The Thing Arcata

01/16/2024

Good morning yall!

It is with a great pleasure that I announce the final public gathering at The Thing Arcata! We are going to begin moving out on February 1st, but before we do we are so honored to welcome one of our favorite bands back to the stage for an incredible night of Music, Friends, Tea, Dancing.

FAMILY MYSTIC!!

Family Mystic is a four piece vocal ensemble surfing the ebb and flows of present day Portland, OR, redefining what making music from the deep realms of the heart can be. Vulnerable, poignant, dynamic, direct, and multidimensional. Merging elements of classic funk/soul, 60’s/70’s psychedelia, a splash of progressive jazz fusion, and tight vocal arrangements to answer the age old question “what genre is this music?” - FEEL GOOD MUSIC! Bringing people of all ages together. There may truly be a tasty treat for everyone within the mystical sounds of this family of brothers.

Once again, it has and always will be honor to bring great music to this town. I, Jake, have loved this project with my whole heart and it has been the best thing I've done with my life so far.

Thank you all so much for being part of this wonderful experiment and we will see you on the dance floor!

11/29/2023

Join us for an electrifying evening of music and entertainment at The Thing in Arcata, CA, USA! Get ready to groove in the deep pocket and soulful compositions of the Salamander Collective. This event promises to be a night to remember. So grab your friends and head on over to The Thing for a night of pure musical bliss. Don't miss out on this incredible experience!

Salamander Collective is a high vibration multi-genre psychedelic jam band, made up of an ever evolving cast of creators & visionaries in service to the present moment.

With a strong emphasis on improvisation, the Salamanders weave musical journeys that transport, transform, and transcend. From soulful soundscapes & heart-felt ballads, to full out epic grooves that lend itself to high-energy dance parties ~ the Salamander Collective is a musical experience like no other!

11/27/2023

Monday Night, November 27th!

At the thing!

Come join up for this incredible night of story tellers, alchemical wizardry and beautiful music!

11/07/2023

~ The Wizard Returns ~

Come, let our mouths, hearts, and lives be fed and inspired by the sweet work and stories of these grand yet small creatures whose work transforms the briefest nectar into the gold that lasts forever. We know honey bees as the original alchemists and medicine makers. She whose buzzing harvests not only feed her people, but also are in service to all she takes from; nourishing the vitality and diversity of the plant world, and thus all life. Come on out for poetry, storytelling, plant lore & a night of all things ambrosial

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door

Join us at The Thing Art Space! 

833 H St, Arcata, CA

Doors open at 6pm

The Pixie Traveling Medicine Show is coming to share tastes of our latest creations- the powerful ambrosias of the bees and elixirs of wild plants.

We will be offering poetry, myth, song, & samples of our honeys & libations.

Pixie Mead offers craft meads made with honeys from our treatment-free bees & infused with wildcrafted botanicals.

Spirit of the Hive offers one-of-a-kind distilled honey spirits.

Join Benjamin Brightheart-Pixie, along with musical guest Marya Stark, for story, song, and samples of their work with the bees including fresh bee pollen, raw honey, mead, herbal infused honeys, and herbal liqueurs.

**About Marya Stark**

Marya Stark

 In the space between art and persona there is magic.  Marya Stark lives there. Drawing from influences as diverse as Classical, Broadway, Indie-Pop, Storytelling and Folk, Marya crafts a sound that is wholly original. As a multi-instrumentalist and multi-media enchantress, she creates the way she breathes; without choice or hesitation. She is a carrier of myth, mystery, and medicine songs with which she embarks to create a ceremony of the human condition, taking her audience on lucid journey's through the caverns of the soul.

Marya is dedicated to the art of voice, song craft and archetypal embodiment, supporting her students in the joys of Courting the Muse. She is enchanted by kindness, nuance, synchronicity and soul remembrance, and is a life-long chaser of waterfalls.

We look forward to hosting you for this warm night of story, song and soul!

10/23/2023

~ Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance ~

The last one for a while...

The Thing is about to undergo a massive transition that will hopefully solidify its presence for a long while. During this transitional period, Ecatatic Dance and all other events will not be happening. So with that being said, Yes, this dance will be the last Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance for a long time.

