Five days of conscious fun

Peace, love and music will descend on the top of Takaka Hill next week, with the return of the Luminate festival. Alice Cowdrey reports.

 

With 80 hectares to camp in and a long list of musical acts and workshops, a five-day Earth-friendly festival starting next Thursday at Canaan Downs, on Takaka Hill, will transport people into a new world.

It's a world where environmental sustainability and time shared with friends and family come first, and where knowledge and inspiration will be abundant, says the Golden Bay-based founder of Luminate, Maia.

The festival, which runs until February 2, celebrates the ancient summer harvest festival of Lughnasadgh, on the full moon midway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox. It has been organised by a charitable trust, Luminate Festival Educational and Spiritual Trust, and aims to bring people together to "re-energise".

The site layout and art installations have been designed using sacred geometry, natural materials and re-used resources, in keeping with the ancient festival and the elevation of a spiritual consciousness, says Maia.

The festival of music, art, dance, creativity and sustainability is now into its third year and is growing.

Last year, about 1000 people attended, but this year is looking busier, with "incredible" interest, says Maia, who is preparing to welcome between 1500 and 2000 faces.

"We are steadily evolving it each year in terms of what we are offering and the size and scale of the event. Judging by the amount of people we have had signing up to the website and emailing us, there is a lot more interest in it this year, and the word seems to be out there."

The music zones will feature an impressive lineup of performers from the Nelson region, New Zealand and overseas.

"We try to get a good balance between local performers, New Zealand performers and overseas acts. We do feel like we want to support local performers, but we also want to create a space for people to experience music that they wouldn't normally get to see as well, from further afield.

"It's great to have all of these different people mixing and networking together."

The biggest act is legendary British dub music producer and engineer the Mad Professor.

"He has worked with some of the biggest names in dub and reggae, and he is playing in Australia and also has another event in New Zealand, so it just works for him to take on this extra booking," says Maia.

The Mad Professor is a prolific producer, contributing to or producing nearly 200 albums. He has collaborated with reggae heavyweights such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka and Horace Andy, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as Sade and Massive Attack.

The Kiwi artists include the Mamaku Project, An Emerald City, Karen Hunter and Organikismness. Overseas acts include Australia's Wild Marmalade, a high-energy trance, drum and didgeridoo band, and Chocolate Strings, who are described as one of Brisbane's finest purveyors of grooved-out dub.

Acts from Britain and Chile will also be performing, and the music styles featured will include world grooves, tribal rhythms, psytrance, progressive electronica, minimal tech, breaks, house, dub, funk, folk, roots and soul.

As well as the music, a range of workshops will run from 8am to 7pm every day.

"That's an area we have extended this year," says Maia. "We have always had workshops as a big feature of the festival, and we have got an amazing workshop schedule. We are very blown away with the quality of the people."

The workshops have been divided into five KISS zones (knowledge and inspirational sharing sessions), covering dance, arts, yoga, movement, music, poetry, cultural and environmental topics.

One workshop Maia singles out is Gabrielle Roth's Five Rhythms, which will teach a movement meditation practice. "We are very, very lucky to have Geash Bowler from Wellington, who is trained in this, to come and teach it."

By day, the flaming jugglepoitoy zone will feature a workshop and a play area for adults and children interested in learning new skills with poi, staff, devil sticks, juggling balls and clubs. By night, it will be transformed into a fire spinning and juggling zone.

The festival will also feature movies and documentaries, organic refreshments, art, crafts and market stalls.

Maia says she is looking forward to the five days, as a true time of togetherness.

"We do attract a real diversity of people because some people come for the live music, some people come for the tribal drumming area, some people come for the electronic music.

"There's a whole big range, and then obviously there are people attracted to all the different workshops. People come for the healing – some people just come to have a holiday and relax.

"But what unites people, I feel, is the intention of our festival, which is to inspire and educate people about environmental sustainability."

• Tickets to Luminate cost $150. For more information, go to luminatefestival.co.nz.

ABOUT LUMINATE

• The festival is family friendly.
• Bring a bicycle to explore the pretty surroundings.
• Bring crockery – food stalls will serve direct to your own plate and cup.
• Bring cash – there will be no eftpos.
• Alcohol and dogs are prohibited.
• Take your rubbish home – there will be no bins or recycling facilities.
• The ticket price covers camping, which has environmentally sustainable solar showers, wash-up areas and toilets.
• The ticket price covers all workshops. Music runs 24 hours a day until sunrise on Tuesday.
• There are workshops every day.

- © Fairfax NZ News