The Outside Lands Festival wasn’t only about the music (it was called a Music & Arts festival, after all). The show boasted a number of interactive attractions in addition to all the local vendors as well as being a ‘green’ event, with several recycling stations scattered throughout the grounds.

Within the Eco Lands was the Panhandle Stage, powered entirely by solar energy. The stage played host to Liars, Rogue Wave, The Walkmen & more over the 3-day event. There was also a Farmer’s Market, with organic, locally-grown food. There were educational exhibits available on reducing carbon footprints and how to make your home ‘energy smart’, in addition to opportunities to recycle your old cell phone for various prizes courtesy of CollectiveGood.

Outside of Eco Lands, there were several interactive attractions, including Microsoft’s CrowdFire. I’ll allow them to explain themselves - “[CrowdFire will] provide all of us music fans a platform for doing with the experience of music what we’re already doing with the experience of the web: a place where all of us can share and produce our experiences: a many to many celebration of live music, in real time, as well as as an ongoing, living archive of what has happened, and what might happen next.”

There were several computer stations positioned around a central point within the tent, where attendees could upload photos/videos/text/audio via USB, flash cards, etc., and which would subsequently be mixed on the giant screens inside as well as the CrowdFire archway and the large screens to the left and right of the main stage (Lands End). There was also a lounge area where you could take a nap, play XBox or get online.

Also present at the festival were the folks at Dell and their Dell Dome. I had an opportunity to speak with Lee Mokri from Dell, who spelled out the details of the exhibit for me. Basically, the Dome was an interactive art exhibit, with artist Mike Ming (his designs feature on the new Dell laptops) creating a mural on-the-spot, and interacting with the public with any questions. He has been creating these murals at a number of festivals this summer, with the Dome’s final stop being Austin City Limits, where all of them will be combined into one, massive artpiece. His designs were available as free spray-on tattoos, buttons, hairstyles (yes, hairstyles) and t-shirt designs for any blank t-shirt you brought with you. The Dome also played host to several festival artists who were on hand to be interviewed.

You could also create your own digital mixtape by using the stations available inside, and could pick from a variety of artists - including those performing at Outside Lands. After picking your choices (up to 20 if I remember correctly) you simply entered your email address, and were given a zip file of high-quality, DRM-free MP3’s.

Another thing Northern California is well-known for is the Wine Country, and that was represented at the festival by Winehaven. Inside Winehaven, you could find vintages from a number of local wineries, as well as speak to the winemakers themselves. Food was provided by Hog Island Oyster Company. Plus, you could get drunk, which is attractive to any festivalgoer.

There were other attractions I didn’t really get to, including the Visa Signature Lounge (mostly because I don’t have a Visa Signature card), Outside Lands Baseball (as I don’t care about baseball), and the VIP area (as I wasn’t a VIP). There were a number of vendors there too, including Virgin who provided CD’s from most of the artists (though I can’t say I’m too fond of their overpriced CD’s).

Either way, the festival certainly provided more than a few diversions to entertain and amuse in the gaps between bands. And you can’t fault them for good intentions with the ‘green’ aspects of the festival.

- Sean