Me and Ezekeal Zion are so stoked to be bringing you more music this Wednesday night as we do a special 3hr Ecstatic set! We are gunna go all over the board with genre blending and eclectic music selection so come ready to dance for a long time and celebrate this last moment in The Thing.

It's been an absolute joy and honor to be holding this dance for you all every week and I look forward to a time where it happens again, cheers to all the people who have ever been affected positively by it. I love you all and will see you on Wednesday night!

10/17/2023

~ Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance ~

Well, we are closing down on the last Ecstatic Dances for a little while here at The Thing. And it has been an absolutely honor to be moving with everyone, every week. It has truly been one of the greatest pleasures to witness so many amazing people, getting down on the dancefloor. Shouting, sweating, rolling around, jumping, connecting, drinking tea.

Everyone reading this right now helps makes all of this possible. This week, Jake Glasser will be Music curating and is also writing this message right now. I am so excited to share some of my favorite music with you guys this week.

We got Rawrjar opening up the night with a special 40min set before Ecstatic Dance begins! So please get here near 7 to witness Rawrjars truly stupendous and adventurous doodlings of music. One the best in Arcata!

Schedule:
Doors @ 7:00pm
Rawrjar @ 7:20pm
Ecstatic Dance! @ 8:00pm
Sound Healing @ 10:00pm
Circle and Afterglow @ 10:30pm

Yea I really love you guys so much. No matter what happens. Gathering with you all every week has been one of the best times of my entire life.

10/12/2023

Come join us at The Arcata Theater Lounge on October 21st for an Allstar line up of friends as we bring in this harvest season!

We are going to be having one last after party after the Show ends at the ATL, but you can only get in to the after party if you receive a golden ticket at the main party. So keep an eye out!

10/07/2023

When we all woke up this morning we had no idea we would be painting this spot for Pastels on The Plaza. But 8 amazing humans came together to create this amazing amalgamation of all things related to thing.

We got

- Clown Nose tiny hand
- Lantern
- oriental rug design on the bottom
- .arts mural
- jellyfish (because we are under water in the thing)
- bubbles cause lile everyone loves bubbles
- and The Thing. In the same color scheme as the building

So impressed and happy to be surrounded by art minded people that come together at a seconds notice to create beauty. Thanks so much yall! We finally made an impact on the plaza! Haha

10/04/2023

This Friday night! Come celebrate 2 years of Entheogenic decriminalization in Arcata!

10/02/2023

~Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance ~

Well well well... as we enter into the month of October and have fully entered fall, we see the onset of the rains and coming of colder winds. May we see this as an invitation to create inner fire while in the company of friends.

Ecstatic dance returns! After a 2 week hiatus due to Thing Fest we are back and ready to keep dancing! This week we are excited to offer an incredible producer and multi instrumentalist Sudakra!

Sudakra a renowned facilitator of conscious music and healing modalities. Rooted in Vedic traditions, he offers transformative DJ sets, ecstatic Kirtan, and awakening somatic experiences through artful curation of Sacred Sound, Mantra, and Mindfulness.

Sudakra has lived in Northern California for a while now and is super clued in to the music scene here so don't miss it!

Schedule:

Doors @7:00pm
Movement Warmup @ 7:30pm
Ecstatic Dance @ 8:00pm
Gong Bath @ 10:00pm

Thank you all for continuously making dance possible!

09/30/2023

Hey yall! Have you ever come to The Thing and had a fun time? Drank tea, danced, laughed, listened to music, played music, just in general had experiences that you enjoyed?

Welp as some of you have heard. Jake Glasser is stepping down from his position at The Thing but another group is taking over! There are alot of funds needed to ensure an easeful transition during this time though.

So if you have ever had fun at The Thing and want to see it continue in the world, please donate to this go fund me so that it can be brought to the next phase of its existence and continue bringing amazing experiences to Arcata and the Humboldt Community!

Already 10% there in 1 day!

