Box of Rain: Love, Covid, and the Festival That Wasn’t (But Kind of Was)
- China Cat Chat
- Jul 8
- 3 min read
Back in December 2021, Michelle and I were counting down the days to Playing in the Sand, the beachside Deadhead escape in Cancun. We had the trip planned with Michelle’s sister Elizabeth and our friend Alice, and we couldn’t wait to experience it all—sun, sand, songs, and the magic of being surrounded by our people.
In the spirit of sharing swag, we sketched out a little idea for a “Box of Rain” sticker—something we could hand out to fellow fans as a gesture of joy and kindness. Michelle’s daughter took the rough pencil drawing and turned it into a beautiful full-color design, complete with the words: “Love will see you through.” We printed about 1,000 of them, packed our bags, and started dreaming of the ocean breeze and the sound of that first chord ringing out under the stars.
Then… Covid hit.
Just days before the trip, Michelle and I both tested positive. Devastated doesn’t quite cover it—we had to cancel everything. Elizabeth and Alice were going ahead without us, but as fate would have it, while they were mid-flight, the announcement came in: Playing in the Sand 2022 was canceled due to a Covid outbreak among the band and crew.
Here’s the strange twist—anyone already on-site, or in the air, was allowed to stay at the resort… and they’d be refunded in full. So although the official music never played, Elizabeth and Alice ended up with a spontaneous, all-expenses-paid vacation in paradise. They also became our unofficial sticker ambassadors, handing out our Box of Rain stickers to fellow stranded Deadheads and spreading our little message of hope: “Love will see you through.”
And wouldn’t you know it? The spirit of the Grateful Dead community was alive and well—even without a single note of music from the band. People gathered, shared stories, and found comfort in each other. P.I.T.S. 2022 became the show that wasn’t… but still kind of was.
When the festival returned in January 2023, Michelle and I finally made it to Mexico. Along with our leftover stickers, we brought a new piece of the puzzle: a bright pink slip of paper with a QR code linking to our brand-new newsletter signup. At the time, we were calling it Strangers Stopping Strangers—a nod to the lyric that says it all. We handed those little pink invites out alongside custom coasters printed with P.I.T.S.-inspired graphics.
Of course, nothing in the Dead world is ever a straight line. Sometime during that festival, we discovered that someone else already had a podcast and site by that name. So we hit pause, regrouped, and eventually—eventually!—landed on a name that felt right: China Cat Chat. It only took us until May 2025 to send out our first issue. Just a casual two and a half year detour! But as we like to say: all part of the long, strange trip.
We've had many adventures along the way, and today, we’re sharing the full story—of how we met, the long pause, and our musical journey...along with the original sketch, the finished sticker, and that bright pink QR code card—as part of our latest China Cat Chat issue, where Michelle and I interview each other about the road that brought us here. It feels like a full-circle moment. Or maybe more like a spiral—just like the music.
If you were one of the folks who got a sticker, a coaster or scanned the QR code and signed up for our newsletter in Mexico… thank you. You were part of the seed.
Box of Rain. Love will see you through.— Todd & Michelle
Comments