Your weekly dose of trippy festivals from around the world is back, and if you haven’t attended one of the world’s largest psytrance gatherings held at Portugal, this feature should certainly change your mind.
Europe’s extensive psychedelic trance culture draws audiences from all around the world. A massive chunk of these make their way to Portugal every year to attend two massive biennial festivals – Boom and Freedom. While Boom is on a break this year, we have Freedom hosting it’s 6th edition (10th year) on a splendid lakeside landscape near Elvas, Portugal.
Said to be a culmination of creative and collective energy, Freedom has drawn crowds of upto 40,000 on a regular basis over its past 9 installments. 2015 is set to be a special year, with the theme of the festival based on the importance of light and its role in improving social health and well-being – a far more futuristic programming if you compare the pre-dominantly spiritual character that psytrance festivals possess.
Shamanism – the practice that allows a practitioner to access varied levels of consciousness, will be heavily lectured upon in the form of music, classes, talks, and cinema. A ‘Chill Dome’ and a ‘Healing Area’ will also be set up where you can attend workshops and even get yourself a pretty soothing massage.
In order to really bring out your psychedelic spirit and align yourself to the positive vibe the festival aims at radiating, a line-up of the finest artists within the realm of the genre. Ace Ventura, Neelix, Sonic Species, Shpongle and the legendary Raja Ram are just some of the heavy hitters set to appear at Freedom 2015, you can check out the whole list HERE.
The growing influence of psychedelia has always been a taboo subject, but there are people and organizations all across the globe that want other people to look beyond the objective world, and embrace real issues. Psychedelic festivals are much more than just about abusing psychotropic substances and just dancing away to glory.
Festivals like Boom and Freedom Festival almost always adopt a non-commercial approach by disassociating with brands and sponsors. They are amazing showcases for art illustrations and free thought. The activities hosted by these festivals are meant to open gateways for you to enter a spiritual realm that is eventually a great tool in enhancing wisdom.
Unfortunately, all festival tickets for Freedom have already sold out, but you can purchase yours at the gates for 115€ at the gates itself. Here’s a preview of what’s in store this year:
(All Images via: Freedom Festival Facebook)