Link for gofundme is in the bio!

https://gofund.me/5a9a8b40

09/23/2023

Okay yall! It was an amazing first night! Felt so good at The Thing. And it perfectly set the stage for this afternoon and for the nighttime extravaganza!

Big thanks to all the artists and performers who have performed so far and thank you so much everyone for supporting!

Come check out the daytime programming!

We got contact dance class with cy be.

We got potency Portals Poetry jam with many local incredible poets!

We have an incredibly special birthday set with Wolven Words!

And then finally a movement expression class with Leslie! Castellano!

09/22/2023

~ Friday Night Artist Spotlight ~
Tonight! Tonight!

Friday night is for the homies! Friends from all over the world colliding in spectacular fashion in order to bring a night of saucy, sexy and bass-tasting fun to set this festival off right!

We are so blessed that so many dear friends also happen to be world class dj's and producers and we will hear an incredibly wide range in music!

Our dear friend Brajan will be opening the night! Followed by a sexy eastern influenced trap set from the lovely Szara! Leading into the Arcata premier of The Rad Hatter! And very excited to welcome back our friend and creator of frequencies Peace Sine to carry us deeper into the night. And lastly but CERTAINLY not least is Ayaharmony who will wow you with her sultry medicine bass music and finally bid us goodnight with a sound healing to wind down.

Friday night is going to be such a fiery first night!

So excited to celebrate with everyone! Love you all so much.

Schedule
8:30pm Doors Re-open
9:00 - 10:00: Brajan
10:00 - 11:00: Szara
11:00 - 12:30: The Rad Hatter
12:30am - 2:00am: Peace Sine
2:00am - 3:30am: Ayaharmony

As always we are an alcohol free venue. So please respect that and help us bring that energy to the nightlife scene!

Friday Night Tickets are $30
3 Day Passes are $65

See everyone so soon!

09/20/2023

~~ Thing Fest Schedules ~~

Here's a full list of all the Thing Fest Schedules!

09/20/2023

~~ Sunday Afternoon Schedule ~~

And without further ado, our last schedule announcement! For Sunday afternoon!

Sunday afternoon is about connection, softness, learning and da fam! We have Sound Healings and education and workshops and contact dance! It's about bringing it all together before we settle in for the night!

First off, on Sunday morning we will have  b2b Ecstatic Dance set with Rawrjar on handpan followed by Lantern and Djake leading us through the mornings journey! Flowy, smooth, melodic and saucy!
Leading into an extended sound healing performed by multiple members of the community!

And then Danny Avalanche will be offering an hour of a particular and eclectic music journey through different instruments and musical modalities. Don't wanna miss him!

After Danny we are super blessed to have Veneta and Andrew teaching a workshop! Shadow Play! Combining elements of shadow work, consent and contact improv to help expand our limits!

David Poplin of Humboldt Mycology will be giving us an hour long presentation on one our favorite topics! Mushrooms! So come join us for an hour of knowledge!

For the last act of the afternoon we will collide in fantastic shapes and exploratory movements with Aren Rye leading an hour of Interdisciplinary somatic portal jam deepenings. You have to come to find out...

It's been an honor to bring this to Arcata and I'm so excited for this weekend!

09/19/2023

~~ Saturday Afternoon Schedule ~~

Announcing! Our Saturday afternoon schedule!
It was always the original intention of The Thing to not only be offering music late into the night but to be offering thought provoking and life enhancing programming that would help expand our life in many ways! So our Saturday afternoon programming features Philosophy, poetry. Beautiful acoustic music and movement practices!

We have a classic, elegant gathering starting out on Saturday morning. A time for tea and talk and art and community!

We got Cy Be teaching a contact dance class downstairs for an hour while elegant gathering continues.

Then we are most excited to be hosting a specially curated set of poets! Sounds of fingers snapping will echo in the building as these wordsmiths show us what they got.

Only once and a while do we get so incredibly blessed to see Wolven Words perform an hour long set of enchanting and gorgeous music! Truly do not want to miss this creatures performance.

And finalizing our afternoon, Leslie Castellano will be teaching a movement workshop primarily based in contact improv.

