PUBLISHED May 17th, 2017 06:00 am | UPDATED July 28th, 2024 01:38 am
What started out as a gathering for like-minded individuals has grown into a small boutique festival in just three years. On 31 March 2017, the third edition of Air Festival kicked off on the idyllic island of Gili Air for 4 days of dancing, merry-making and forging of new bonds.
The festival ground was whimsically decked out for the perfect setting to dance in the moonlight. Everything built at Air Festival utilised sustainable materials; for instance, the hot air balloon themed Air Stage was made mostly from bamboo while the other stage was completely camouflaged and surrounded by jungle ferns and palm trees, built with tree branches. When the sunrise came, the surroundings lit up in greenery – beautiful.
The team has also weaved elements of performance, ceremony, activism, and the sacred into their spaces. Think sound healing, cacao ceremony and fire puja (a puja is type of meditation or spiritual practice of devotion and communion with the divine). While Awan Stage got the spiritual side of matters, the Air Stage played hosts to the international and local acts. Some highlights include Walker Bernard‘s sunrise set at the jungle stage on Saturday morning, Dan Baartz‘s groovy set from sunset, Dave Dinger, Tiago Oudman‘s midnight set before he hands the decks over to Shinedoe and last but not least, Ricardo Ferreira‘s ultimate sunrise set that kept everyone going till noon.
In the same vein of promoting environmental friendliness, the folks at Air Festival have also decided to go completely plastic free this year by using bio-degradable cups made from Cassava produced by Avani Eco. Instead of plastic water bottles and plastic straws, festival goers were able to purchase eco-friendly foldable water bottles at the festival to reuse.
Similar to many festivals around the world, Air Festival was not entirely seamless and flawless. It certainly has it glitches – the sound system wasn’t loud enough, the music programming didn’t appear satisfactory to the masses – but it has potential; while these areas require improvements and fixing, we believe their vibe has successfully attracted their tribe, and we look forward to its fourth edition in 2018.
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Top image credit: Duncographic