Kandi at Dreamstate SoCal
Trance on the Long Beach waterfront: softer palettes, slower trades, and how much kandi to string for two nights. Age and bag rules link to the organizer.
Dates and venue
- Dates
- November 20-21, 2026
- Where
- Long Beach, CA
Verified on August 30, 2026 against the organizer's own page. Dates, hours and policies change — check the official page before you book anything.
Held on the Queen Mary Waterfront. Insomniac's general festival guidelines are the baseline for bags and allowed items; the event's own page governs the year you are attending.
Age policy
The organizer's Hours & Info page states: "You must be 18+ to enter and 21+ for alcohol. Valid photo ID is required."
That is the organizer's policy, not ours. This site is written for adults regardless of who the event lets in.
Palette prompts
- UV Purple
- UV Blue
- Chrome
- Pearl White
- Black
Colors, not artwork. Nothing here copies the event's own visuals.
How many to prep
There is no correct number. These are ranges for 2 days, based on how hard you plan to trade — round down if this is your first one.
10
Light
You will trade if someone asks. Mostly singles, one piece you like.
20
Trading
You are starting handshakes. A full trade arm plus a cuff to remember.
40
Active trader
You prep for weeks and restock daily. Bring cord and spare beads too.
More on the split in how many kandi to bring.
What people trade here
Trance crowds trade slower and talk longer. A Dreamstate trade is usually the end of a conversation rather than a drive-by handshake, which changes what is worth making: fewer disposable singles, more pieces you would be happy to explain. People bring one good cuff and mean it.
The palette follows the room. Violet, deep blue, chrome and pearl sit better against a night waterfront than acid lime does, and they still pick up whatever wash is over the stage. If you want one loud accent, make it a single UV bead in an otherwise cold stack.
Carry plan
Two nights on a waterfront in late November — cold, breezy, and you will be wearing sleeves. Load the trade arm outside the sleeve and keep the good stuff underneath.
If you are here for one specific set, make the piece for that set and carry it separately. Handing over something you built for the moment you are both standing in beats digging through twenty identical singles.
Bag policy
Check the event’s own official page for the year you are attending — Hours & Info — plus Insomniac’s general festival guidelines underneath it. Clear-bag dimensions, clutch sizes and hydration-pack rules are all published there and they change.
Wear the kandi in. Loose beads, cord and tools in a bag are the part that gets pulled aside at a gate.
Three to make for it
Ten lines that land here
- SLOW SET
- MELODIC
- FLOAT
- STARLIGHT
- BREATHE
- SAFE HERE
- HYDRATE
- I SEE YOU
- FOUND YOU
- SEE YOU OUT THERE
Letter beads run out around twelve characters on a single. Browse the whole phrase library.
Trade etiquette, short version
Ask before you trade. Never pull anything off somebody's arm, and never take a piece somebody says is a keeper. If someone says no, that is the whole answer — you are not owed a trade, and neither are they. A gift is a gift: accepting one does not put you in debt.
Full version: trade etiquette and the PLUR handshake.
Leave no trace
Loose beads are litter. Cut cord ends, dropped letter beads and the plastic bags they came in all end up on the ground where you strung them. String over a tray or a towel, bin the offcuts, and pack out what you brought in — campgrounds especially.
Before you go
Water, food, hearing protection, and people who will notice if you are not okay. Read festival safety and the organizer's current rules — the official page wins over anything on this site.
Independent kandi guide. Not a craft kit brand. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any festival, promoter, venue, or artist. Festival names are used only to identify the events discussed.