This is the first installment of “It Started @ FEST”, a series showcasing the projects and initiatives that include FWB FEST as part of their lore. Innumerable magic happens in the woods of Idyllwild over three August days on the stunning Idyllwild Arts Academy campus. Tickets for FEST24 are available now at an early bird price of 30%-off.

We sat down with our friend Stefen Deleveaux, founder and curator of Oasis Onchain. Oasis Onchain was the Carribean's first consumer crypto summit from January 22-24, 2024 at Crypto Isle. The gathering drew many FWB members and created serious FOMO for those of us who couldn’t make it. Needless to say we’ve marked our calendars for 2025.

Remember when you sent this ^^ to the group chat?

I do! Realized I hadn’t mentioned it to y'all before.

Say more, what did FEST have to do with Oasis Onchain?

My experience at FEST was actually what gave me both the final push and the blueprint for Oasis. I was already slowly trying to plan it out and I’d already had a number of convos with friends about what it could potentially look like, but after seeing the talks and panels, getting even more excited about consumer crypto (shoutout to Seed Club [pictured below]), and just enjoying the casual/intimate nature of the event overall, it was the confirmation that I had to make Oasis happen, and that I wanted it to have a somewhat similar feel to FEST, of course with its own island flavor.

Tell us about the impact of Oasis Onchain, and what’s next?

I don’t even know where to start. First off I’m just proud of how *incredible* Oasis Onchain was, and I want to shoutout the incredible Guava team who planned and organized it with me! But I think the impact was threefold: 1) Oasis has already done a lot to overturn the negative image of crypto in The Bahamas post-FTX, 2) it’s also helped to recover some of the trust locally, showing that crypto is so much more than trading and exchanges and fraud, and 3) it has invigorated an interest for consumer crypto and for solutions and products that actually affect people’s lives on the ground - especially in the Caribbean where these solutions are a need, not just a nice-to-have. Not to mention it brought an amazing group of crypto-natives together, also leading to a number of new deals and partnerships (iykyk).

What’s next? Kinda wild that this was just a proof of concept. Oasis Onchain will be back next year, it’ll be even better, and we’ll also be doing some more ecosystem building (more on that sometime soon). We definitely want the FWB fam to continue being a part of our journey!

We say culture will drive adoption of emerging tech. What do you make of that?

I definitely agree. If we can define culture as the distribution method for the ways we do things and interact with each other, then adoption of tech will always tie closely to these distribution methods. A connection to culture also builds trust within communities and opens the door to exploration, acceptance, and adoption.

What’s your FEST core memory?

I had no idea who Caroline Polachek was before FEST. Now? Now I do. Absolutely incredible.

What are you reading?

I actually just started reading Crowds and Power by Elias Canetti and it’s already a banger (I think it was Reggie that recommended this book before). Also casually reading Death’s End by Cixin Liu (the whole Three Body Problem series is so good, especially Dark Forest).

What are you listening to?

Blue Lips by Schoolboy Q. I’ve always been a huge Q fan, and this new album feels so much like his 2012 album Habits and Contradictions (which I listened to more than anything else that year). It’s experimental but familiar at the same time.

What are you watching?

I'm mainly rewatching Mr Robot (again).

Favorite snack?

uhh Greek Yogurt? lmao