It is finally time to Lift Off for my favorite camping event in the Northeast: Elements Music & Arts Festival. The 2026 edition returns for the fifth straight year to the campsite in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, near the Poconos Raceway. Elements starts Friday, August 7, and runs through Sunday, August 9, with a special pre-party and early entry available for August 6.
If you still haven’t purchased your pass, today is the day to do it, because Friday, July 17, is the last day to purchase your pass through the website and receive your physical wristband in the mail. Any passes purchased after Friday will need to be picked up from will call ahead of festival arrival. Trust me, avoid the will call line and book today if you haven’t already.
The Lineup
The team behind Elements really went all out with this year’s lineup, securing top-line talent throughout the festival for all four stages. Each stage has its own identity, with carefully curated artists running all day long. Earth Stage features some of the biggest names in bass music like Subtronics, CloZee, LSDREAM, and Porter Robinson on Saturday and Sunday, while the Water Stage goes heavy on the bass all weekend long. On Friday, the Earth Stage features international heavyweights like Above & Beyond and Chris Lake.
All weekend long, the Air Stage is the place to be for the best house and techno artists, with standouts like Kettama, Boys Noize, A-Trak, Acraze, and Walker & Royce to name a few. The vibes at the Fire Stage change a bit from day to day, but feature some of the biggest acts of the weekend, including sunset sets from Ganja White Night, Louis the Child, and GRiZ chasing the golden hour.
Of course, don’t forget about the optional add-on Thursday pre-party and early arrival. The Air and Water Stages will be open, stacked with B2Bs to get the festivities started right. San Pacho and Chris Lorenzo feature on the Air Stage, while Mersiv and Wankdat (Crankdat b2b Wooli) feature at the Water Stage. With the set times finally available, flip through the gallery below to start planning your weekend.
The Festivities
With four main stages and hundreds of talented artists to see, there’s plenty of music to dance to all weekend. But that’s only a portion of what’s on offer at Elements Music & Arts Festival. The Fun Factory is a stage near the woods that features all kinds of clownery, comedy, and engaging performances. Across the field, The Bizarre features theatrical acts and immersive ensemble performances.
The plaza is the main arena at the convergence of the stages, where all the festival vendors, visual artists, and merch shops are located, along with the Ferris wheel and picnic tables for some shade and a place to eat. For yoga, sound healing, workshops, and wellness, the healing garden is the place to be all weekend long with a rotating schedule of offerings each day.
Throughout the festival, be on the lookout for new elevated artwork and art installations. Of course, the bright lights of the neon forest bring the trees to life once the sun goes down. Be on the lookout for enchanted performers and fire dancers working their way through the festival grounds. The Disco Den features a silent stage that’s part woodland hideaway and part time-warp disco. Peep the artist list below to see who’s throwing down at the Disco Den. Finally, don’t miss out on the secret sidequests hidden in the forest. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
The Experiences
In addition to the music and festivities, there are also some premium experiences with limited availability still on offer to Elements attendees. The Elements Restaurant Experience partnered with Pocono Organics to provide two different meal options over the weekend. The Mad Hatter’s Brunch is a breakfast buffet served at 1 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with an additional 11 am seating on the weekend. For dinner, the Fire Horse Lucky Bistro features a three-course Asian-inspired meal with seating by the Earth Stage. On Friday, dinner is served at 7 pm during Ganja White Night, and then on Saturday and Sunday, it is served at 6:30 pm during Louis the Child and GRiZ, respectively. Reservations for brunch or dinner are available on a limited basis through the Tixr ticketing portal.
For people looking to start the weekend with a warm-up or looking to learn some new dance moves, Shuffle House returns to the Fun Factory with a free class on Friday from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. Later Friday night, there is a sustainable fashion show at the Heart Gallery in the plaza for anyone showing off a thrifted or upcycled outfit from 7 to 8 pm. Then on Saturday night, there is a bike parade and decoration contest at the Northside camp pitstop from 6:30 to 8 pm, with the grand prize winner taking home an Elements 2027 VIP pass! If you need a pop of festival glam or stylish festival braids for your hair, the Unicorn Lounge by Sik Braids has you covered.
Finally, don’t forget the Elements theme days for 2026. The theme for Thursday is PJ Party, so wear your comfiest pajamas, onesies, or robes. Friday’s theme is Party Animal, encouraging everyone to dress up as their favorite animal. Saturday is Elements Day, which beckons people to wear a color to match their element. Green for earth, red for fire, blue for water, and yellow for air. The Sunday Funday theme is Glow Up, so people should wear glowing, neon, iridescent, or intergalactic attire.
Not only are theme days fun to plan with your festival crew, but Elements is offering up prizes as well. To enter your outfit for consideration, be sure to post your picture to Instagram with a tag for @elementsfestival and the hashtag #emf26themedays. For the full rules, check out how it works below.
The Upgrades
Elements is always open to feedback and routinely makes improvements based on festivalgoer suggestions. They listened and delivered even more upgrades for 2026. Firstly, something we’ll all notice: complete stage makeovers for the Fire and Earth Stages, plus an expanded footprint for the Water Stage. Both stages will feature flatter terrain as more large rocks have been removed from the fields, while the paths in the forest have been smoothed and widened where applicable.
Additional bathrooms and water stations have been added to the bathroom banks and refill stations, both inside the festival grounds and outside in the campsites. Southside Camp VIP areas now have bathrooms and showers, plus added water refill stations in festival VIP areas. More security has been added to the campground entrances to speed up entry and get people in safely.
Inside the festival grounds, there will be more shaded areas and places to chill out in the forest. Best of all, there are even more art installations, secret sidequests, and activations planned for 2026 than in previous years. Be sure to check out Sunday’s Lightcode experience, a moving sound bath from LSDREAM that has always been one of the highlights of my weekend when I have the opportunity to attend.
While not technically an upgrade, it is always worth reminding people that Elements takes great pride in the sustainability of the festival. Elements uses green energy from the huge solar field near the raceway and local organic produce from Pocono Organics right next door. The sustainability statistics from 2025 tell a story about a festival that cares about its environmental impact. Over 15% of all waste was diverted from landfills, including 35,000 pounds of recycled waste and nearly 10,000 pounds of compost.
The Entourage
Back for 2026 is the ultimate Elements experience: the entourage pass! In addition to the VIP upgrades, the entourage pass takes behind-the-scenes access to the next level. All four stages feature backstage access with a dedicated entourage service team and expanded viewing areas. At the Fire and Earth Stages, there is even access to the artist lounge.
Entourage pass holders receive a $100 food and drink voucher daily and a custom swag bag. Premium comfort upgrades include air-conditioned bathroom trailers and a separate entourage campground for glamping or RV hookups. Of course, entourage pass holders and VIP holders will both have special access to VIP happy hour sets each day. Ivy Lab plays a DnB set on Friday, Azzecca goes b2b with Jackie Hollander on Sunday, and Saturday’s VIP set features unnamed surprise guests. There’s a very limited number of entourage passes remaining, so if you want the most premium Elements experience, this is your chance to lock it in.
With just under three weeks to go, now is the time to commit to the bit. As I mentioned in the opening, today, Friday, July 17, is the last day to order your tickets and receive the wristband in the mail to avoid waiting at will call. Elements continues to be one of the highlights of my summer and the best camping festival in the Northeast, so I hope to see you there. Be on the lookout for more Elements coverage from Moon Lvnding, including an upcoming interview with two New York City underground artists making their mainstage debut, starting the weekend by playing the first set at the new Fire Stage. To connect with Elements, click the handy links below.