Wooot! Getting so excited yall! Getting closer and closer!

09/18/2023

~ Sunday Night Performances ~

Wow, by Sunday night the magic is going to be ripe in the air. Inspiration will be floating around and consistently reciprocating with every conversation and dance.

Sunday evening is all about the heart. Sunday evening is all about live music and celebrating our local friends and showcasing their amazing and varied talents!

First up we have the Caribbean Jazz Odyssey! A local group led by Eric Tolfa that just performed an incredible set at North Country Fair will be starting our night off!

Next we have a truly exciting event... THE THING VARIETY SHOW!

The Thinf Variety Show will be composed of 9 artists all doing 10-15min of various activities from theater performances, songs, poetry, dance, hip hop. You name it!

We got...

Joe Moore
Mystical Av Club
Saturn
Rachel Noel
Ra Hotep
Rawrjar
Sneaky Mandy
Unbroken Chain
Cy in Essence

This is sure to be an incredible part of the evening and I couldn't be more excited!

Then Jake will deliver a speech about how much he loves everyone!

Followed by a truly special and unique expereince the likes of which no one has seen before. JAMeeSHKA! The combo project of a couple so immense in their creativity, that we may only sit and awe and perhaps wiggle our bootys as we receive their magic.

Then we will end... surely in a cascading roar of goodbyes, tears, laughter, cuddles, beverages and memories and an energy of inspiration that we may take with us whereever we go...

Truly. Thank you all. I can't wait to celebrate all that we have done

09/17/2023

~ Saturday Night Music Lineup ~

Well as we move into the main night of the event, we truly prepare for an event the likes of which Arcata has never seen. We will gather and dance and laugh and grow closer all throughout the night. We will forge friendships with sweat and legends will be told about this night.

We are so excited to bring you this packed lineup for the night...

Starting off the evening is a dear friend and leader of the Embodiment Ecstatic Dance Festival in Guatemala is none other than Joshua Swahe!
https://on.soundcloud.com/TkGDZ

Coming all the way across the world we are thrilled to welcome Lo.Renzo to The Thing to help bring an incredible swirl of live and ancient sounds to our dance floor
https://on.soundcloud.com/BQG6x
All building to our Headliner for the evening... Dub Kirtan All Stars, which is a group comprised of David Starfire and Freq Nasty, but only David will be playing. And just trust, this is one moment you don't want to miss!
https://on.soundcloud.com/kMvbP

Ezekeal Zion will be following Dub Kirtans set. Ezekeal has the record for most times played at The Thing and is our local hometown hero. Homies are the headliners!
https://on.soundcloud.com/YsM2W

SuDs: Born out of the smoke, fog. and low end serenity of Humboldt's redwood coast. His hypnotically destructive music blends together squishy textures, filthy saws, massive subs, and an immaculate array of polished organic samples that tap into a warped & psychedelic future dimension of sound that takes you on a fantastically surreal, and pulse pounding adventure through hyperspace.
https://on.soundcloud.com/H5m8g

Very important! Coming all the way from Denver, loaded down with sparkles and steez we have Karl Funhouse coming to give us a B***y House & Bass set!

And last but absolutely not least. We will be featuring a set from B2B duo, Ejakeal Glyon. A collaboration with Ezekeal Zion and Jake Glasser (Creator of The Thing)

Waffles will be served...

Enjoy everyone. This is going to be one of the best nights ever!

It has been truly an honor to bring this sort of event to Arcata. Love you all so much.

09/15/2023

~ Friday Night Artist Spotlight ~

Friday night is for the homies! Friends from all over the world colliding in spectacular fashion in order to bring a night of saucy, sexy and bass-tasting fun to set this festival off right!

We are so blessed that so many dear friends also happen to be world class dj's and producers and we will hear an incredibly wide range in music!

Our dear friend Brajan will be opening the night! Followed by a sexy eastern influenced trap set from the lovely Szara! Leading into the Arcata premier of The Rad Hatter! And very excited to welcome back our friend and creator of frequencies Peace Sine to carry us deeper into the night. And lastly but CERTAINLY not least is Ayaharmony who will wow you with her sultry medicine bass music and finally bid us goodnight with a sound healing to wind down.

