The hero’s journey is more than just an origin story. In the case of crypto that inquires against cultural narratives, it’s well past time for an Apotheosis—a divine climax for what technology holds for our collective futures. FWB FEST24 did that.

FWB FEST24 was a call to adventure in the woods, but it was also met with a standoff inside the liminal state between bear and bull we’ve been comfy in for all of 2024. For FWB and many on the Optimism Superchain, this year has been an era of validation. Validating ideas, concepts, and community care.

For the third year in a row, friends at FWB gathered in the woods of Idyllwild, CA, at Idyllwild Arts Academy to celebrate their accomplishments, one another, and the crypto industry. This year’s Fest was more than magical, bringing together some of the brightest, most culturally minded folks in the industry.

Celo graciously sponsored me at FEST to connect with artists and source inspiration for the next Creators Fund season. Check out each update on Twitter.

If my biggest complaint was waiting too long in food lines, that’s hardly a deal-breaker. The food was incredible, though, so major kudos on the vendor choices! Especially for having refreshments everywhere… which is surprisingly rare for crypto events. The Uniswap Café was definitely the spot to cool off, make a bracelet, and get pierced.

This year’s FWB Fest was about more than just the crypto industry, though. It was a call to emerging technology at large, which is beginning to sense its greater narrative. That culture, which we collectively create through memetic life forces and storytelling, drives us toward a more validating future.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible group of people organizing FEST24. I would especially like to thank Steph Alinsug for impeccable CMO-ing this year, along with Iz, Nicole, Paul, Greg, and many others who brought this special weekend to life.

It was made quite clear the narrative “crypto is dead, long live crypto” from FWB CMO and friend Steph (RIP cryptohun3y) was the vibe. While yes, this was indeed an ethereal merging of art and technology, it was also a reshaping and unfolding of what it means to mold the future of culture and creativity onchain.

Of course, that doesn’t mean crypto is actually dead. In fact, we’re in for a good ol’ fashion rebirth. FWB FEST was a place for healing after being beaten down by policymakers, market stagnation, and otherwise weird times.

Reflections

While I managed to miss many talks, as one does at these things, I did a ton of observing. From overhearing conversations to walking around 10k steps a day to find the coolest spots, it was a lot to take in.

Of the conversations I had, there were nearly zero talks of “web3 social,” yet more talks about memes and what culture means to each individual. FEST proved that we in crypto have more important things to figure out. Social apps are just one way we create change and distribute ephemeral, incredibly niche memes.

Culture, the type we discussed on the hill and below it, is really about self-expression. On that weekend every single person found ways to uniquely express themselves IRL that just isn’t possible onchain, and that in itself is a beautiful thing to admire.

Another thing I noticed, and it wasn’t just me, is that there were quite a few people there who didn’t know anything about crypto. They were just there to hang with us. I think those are also magical moments to share. Whether you were there to listen to music or chill with nerds, we’re here for it.

Most attendees (from the crypto space, at least) were marketing professionals of some kind and artists of all kinds, from physical art to design. Many cool-on-the-internet types, many yappers in the woods.

I heard there was something like a 10:1 ratio of men to women at Basecamp before Fest kicked off. Not too surprising there since most builders in the space are men. But the girls really showed out for the rest of the week. So many friends, so many hugs to be had, so much joy all over.

I attended Member’s Day just in time for the Town Hall as my first experience of the week. All I can say is that room like I imagine all of FWB, was filled with brilliance. The introduction of Mesh, the undisputed future of event management, additional info on how Bend payments work, and thoughts from the FWB team were all such a caring sendoff for the weekend ahead.

FINALLY, an event that understands QUESTS! I cannot say enough how much IYK x OP & Mesh integrated side quests into the weekend. IYK seriously hit it with the scavenger hunt. Each spot to tap was in places where you would inevitably run into someone to talk to or at some side event. Mesh created a persistent chat for the weekend and incentivized connections through the app. Oh, and they didn’t need to call them quests nor have to go through a whole onboarding 101 to get people into an app. It was just easy.

Culture…

The entire schedule of experiences was full of one word: CULTURE, whatever that means today.

Learn more about how FWB thinks about culture at their wiki and blog. Between Boys Club and FWB - these are two crypto social clubs that I believe really get internet culture.

Each experience ranged from tangible play to dance and music to college-level conversations on Brat Summer memetics. In a time when it feels like internet culture is crumbling, held up by tiny wet sticks, there are still groups going hard in discussion on where we are today and where we go next. Were there sessions and speakers I didn’t necessarily care for? Absolutely! That’s the joy of diversity. Internet culture is meant to be divisive and crunchy.

However, I will point out that this crowd was extremely heavy on hipster vibes… highly unrepresentative of the internet at large. If we are to build a better internet, we should think outside this extremely small bi-coastal bubble. The internet of today is a lot larger than the party scene in NYC and LA.

On the other hand, the diversity among voices was so incredible to see. Again, the IYK x OP Creator Haus worked super hard to make this possible. Throughout each day, there were hard-hitting talks on creativity and onchain culture that frankly needed to happen. I hope these ideas come to life sooner rather than later and more of these artists get seriously funded.

It was more than clear (as proudly pronounced) that many in the sea of 1000+ people certainly needed some time offline. Then again, who am I to judge? I needed it, too.

Bringing together emerging tech professionals to a music festival was truly a magical merging of cultures.

Closing Thots

I wish I would have attended more of the talks at the main stage.

Honestly, I don’t have any real criticisms at all about the entire time. FWB FEST was everything I needed it to be and more. I will definitely be back next year, that’s for sure.

I’m beyond happy I got to see some new friends, especially glad I got to meet Kiana and Paff <3

What’s next for me from the Celosphere sponsorship? Well, I will be giving out 3x $1000 artist grants for the next Creators Fund, and I’ll be looking to artists who were at FEST for inspiration. So stay tuned to Celo tweets for more info on when that goes live!

See you in Idyllwild next year!