Floating Freedom Festival

This Fall marks the launch of Ephemerisle, the first of many experimental festivals planned by The Seasteading Institute. The “ephemeral islanders” will gather on their seafaring crafts in California’s Sacramento River Delta October 2 – 4 to “build an eclectic temporary village” around a central platform. 

More than an opportunity to party on the water, the festival will serve as a model for creating autonomous entities on the high seas where people can “come and go, experimenting with different types of legal, social, and contractual agreements.” Ephemerisle founder Patri Friedman, grandson of Milton Friedman, was inspired by his experiences at Burning Man and Pennsic to “give people the direct experience of political autonomy” that would eventually inspire a permanent way of life. The Seasteading Institute envisions incrementally “recreating a frontier” as a practical step toward more competition between forms of government and overall more freedom.

If you want to be at the helm of this floating social laboratory, check out the Ephemerisle site for logistics, social networking opportunities, workshops on how to build your own seafaring craft, and more on the philosophy of ephemeral islanders.