BestieTalks does Grizzly Fest!

This year, Jess and I got to experience Grizzly Fest together! Over the span of just 48 hours, we had such an epic, unforgettable weekend in my hometown of Fresno! This year’s Grizzly Fest line up was filled with hip-hop, reggae, indie and rock musicians that took place in a brand new location at Woodward Park. My husband is a founder of this fantastic festival, and this event is a full family affair. Therefore, Jessica was a part of that and was put to work right along side of me and my hospitality duties. Having all access passes allowed us to see and be apart of everything that was going on. Now that the festival is over, we wanna give you a rundown of our experience.  

Friday, May 18th

Day 1. We arrived at the festival by 9 o’clock AM and began to prepare the artist trailers. Who would have known filling trailers with snacks, drinks, and chips & salsa could be so damn fun with your bestie?! As we go from trailer to trailer, it starts becoming so real. All this hard work from my husband, his best friend Aren, and the whole Grizzly fest team is finally coming together for a kick-ass event! 

Jess and I have this positive natural energy about us that bursts out of our pores! As we float around backstage and throughout the festival grounds, we’re sharing smiles with everyone and asking them if they need any help with anything. We were happy to say that we got EVERY TASK DONE that was assigned to us! From finding specific liquor for artists, bandanas for Jhene Aiko or beer runs for the Grizzly Crew; we got the job done! Our motto for the weekend was “there’s nothing we can’t do!” and we truly lived by that. 

Unforgettable Experiences

We were kept busy for a lot of the performances, but on Friday we made sure to be front and center for Jhene Aiko. We hung out backstage and watched her walk from her trailer to the stage before we moved to the pit. At one point during the performance, I looked around to see that it was just me and my bestie in the pit. We were front and center in front of Jhene singing our hearts out together. Halfway through the show security came and got us and I immediately thought that we were being kicked out. But, nope. We were being brought on stage to dance with Jhene Aiko! The moments before they told us to walk on stage our hearts were pounding and tears of joy were creeping up. We danced on stage in front of thousands of people with an artist we admire. 

 

That moment is something that is indescribable. The feeling of doing something like that with your favorite person is a memory that will never fade or will ever be able to be replaced. BESTIE GOALS!

Nas came out in an all red velour tracksuit looking hot! During his performance, Nas took a moment to bring attention to the school shooting tragedy that happened that day in Texas. We did a moment of silence, and I found that super appropriate. Thousands of people all silent at the same time in remembrance of those that were lost. Super moving. Next up was Foster The People. Foster The People had the biggest crowd of the night by far. They rocked the stage, and it was a great ending to day one of Grizzly Fest.  

Saturday, May 19th

Day 2. Since we knew what to expect, we were able to arrive about an hour later on day 2. This time, we decided to wear our BestieTalks shirts and bring some stickers to pass out. Before getting to Grizzly Fest, we make a stop at Starbucks for breakfast sandwiches and a tea (neither of us drinks coffee). Upon entering, a woman came right up to us and began asking us about our shirts. She wanted to know where to buy one LOL. We explained they were to represent our blog and I described what our blog is about. She was so enthusiastic and said she was going to tell all of her students about BestieTalks! That kind woman was the start of a long list of people who loved our shirts and showed us and BestieTalks so much love!

After filling all of the artist trailers with food, gifts, and refreshments, we wandered around the festival before the gates opened. We mingled with vendors, and the energy was already so infectious. Gates opened at 2 pm and people flooded the park excited to see their favorite musicians. Grizzly Fest was filled with positive vibes and was truly a peaceful event. Food, drinks, music, friends and family, all made for a fabulous Saturday.

 BestieTalks Enjoys The Vibes

To start the evening off right, we went backstage to watch local Fresno artist (and close friend) Fashawn perform. Standing on stage watching the crowd gather and sing along was an amazing thing to witness. Fashawn no doubt brought the energy that was needed, and you could see it and feel it by hearing and watching the crowd. While we were standing on stage watching him perform we turned around to see Sage The Gemini who gave us a big smile. Every single artist we crossed paths with were just so down to earth. There was not an ounce of hate at Grizzly Fest. The rest of the afternoon was filled with the same high energy and incredible performances.

Unforgettable Memories

The final act of the night was Snoop Dogg. Every single person was excited as fuck for Snoop, including us. For Snoop’s performance, we again made our way to the front of the stage and stood in the pit with our husbands. Within the first few minutes of Snoop’s show, he noticed us and tossed us his blunt that he was smoking. My bestie caught that shit, and best believe we kept it after we hit it a few times! LOL! A blunt for the West Coast Godfather Snoop?! Are you serious?! MIND BLOWN!!!

The combination of being so close to the stage that you could feel the bass vibrating and both Snoop and Kurupt pointing at us and interacting with us was a moment we will never forget.

A lot of artists perform but never really see their crowd, but this wasn’t the case with Snoop. He made it a point to make sure that we knew he saw us and we made sure to let him know we see him too! Those moments standing alongside our men while singing our hearts out is something that will stay with us forever. 

Grizzly Fest 2019 is already underway and best believe that we will be there to do this all over again! Join us next year for this amazing event!