Awesome People We Met on Day 1 of EDC Orlando 2016

As the Florida sun lit up Tinker Field on Friday of EDC Orlando 2016, we went around the festival to meet some of the kind and genuine souls from the Sunshine State. We connected with some pretty amazing Headliners. Here, get to know some of the awesome people from day one of EDC Orlando.

Name: Taylor, Victoria
Age: 23 (Taylor), 23 (Victoria)
Hometown: Ohio (Taylor), Orlando, FL (Victoria)
Occupation: Third grade teacher (Taylor); HR at a hotel (Victoria)
Number of EDCs: Third time (both)
What do you love most about Orlando?
Taylor: This! The scene. Everyone. All the young people. Downtown. This every year.
Victoria: I love how much of a community it is—especially after this summer—you just really see that everybody really loves each other and cares for each other. It’s awesome to see the community growing.
What’s one thing you wish you could bring home from EDC?
Taylor: The people I meet. I meet so many unique people; every year, we meet up again and again and again.
Victoria: It’s the people. I love the people here; it’s awesome.

Name: Cassandra
Age: 25
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Occupation: Entertainment
Number of EDCs: First time
What’s one song that has changed your life? Blue October “18th Floor Balcony”
What do you hope to take away from this weekend? I hope to take away just the love and the community and the fact that nobody cares about anything—no body image, no sexual identification. Everyone is just here to love and to be loved. I want to take that back out into the world.

Name: Bri
Age: 24
Hometown: New Jersey, but I live in Savannah.
Occupation: Pharmacy technician
Number of EDCs: Fourth time
What do you love most about Orlando? The people, for sure—[there are] so many different people. It’s definitely a different temperature. It’s a lot better in general. I just prefer Florida.
What’s one thing you wish you could bring home from EDC? The feeling! Everybody’s so nice. It’s just different once you leave. You want everything here.

Name: Rainbow May and Elena
Age: 30 (Elena)
Hometown: Miami (Elena)
Occupation: Public adjustor (Elena)
Number of EDCs: Fourth time (Elena)
What’s one song that has changed your life?
Elena: Armin “In and Out of Love”
What do you hope to take away from this weekend?
Elena: Great memories.

Name: Jennifer
Age: 26
Hometown: Miami, FL
Occupation: Bartender
Number of EDCs: Fourth time
What’s one song that has changed your life? Seven Lions “Strangers”
What do you hope to take away from this weekend? I just need an escape from reality—to escape from the political scene of the United States and just chill.

Name: James, Victoria
Age: 23 (Victoria)
Hometown: South Ft. Lauderdale, FL (James); Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Victoria)
Occupation: I produce music, and I’m a server (James); I’m a bookkeeper at a doctor’s office and a full-time college student (Victoria).
Number of EDC: First time (James); Fourth time (Victoria)
What do you love most about Orlando?
James: Beaches, for sure, and the vibe, too. Everybody loves the vibe. You come out here, and you have a great time; that’s what it’s all about.
Victoria: Coming to EDC! I love the rides, and I love all the lights. At nighttime, the whole atmosphere just changes. And I get to be with my friends.
What’s one thing you wish you could bring home from EDC?
James: Just one hell of a good-ass time! Memories! Something worth coming back for.
Victoria: I got that all on my GoPro.

Name: Luis
Age: 28
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: HR manager
Number of EDCs: Third time
What’s one song that has changed your life? Galantis “You & I”
What do you hope to take away from this weekend? The memories and new friends, and just the good times.

Name: Joey
Age: 22
Hometown: North Hollywood, CA; I live in Orlando, FL.
Occupation: I have two jobs right now: one in a restaurant and one in retail.
Number of EDC: First time!
What do you love most about Orlando? It’s way different from other places. It’s very cultural. Everybody loves each other.
What’s one thing you wish you could bring home from EDC? All the people! It feels live. It feels really energetic.

Name: Kat
Age: 23
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: Software engineer
Number of EDCs: Orlando two times, Las Vegas three times, New York, and EDC Mexico.
What’s one song that has changed your life? Borgeous “Invincible”
What do you hope to take away from this weekend? All the friends I make—I think that’s the most valuable thing. I meet so many people when I go to a festival, and a lot of the time, the next festival I go to is with that crew.

Name: Drew, Dallas
Age: 34 (Drew), 23 (Dallas)
Hometown: Savannah, GA
Occupation: Custom home theater (Drew), server (Dallas)
Number of EDCs: Second time (Drew), first time (Dallas)
What’s one song that has changed your life?
Drew: Kenny Rogers “The Gambler”
Dallas: Chainsmokers “Closer”
What do you hope to take away from this weekend?
Drew: I just want to enjoy this festival and enjoy everybody here, and to open her up to a whole new scene.
Dallas: A better experience than I had at Sunset Music Festival.