Elements Music & Arts Festival makes move to Long Pond for 2022, announces improvements

Elements Music & Arts Festival will be making a move to Long Pond in 2022 in a bid to avoid a performance reminiscent of the "challenges" experienced at the September event according to information from the organizers.

Following social media posts acknowledging the pitfalls of the 2021 event — including a reported lack of infrastructure, food and water, among other issues — the festival recently released their "Roadmap to 2022" via their official website, along with the announcement of a new location near the Pocono Raceway.

The five-point plan makes note of alterations including a new location, site improvements, and increased transparency for customers in an effort to make amends for last year's festival.

The electronic dance music and art festival ran from Sept. 3 through Sept. 6 in 2021, marking its return to Camp Lavi in Wayne County after taking a year off due to COVID-19. EDM superstars including Diplo, Griz, CloZee, along with art installations, craft exhibitions, health and wellness programs and more drew thousands of attendees.

However, heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida led to a plethora of woes for those who attended, resulting in muddy grounds, parking problems and difficulty with infrastructure. Stories of problems accessing water, food and clean restrooms throughout the weekend were not uncommon on social media platforms in the weeks following the event.

Related: Long lines and overflowing toilets: Attendees recall conditions at Elements

Event organizers have been making a concerted online effort to ease the fears and concerns of potential attendees for next year's event in the weeks leading up to a ticket pre-sale that went live on Cyber Monday.

Easily the biggest change is the move from the remote Lakewood area, where the event had been held for years, to the woodlands adjacent to the Raceway in Long Pond, Monroe County. Information from the organizers suggests that this new hosting site will provide better accommodations for guests, and help to avoid the pitfalls present during last year's festival "while keeping the magic of the Elements forest intact," the Elements Twitter page noted in a Nov. 17 tweet.

"In 2021 we wanted to give you the biggest and best Elements of all time, but in the end we came up short," festival co-founder Timothy Monkiewicz stated in a Facebook video posted Nov. 23. "I think one of the core issues we have is that we get so excited about building all the art and stages that we haven't focused enough energy on basic needs and care of our customers, and this really has to change. Since the festival, we're taking a ton of time to listen, reflect and make a plan to give you the best experience moving forward, and the first big step is our new site."

Elements 2022| A Statement From Tim

The festival website highlights that this new location will offer "built-in food, water, and safety infrastructure and a history of hosting events 5x the size of elements," in addition to "level solid ground with drainage designed to handle inclement weather."

The elimination of shuttle services from a separate parking area in favor of car camping aims to prevent the parking problems that plagued last September's event, during which many guests had to walk a lengthy distance between the remote parking area and the festival.

The plan also emphasizes a new board of advisors "with over a century of combined experience at the country’s largest festivals" which will be responsible for selecting an event staff which aims to focus on "the highest standard of event knowledge, guest hospitality, and crowd safety protocols."

Reaction from the EDM community

In an attempt to make amends, the Elements crew has also issued discount codes to those who attended the 2021 festival, in addition to reducing deposits for monthly payment plans.

However, the electronic dance music and arts community largely appears skeptical about the promises that have been coming through the pipeline.

The Elements Facebook page has yielded mixed reactions from the announcement of pre-sale tickets for 2022. Some people are actively discouraging others from attending and telling horror stories of the last festival or issues regarding refunds.

On the other hand, there are a few patrons who appear willing to give the event another shot, proclaiming overall positive experiences at the 2021 show and showing excitement and anticipation for what's to come.

Musician Maison Electronik, who attended the 2021 festival and has already booked tickets for 2022, acknowledged the pitfalls of the last Lakewood experience, but suggested that such events cannot always go off without a hitch — especially when expectations are set exceedingly high.

"It was a good experience, and perfect can be the enemy of good," Electronik said. "Mistakes were made, but the party itself was awesome."

The thrills and excitement of the weekend easily outweighed those aforementioned issues, Electronik said, making the decision to take a trip to the 2022 event that much easier.

"The lineup was legendary, it was a who-is-who convention of DJs/producers, [sic] met so many cool people," Electronik said. "I look forward to what Elements has geared up after networking with such talent. The ten stages and 100 artists, along with this year's art décor and design, makes me wonder if they are trying to do an Electric Daisy Carnival-style event. The atmosphere of the crowd was similar, and that's why I'm going back."

But over on a Facebook page set up by attendees that saw the worst of Elements — which took off shortly after the festival — many posters have firmly stated that they will not be attending the next festival, even offering up their discount codes to others.

Complaints on the page include lackluster Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations at the 2021 event, as well as accusations that a frequently asked questions page on the Elements site was not entirely truthful in their explanations regarding what went wrong in Lakewood.

"This just makes me laugh cuz they’re answering the questions like we weren’t LITERALLY ALL THERE lol," a poster named Elizabeth Neal wrote.

"Oh yeah, I’m just dying to get a ticket for next year," an individual named Nicholas Brasier wrote on another post featuring a screenshot of a message from Elements addressing the 2021 event. "Plus I really love how this was all 'Mother Nature’s' fault and these guys bear no responsibility for what happened."

With nearly nine months until Elements 2022, much remains to be seen, including the official lineup and what other alterations may be made. How these as-yet unanswered questions, and those experiences from 2021, will affect the future is uncertain now, though the organizers — and many attendees — are maintaining a positive outlook.

Monkiewicz stated that "we'll continue to share updates as we finalize them but don't hesitate to reach out with any questions in the meantime," noting that his team is taking suggestions from fans "so that we can build a better festival together."

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Elements aims for change in move to Long Pond for 2022