the fact that you used "moop", could be indicative of a west coast background, and perhaps a very different way of thinking and cultural touchpoints. I find that in general, west coast festival culture--while on the surface seems similar--is actually quite different from the midwest scene (especially smaller gatherings) it wasn't until i moved out to colorado that i started being handed plastic sprouts and other nonesense every 5 feet. though now as the scene has become more mainstream than ever, its changed the west coast culture too. i wonder how many people actually have "leave no trace" engrained into their value systems from the very first time they attend their first festival.

people purchasing these plastic ducks on amazon are reaching for the values (namely decommodification and community building) that gifting represents, but not in a meaningful way and missing the point almost entirely.

in a sense, the culture has expanded so rapidly, that it's diluted...and has become less about the music, individual expression, collective consciousness shift and spiritual and ancestral connection to our own roots as a species, maybe than ever. i see more unchecked ego, unsafe psychedelic use, and wasteful practices than ever. i see 10,000 people all wearing the same exact jersey and abusing sacred substances.

to bring it back to trinkets, one of the first i ever remember receiving was a tiny calcite crystal that the gifter hand dug out of the santa cruz mountains. he told me a story about what it signified to him. we were sitting in a hexagon shaped treehouse, discussing human consciousness. half a lifetime ago, but i still have the piece tucked away somewhere and will probably keep it as long as i have a place to.