JOSHUA TREE, Calif. -- Thousands of people, mostly families with children headed to what's been billed as a "family-inclusive music experience in the middle of the Mojave Desert."

The Joshua Tree Music Festival aligned itself with a local non-profit, Joshua Tree Living Arts, where the idea is to bring not jut music to the people who attend, but also enrichment programs that will strengthen communities. 

It took 20 hours for Manna Reynolds to reach the California desert driving from her home in Eugene, Oregon. She wasn’t driving the big yellow school bus her kids are now playing in, however. It’s part of "Kidsville" inside the Joshua Tree Music Festival.  

With baby Arrow in tow…and six-year-old daughter Phoenix, now at the wheel of the bus, Reynolds hopes to relax in a family atmosphere, listen to some good music and make a little money selling shoes. 

Reynolds is among more than 100 vendors with artsy, handmade goods for sale. Every pair of Tread Light moccasins she made in her Oregon garage, her all-female team here are eager to take in the daily talks on culture and sustainability. 

You might see artists who are not yet household names, but each musician here has a conviction that music is the soul of life, and they’re hungry to create an original sound. 

The festival is for sure an “experience” fostering positive change on a deeper level.