Friday night is going to be such a fiery first night!

So excited to celebrate with everyone! Love you all so much.

Schedule
8:30pm Doors Re-open
9:00 - 10:00: Brajan
10:00 - 11:00: Szara
11:00 - 12:30: The Rad Hatter
12:30am - 2:00am: Peace Sine
2:00am - 3:30am: Ayaharmony

As always we are an alcohol free venue. So please respect that and help us bring that energy to the nightlife scene!

Friday Night Tickets are $30
3 Day Passes are $65

See everyone so soon!

09/11/2023

Greetings everyone ✨

This week we will welcome our locally loved, Sub_Aura back home for an evening dance as we shift closer to the closing of summer 🌹

Sub_aura focuses on finding music that weaves between intrinsic melody and sonic prescision. Music with enough artistic expression to invoke a release of energy, and engineered to sound great on proper soundsystems. He uses his decade+ of DJ experience to form calculated and accurate transitions/energy shifts throughout his performances. Ranging from ambient soundscapes, to melodic bass, to junglistic breakbeats, to heavy hitting techno. Sub_aura blends genres seamlessly and is constantly expanding his range of musical selections ✨

Doors open at 7
Warm up workshop starts at 7:30
And the dance will begin at 8

See you all there ✨ looking forward to closing this season with loved ones 🤍

09/06/2023

Wooot!

I’ll be DJing a special solo Dub Kirtan All Stars set at The Thing Arcata and can’t wait 🙏

09/04/2023

~Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance~
This week we have a cosmic duo taking us on a sonic journey!

Collaborations are grounds for learning our strengths just like each planet fulfills their archetypes in our stories of the sky, we need each other to reflect who we are!

VOLO & Lantern have been conspiring since the days of Wandous! Showing up to participate with creativity & a shared love for art in all its forms. They are excited to join forces & combine their different styles into one dope set for you all to get down to 🛸✨️

VOLO is known to defy genres and constraints, oscillating between orchestral production, future bass, house, and downtempo. Carefully crafting intricate layers and textures of sound, VOLO leaves fans discovering new details with every listen.
Lantern is a representative of paragonic paradoxes~committed to observing the nuance of music's impact on self-discovery & in turn an invitation for a deeper sense of self-acceptance. As a DJ and poet they bring their love for hip hop, brass ensembles, and stringed instruments blended into electronic portals.

Schedule:

Doors - 7PM
Movement Workshop - 7:30 PM
Ecstatic Dance - 8 PM
Sound Healing - 10 PM

See you on the dance floor!
Love, Thing Media Guild

08/31/2023

~ The Thing Presents ~

The Thing Festival! Our largest event ever!

It is with great honor to be writing these words to convey the details of what is sure to be one of the most eventful weekends in Thing History!

With 3 full days to savor one another we are excited to announce our 3 year anniversary of existing!

The breeze is picking up, the fog is rolling in deep, & there is magyk brewing in our community cauldron. With all of our dearest homies as the headliners we are bursting at the seams to see so much talent in one weekend!!

This celebration is our HUGE thank you to every single dancer, artist, crafter, mage, creature,song carrier, band, poet, teacher, & chef that has blessed our container with their presence~

We couldn’t have done it without every contribution that has been made over these past few yet infinite years. From the beginning we didn’t ever know what this was going to become, through the exploration of the unknown we have been absolutely floored & elated to witness all that has flourished within & through The Thing.

Activities will include:
DancingMusic (Electronic and Live)
Sound Baths
Tea Parties
Connection
Workshops
Speakers
Amazing Food
Elixirs
Sunrise Sets
Contact Dance
An Incredible Variety show
and Much More!

Thank you for always being apart of this and with this being one of The Things final parties... let's go out with a beautiful bang!

We will only be selling a total of 150 tickets / day in order to keep the Intimacy and potency of the gathering!

Tickets: Link to buy in Bio!

$55 Early Bird
$65 Second Tier
$75 Third Tier

Single Day Tickets will be released on September 12th!

