StarGate festivals were hosted at Gateway Ranch in the Northern Arizona desert in 2016, 2018 and 2019 with 300-500 attendees. Working with an Arizona-wide team, Malena developed the StarGate ReUnion festival concept as a 48-hr curated flow. She wanted to create a party that invited participants to build up momentum toward sunrise on Sunday morning. She observed that people often have asynchronous energy flows at festivals and wanted to see if that energy could be guided towards a progressive build-up to a shared celebratory crescendo.

Opening Ceremonies were held before sunset on Friday, bringing everyone together to connect, learn about the property and set intentions for the weekend. Friday night music ended by 2am, inviting participants to rest for the next day.

Saturday began early with workshops across the property, followed by open DJ decks, art projects and a community “clothing swap” at the dome in the afternoon. Because people got to rest on Friday night, more people were up and engaging with workshops and activities on Saturday. Curated music and performances kicked off again before sunset and throughout the night into sunrise on Sunday morning. As a tradition to greet the sunrise, StarGate gifted a mimosa, fruit and juice bar experience.

Leave it Better Event.
Gateway Ranch is an off-grid property that has been built up by the Arizona community, with decades of art projects and infrastructure invested. Before StarGate, the property was cluttered with scrap wood and materials, with several areas needing repair or completion. For several months before each StarGate, Malena organized volunteer weekends at Gateway ranch to clean up, prepare and improve the property. Projects included patching the roof of the traditional hogan, adding drywall and final touches to the Temple of Four Directions, building a bank of 6 outhouses, and doing general clean up on the property. The festival progressively improved the property with a lasting impact each year.