Under the moonlight

Luminate Festival 2010, 5 days of earth-friendly music, dancing, healing, inspiration
We drive up the mountains near Motueka on a dirt road at the top of Takaka Hill, right behind the golden sands of Abel Tasman Park. We are singing loudly to Sira and Caitlins CD, which I found some days ago in Nelson in a store. At the gate to the natural reserve a hippie family has a food stall offering self made ginger beer to us.
After a quick check of alcohol (it is an alcohol free festival) we roll onto the camp site. Friendly faces welcome us.

We dive into a new world, the celebration of sustainable conscious community during the ancient summer harvest festival of Lughnasadgh, on the full moon midway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.
Luminate is a clean environment event. The ethos is to RRRESPECT zero waste: reduce reuse recycle, energy efficiency, sustainability, personal responsibility, education, composting, traditional materials.
The festival layout and art installations have been designed using sacred geometry, natural materials and re-used resources.
We are up at 2000 f up a quartz crystal and limestone mountain surrounded by native bush.
From there it is a small walk up to the performance area.

Ready for a spiritual journey

There is a healing zone with a Tipi and a Jurte for teaching and healing.
You can choose from various Yoga classes (Laughter Yoga, Yoga Nidra), Gong sessions, go on a Healing Journey, dive into Prana-yama meditation or learn reflexology or Reiki.
I take the chance and get my introduction into Reiki. I am already pretty confident to give reiki to my food and water, the rest may follow…

There are more sources of various conscious experiences:
From drumming to upgrading your DNA, from digjeridoo to embracing your shadow, from mantra & chanting to kids interactive concert, from mayan calendar to songwriting, from terraquaculture to native story telling….

story telling and discovering

In between there are circus skills workshops with hula hoop rings, juggling, staff, daiblo, etc. For kids and adults.

Hula hippieee

The kids were in blissful heaven at the festival.

Beautiful face tatoos from Epiphany (no, not permanent)

Same tribe

Listening to great stories

In the Tribal village and the te Ahi Aroha, the heartfire of Luminate. At night you see a big fire in the dark, surrounded by rastamen drumming. People join in with their instruments and co-create and celebrate organic music, while beautiful girls dance freely around the fire in front of the full moon. What a magic moment: the sound of the drums from meditative slowness to wild Kauden kovimmat uutuudet Playboy, Bust the Bank ja Fisticuffs loytyvat joka casinon ykkospelien listalta yhdessa miljonaarikone Mega Fortunen kanssa. ecstasy, awakening an intuitive dance of people with warm smiles. There is a sense of happiness and peace, of freedom and community.

Dancing to the rhythm of the earth

There is 24 hours of live music on two stages, bands and DJs blasting tribal sounds, heavy trance, chill beats, reaggae, drum and bass, folk, world music, happy tunes. In the afternoon you see kids and adults singing and dancing happily to the music or taking a chill out under a tree in the green grass.

Go with the rhythm…

Robinson joining the party

Chillllllll

What a coincidence, that Sika and Caitlin were performing live on stage on Sunday night. This music touches my soul with all the elements of different tribal origins of the world.

Sika and Caitlin

The nights are full of energy, happy dancing to strong beats until the sun rises.

The people are connected by a conscious living and a life full of love and care for themselves, the community and our planet.
They eat healthy food, wear organic clothes, feel the energy of rocks and the full moon, tune their bodies with dancing and playing.
It is about love and caring, creating and enjoying in a community, about being the one special and unique person you are meant to be.
Our life in the industrial world feels so plastic with people, that share the same look, high consumption, high waste production, little time, about separation instead of integration.
Life up here felt like living together rather than trying to get ahead for yourself, being one, being immersed in a community of likeminds. It felt really good… the energy remains within us.

happy together

Categories: New Zealand