Single Day Friday: $30
Single Day Saturday: $30
Single Day Sunday: $20

Reach out if you want to get Involved! With So much Love Always...

The Thing Media Team

08/30/2023

Hey yall! So this is the last day before ticket prices go up for The Thing Festival / Equinox Weekend / 3YR anniversary of the The Thing!

Just sayinggg it's gunna go up in price and have fees because of eventbrite! Soooo get your tickets at $55 right now for all 3 days.

Activities will include:
Dancing
Music (Electronic and Live)
Sound Baths
Tea Parties
Connection
Workshops
Speakers
Amazing Food
Elixirs
Sunrise Sets
Contact Dance
An Incredible Variety show

and Much More!

And tickets will go like this

$55 Early Bird
$65 Second Tier
$75 Third Tier

Single Day Friday: $30
Single Day Saturday: $30
Single Day Sunday: $20

Soooo yup! It's gunna be the best ever. So hope to see everyone there!

Also dance is tonight and if you want to pay in cash for a ticket, tonight would be the time to do so!

Love yall!

08/28/2023

~Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance ~

With leaves slowly turning their pages & spores orchestrating water into clouds we have begun hearing the whispers of Autumn~

In case you needed a reminder, all of us over at The Thing love you & we are stoked to dance with you!!

With a pointed hat & stars in his eyes we have a sweet soul soaring in from Ashland this week

Merlin Sky has been living and breathing conscious dance since he was 18. As a fellow dancer, he understands the necessity of crafting dynamic flows that allow for many different planes of physical and emotional expression. Merlin enjoys playing with many genres, delivering a unique blend of textured frequencies and ecstatic bass magic ranging from trap and world bass infusions, to progressive house, techno, latin beats, medicine music, and more. We’re off to see the Wizard for a journey of electronic alchemy!

As a music producer Merlin is still finding his sound, working out the kinks, figuring out mixing, mastering, and enjoying the process. Being a DJ is an incredible act of bravery, let’s show up to celebrate his journey of composing this sound dreamscape.

Schedule:

Doors @ 7:00pm
Movement Workshop @ 7:30pm
Ecstatic Dance @ 8:00
Sound Healing @ 10:00pm

Love yall!

08/23/2023

Calling all vibrant fae & frolicking sea creatures!

! Rushadicus comes to The Thing !

Gather your potent potions, pockets full of mirth, & stompin’ feet
In our midst there gallops an imaginative nomadic wild cello goblin
Let us collect to catch a glimpse:

Rushadicus plays fluffy rainbow unicorn metal from a magic green dimension whose mystic tongues growl the delapitude of the future across speedy spectrums of the wildest astral cello landscapes with oceans of glee, skies full of bats and forests full of strange melody monsters: does it even exist?
"The Bat Prince of Jick" hops between dimensions as he growls the language of sneth over antelope-defeating landspeed records of jick and blasts triumphant kazoo upon the gates of untold realms and dawns.

We dare say gear up for an interdimensional adventure!
Prepare to be astonished by myriad rhythms never played on cello before~

Thursday Night (8/24/23)
Sliding Scale $10-$20

With bubble poppin’ joy, Thing Media Guild

08/22/2023

~ Wednesday Night Ecstatic Dance ~

We are so thrilled to welcome back Symphony!
Symphony has been a part of Arcata Ecstatic Dance since this most recent incarnation started forming and its a fantastic honor to witness how far she has come!

Symphony is a singer, mutli-percussionist and electronic music producer from Mexico based between Mexico and California.
Since 2010 she has been exploring electronic music, downtempo beats and deep bass, organically merging soul-inspired vocals with a variety of percussive instruments, including the Indian tabla, darbuka and pan drum.
Sometimes these elements are applied in her ecstatic dance live sets which has been a part of her latest focus in her musical journey.

We are also blessed to have Anastasia be teaching a 30min movement workshop today before dance!

Schedule:

Doors @ 7:00
Movement Workshop @ 7:30
Ecstatic Dance @ 8:00
Sound Healing @ 10:00pm

Love yall! See you Wednesday night!