Article by Pushpitha Wijesinghe

Luminate, a weeklong festival to celebrate the 2,000 year old summer harvest festival known as Lughnasadgh halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox, a time of abundant crops, a happy time celebrated with merry making and food to give thanks to Mother Earth for her largess. The 2012 event held from 1st to 12th February was the 5th year of commemoration of this earth friendly festival of music, dance, art and culture, knowledge sharing and creativity underlined by sustainability and respecting the environment.

The most popular part of the festival, the music zone featured day and night performances of some of the most diverse live and electronic genres in music. The line-up of musicians from New Zealand and abroad represented world grooves, gypsy, soul, minimal tech, tribal rhythms, dub, folk, D&B among a host of other genres. Festival goers grooved to the rhythms of their preferred music on two amplified dance floors and listened to their favourite beats on five stages. Some brought instruments and weres part of the action in the Acoustic Jam Space.

The fantastic array of activities included Knowledge and Inspiration Sharing Sessions, KISS for short, which was a series of workshops focusing on an array of holistic, environmental and cultural topics highlighting sustainability, self reliance and skills transfer.

The Juggle Poi Toy Zone hosted classes on all sorts of skills associated with the circus such as juggling, hoola hoop whirling, poi, stilt walking, slacklining and fire dancing. The Healing Hub taught classes on massages, reiki, a range of natural therapies, yoga and meditation. The Tribal Zone hosted classes on African drumming, performing on native instruments, dance and movement and much more with a backdrop of organic sculptures. The Busker’s Stage, a platform for anyone to perform, hosted performers who gave vent to their creative musical skills.

Food and beverages at the festival were organically and sourced locally and was mostly vegetarian. There was also an arts and crafts market, movies and documentaries with a purpose and children’s activities.

Taking place on top of Taka Hill surrounded by a 200 acre pristine landscape, the festival ground featured earth friendly amenities such as solar showers, composting toilets and other techniques in conserving resources and minimizing waste. The site had no trash bins and did not recycle waste and instead festival goers carried all their rubbish back! Food and drink were served on ceramic ware brought by the participants as customary. A composting facility for biodegradables and an area for dishwashing were also on site. The no alcohol policy provided a safe and relaxed environment to have fun and garner knowledge.

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About the Author

Pushpitha Wijesinghe is an experienced independent freelance writer. He specializes in providing a wide variety of content and articles related to the travel hospitality industry.