Wasteland Weekend is back. It started Wednesday and last through Sunday. This annual festival in Edwards, California is a full-immersion post-apocalyptic event. In other words, this is the closest you’ll get to living in the post-apocalypse without a zombie outbreak or nuclear war. It started in 2010 and it’s been going strong ever since. In 2015, 2500 people attended and the numbers grow every year. This year, it’s expected that as many as 4,000 may be attending.
Check out the Wasteland Weekend 2018 Schedule. Here's what you're missing. Share on XIn an interview with LA Weekly, Jared Butler (co-founder/director) said that this is a Hollywood version of the apocalypse. “The idea is not so much to feel like you’re at a desert music and arts festival (like Burning Man), but to feel like you’re inside of the Hollywood version of the apocalypse.” Some people take on certain personas and role play, but others just bring a tent and hang with friends, pretending they’re in an apocalypse.
One of the big attractions every year is the stylized, post-apoc, Mad Max like cars that people bring. Wasteland Weekend has a contest with categories for replica vehicles and for original creations. There’s also a costume ball, lots of entertainment, a bounty hunter event, and even a film festival. Read on to check out what you’re missing. (And by the way, if you’re really feeling sad, try a post-apocalyptic board game like this one to help you pass the time as you mourn missing out.)
The Entertainment Schedule
Off to #wastelandweekend to hang out with our MH and DoW family! pic.twitter.com/c5c0geFDCp
— Siphter (@SiphterGames) September 23, 2018
If you ever wanted to know what people do to stay entertained during the event, now you can. Here’s a look at the schedule for this year’s event. But there’s actually a lot more happening than this. This just gives you an idea. 🙂
Wednesday (9/26)
- DJ Humungus
- Live Band: Marley Monroe
- Nuclear Bombshells (burlesque and fire show)
- Live Band: Cage 9
- Inklusionists
Thursday (9/27)
- Salvaged Designs seminar on aging and distressing, doll-making
- Jugger match (that’s bloody football!)
- Badlands Savages
- Live Band: Zombii
- Wretched Embers fire performance
- Live band: Dirty Horror
- Lady Vajayjay Drag Show
- Roast of Dave Dufour
- DJ Corpse Toe
Friday (9/28)
- Every day: Bounty Hunting with the Rust Devils
- Archery range activities
- Wasteland Magician Sand Demon in the Mushroom Cloud Lounge, Thursday-Saturday (2:30 & 4 p.m.)
- Wasteland Weekend Car Show: Friday, Sept. 28 from 2-5 p.m. Categories include best in show, survivor, battle ready, best replica, most ridiculous, and more.
- Another Jugger match at 5 pm (that’s post-apoc football!)
- Memorial to the fallen: 6:30 pm
- Wasteland Weekend Formal: Friday night at the main stage and Atomic Cafe, everyone comes in their most elegant wasteland attire. Atomic Cafe is also hosting a champagne cocktail.
- Wretched Embers fire performance: 7 pm
- Katharsis: burlesque show: 7:30 pm
- The Pug’s FIght Night: 8 pm on Den Stage
- Felix & Theos Volatile fire performance: 8:45 pm
- Ladee Danger dancer – Main stage, Friday night
- The Angeles of Ruin (aerial artists) – They perform every night on The Roost
- Live bands all night: Dublin Rain, V2A, AHTCK, Dead Animal Assembly Plant
- Lots of DJ performances all night long
Saturday (9/29)
- Every day: Bounty Hunting with the Rust Devils
- Archery contest: 10 am
- Dollmaking workshop: 10:30 am
- Saturday Gate Opening Ceremony: 11 am
- Swimsuit Competition: 12 pm at Deez Stage
- Wasteland Magician Sand Demon in the Mushroom Cloud Lounge, Thursday-Saturday (2:30 & 4 p.m.)
- Costume Contest: 3 pm at Main Stage
- Car Cruise: 3:30-6:30 pm
- Special Fire Ceremony: 6:30 pm
- Jugger Match! (post-apoc football): 7 p.m.
- Hell’s Sirens: 8 pm
- Nuclear Bombshells: 9:30 pm
- Inklusionists: 10:45 pm
- DJ Battle: 11 pm
- The Angeles of Ruin (aerial artists) – They perform every night on The Roost
Sunday (9/30)
- Wasteland Preacher’s sermon – Sunday morning at 11 am. His radiation sickness gets worse every year, but he still preaches on.
Other rumored events include:
- Death Guild Thunderdome
- Wasteland puppet show
- Wasteland Gladiators in a battle cage near the Atomic Cafe
- Molotov Mollies burlesque group
Bounty Hunting
A little late, but apocalypse here I come.#wastelandweekend pic.twitter.com/BJLM2xdHOU
— James Cross (@CrossxFyre) September 27, 2018
I’ve got to call attention to this one! There’s a bounty hunting event all weekend. You can play the role of a bounty hunter while simultaneously chasing down your target if you want. Then try to hunt down your target (or bribe the Rust Devils, who are coordinating the whole thing.) Approach your target with their wanted poster, and engage in Rock Paper Scissors to see who wins the fight. (There are also safe spots for targets: the Last Chance Casino, Medical Tent, and Rust Devils camp.)
Wasteland Film Festival
But wait, there’s more! For the first time, there is also a Wasteland Film festival this year. They’re showing independent post-apocalyptic-themed films Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off and on all day. There are way too many films to include in this article, so check out the official program here or below.
The schedule for the 2018 Wasteland Film Festival
Posted by Wasteland Film Festival on Sunday, September 9, 2018
If you still want to know more about the event, you can see a map and layout here.
Still missing Wasteland Weekend? Try a post-apocalyptic board game like this one to help you pass the time as you mourn missing out.
