Gorgeous Chikay Lo takes us on a festival ride celebrating her 25th birthday. “Without a doubt, this was the best day of my life. Spending it with my nearest and dearest on the gorgeous coast with great music and a fantastic crowd, I could not have possibly asked for a better way of celebrating a quarter century of my existence.”
Arriving at the o2 Arena at 5am, carrying a rucksack the size of your body waiting in anticipation of a 4 hour coach ride takes away some of the excitement of the festival. But as soon as we arrived near the site, saw the instantly recognizable scenery and skyline of tents – pure unadulterated joy was restored.
To simply call this festival magical would be a vast understatement, last year was the first time I experienced it and I have vowed to return annually ever since (ticket lottery luck permitting!). For those who have never been or have not had friends who have attended, the general idea can seem underwhelming. It’s not until you experience the maze of wonders that you truly appreciate why this is considered one of the best festivals in the world.
There is a reason why tickets sellout within an hour; way before the headliners are announced. Some will disagree but for me the experience transcends the musical element. Music obviously plays a huge part but despite the inevitable divided opinions about the headliners, the line up is so huge and varied there will always be multiple artists you’ll look forward to seeing. The amount of effort put into every element is incredible, from secret rabbit holes to an after hours area (Block 9) with a transvestite dominated stage club (NYC DownLow – our favourite venue). The whole experience is about exploring and finding new discoveries. Last year I stumbled across a spectacularly huge dragon carved out of stone in the middle of a tiny river, unfortunately I couldn’t find it this year but that’s part of the beauty of the experience. You discover something new every day/year. From birthday themed tents with old school pass the parcel/musical statues games to Latino tents and Green Peace ran educational classes, if you look hard enough you can just about find anything.
The rules of ‘conventional’ life do not apply here and no one judges you for sashaying in nothing but a glitter waistcoat and a pair of Daft Punk style sunglasses. I can think of no better place or environment to spend a long weekend with close friends. It is 4 days of pure euphoria until 7am on Monday morning when the prospect of real life hits you.
Despite painful the festival blues I’d do it all over again… Which in a way i did… by flying straight to Croatia for Garden Festival
For the past 4 consecutive years I have been to several festivals across Croatia and this is by far my favourite. It’s joint first with Glastonbury in terms of my top festivals but they are just not comparable. Glastonbury is set in a field in England with guaranteed rain whereas Garden is set on the beach on a tiny fisherman’s village along the Dalmatian coast basked in clear blue skies and 30 degree heat everyday. The scenery is stunning and the size is incredibly small in comparison to Glastonbury (1.5k vs 200k). This festival differs to other Croatian festivals as it’s relatively unknown and still quite small. It’s a huge pity that this is the last year under the management who started it 10 years ago so missing out was never an option for us. But I have huge respect for the organisers who decided to stop at its peak – the theme of this year was ‘going out with a bang’ and that they certainly did.
image by C/B Photography
The setting is the closest thing to paradise that I could describe, stunning crystal clear blue waters and skies surrounded by the most incredible set of people all in one location. The crowd is slightly older than those at Hideout/Dimensions/Outlook and with that the attitude is inevitably different. There is no testosterone fueled aggression and every single person’s heart is filled with love and kindness, you could literally walk along the beach alone and just meet new people who are more than happy to chat and have a drink with you. This actually happened to me and I ended spending a lot of time with my new friends. I genuinely hope to keep in touch with them for a long time.
With it being such a small festival and over such a long duration (a full week), you have the rare opportunity to meet so many new people and keep seeing them over the duration of the festival.
image by C/B Photography
Back at home on a usual night out I tend to stick with my friends but the a Garden experience encourages you to speak to strangers which you would usually feel uncomfortable doing because of these ingrained social norms that society has imposed. If a guy approaches a girl in a club in the UK your immediate instinct is caution lined with skepticism of their motives but at Garden this doesn’t exist. I wandered round alone countless times approaching groups just to ask if they were enjoying themselves and each time the response was very similar. Something along the lines of ‘it’s just incredible, come sit and have a drink’. Somehow Garden Festival has managed to break down the social barrier founded on the obsession of our egos. An incredible fete for a festival.
I’d also HIGHLY recommend visiting the KRKA National Park which is just 40 minutes away from the festival for the most beautiful landscape and waterfalls that is just the complete opposite of the concrete jungle i’m used to. It’s the scenery dreams are made of.
images by Sashabphoto
The best part was that my birthday fell on the Monday which was also my friend’s Ransom Note x Dance Tunnel boat party. Without a doubt, this was the best day of my life. Spending it with my nearest and dearest (apart from the few that couldn’t make the festival) on the gorgeous coast with great music and a fantastic crowd, I could not have possibly asked for a better way of celebrating a quarter century of my existence.
Photo by Liam Jacquin
The festival is going to continue but under new management, I’ll definitely be returning to this paradise. If you are looking for dizzying heights of joy and happiness, this is the place to find it.
By Chikay
Twitter – www.twitter.com/Chikay_lo
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Blog – www.areugonnaeatthat.blogspot.com
