Party people, artists and adventurers united for a weekend to become eco-heroes at the Wonderfruit Festival 2017 in Bangkok last weekend. Here’s our round-up of what happened.
Thailand’s coolest 4-day festival was all about being eco-conscious whilst having fun and looking fabulous whilst doing it. From handmade headbands to Native American headdresses, metallic stick-on tattoos to glitter face gems, the boho vibe was evident everywhere. What really stood out for us, however, was the creative energy of the event. Whether found in the crowd, the installations, in the events and workshops or just in the atmosphere, Wonderfruit encouraged us all to think a little different.
As the Hive Life Bangkok team walked around the Wonderfruit, we noticed the drive for innovation by young artists to support sustainability for a positive social impact. This was evident everywhere from the biggest stages to the smallest details. A big favourite amongst the crowds was a collaboration between the educational, community-based Trash Hero Thailand and Bangkok based artist Tom Potisit, where they created a fish sculpture using recycled materials to highlight the ongoing crisis of ocean pollution caused by humans. American based architecture Gregg Fleishman also returned to Wonderfruit this year to create the Solar Stage, an enormously impressive structure resembling a 3D canopy and assembled with only uncut materials and no use of screws.
Some of our highlights we saw were the little things – everything from human-made wooden bridges and hand-made wooden trash bins to biodegradable cutlery and stages made from locally sourced, sustainable materials. Festival-goers were encouraged to use the world’s first stainless steel reusable water bottle, Klean Kanteen. “Klean Kateen’s goal is to encourage people to think about sustainable practices by using a container to minimise waste. This year we partnered with Wonderfruit to provide stainless steel reusable cups so that Wonderfruit can help encourage their festival participants to use these cups,” explained Jeff Cresswell, co-founder of Klean Kanteen.
Attractions included meditation classes, healing stations and uplifting ceremonies for the late-night owls to reinvigorate before another long night of partying. As part of Wonderfruit Festival 2017, the Hive collaborated with 12 local crafters for a series of workshops. It was a popular destination for wanderers looking to for some bit creative innovation. Workshops included accessory making from sustainable materials, flower crown making, a herbal remedies workshop to create healthy drinks, a leather goods workshop and coaching sessions by Singapore based life coach, Ying Han Cheng.
Wonderfruit covered all the ingredients of a great music festival – fun, creativity and world-class music – and all in aid of a good cause to create positive social impact. For all the wanderers out there, Wonderfruit was a dreamy escape from reality with an eco-friendly message and we could not have enjoyed ourselves more. Let’s stay green and see you there again next year.
