MEDICINE Festival returns to Wasing Estate to celebrate global music, dance indigenous wisdom, arts and activism from Thursday to Sunday, August 18-21.
The third Medicine Festival will see speakers and indigenous leaders provide talks and ceremonies, alongside world music and cultural arts.
The liminal lake at the heart of the festival will see talks from environmentalist Satish Kumar, peace activist Dr Scilla Elworthy, indigenous rights activist Bruce Parry, and Dr Rosalind Watts.
Leaders Peu Nawa and Towahu of the Yawanawa Tribe, from the Brazilian Amazon, will host sweat lodges, cacao and tobacco ceremonies and rituals, along with indigenous elders from the British Isles.
The festival also holds a number of wellbeing-focused activities, including guided movement, dance sessions, yoga, meditation, and martial arts.
Ritual folk artists Peia and Fia Forsström will headline the festival’s musical offerings, joined by Nessie Gomesm, Ajeet Kaur, Zimbabwean mbira musician Millicent Chapand, The Turbans, and James Monro.
Remi Olajoyegbe, co-founder of Medicine Festival, says: “Our line-up of indigenous elders, protectors of some of the world’s last pristine remnants of the Biosphere, have an inherent understanding of how to live sustainably as a part of the natural world.
“They have embedded in their cultures, ‘soft technologies’, like Nature connection and reciprocity, which can help us combat today’s spiritual and cultural challenges of selfishness, greed and apathy.
“Medicine is about supporting and inspiring each other in the creation of the equitable and thriving world we want to see: a world where Nature is cherished, peace is revered and difference is celebrated; where humankind has reclaimed the gifts of gratitude, reciprocity and guardianship for all life.”
Jenna Ansell, general manager of Medicine Festival, adds: “In contrast to many larger hedonistic festivals, our alcohol-free event invites you to drink from the well of Nature, and works to ensure you leave feeling better than when you arrived.”
She says it does this “by offering up infinite ways to enjoy ‘the medicine’ in its many vibrant forms – from ceremony, Nature immersion, music and dance, to celebration, healing, food, laughter, and much more.
“With a core theme of ‘Emerge’ for this year’s event, our programme is designed to support festival participants to emerge as a transformational community, acting for the benefit of all life.”
While weekend tickets have sold out, tickets for Sunday are still available via: www.medicinefestival.com/
Ticket resale is also available via the festival’s Facebook page
