my saved up cryptocurrency) I was able to dance some of the night away in the space disco, a blue geodesic dome set up with blow up velvety couches, disco balls, laser lights and some salsa-ish electronic music pumping from the speakers. That was as hedonistic as I got during this event and it felt great to dance and feel free.
Oh, I should mention most will not judge you verbally if you wear a mask, but most people here are not wearing one. To me this a welcome sight. The fresh mountain air and warm sunshine enlivens the soul. I can feel some of dread melting away from the past three months government imposed tyranny.
Overall I am loving PorcFest 2020. I encourage freedom loving people to attend the next one!
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