Meadows in the Mountains: An Eco-Friendly Party Paradise

Festivals

Danny Hines

04 May 2018

Set in the lush landscapes of the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria; Meadows in the Mountains is an environmentally-conscious cultural event like no other.

Buy tickets for Meadows in the Mountains here!

Revered and much-hyped by all who attend, Meadows in the Mountains is a weekend packed to the brim with an eclectic mix of musical, cultural and artistic happenings. Aside from the incredible variety of up-and-coming unsigned acts/DJs, the festival also boasts numerous educational and wellbeing activities. In the holistic dome, Meadows’ home for spirituality and workshops, revellers can find everything from educational talks by inspirational speakers to yoga practices and meditation classes. Meadows in the Mountains, in it’s 7 years of existence, has nurtured the kind of authentically intimate, holistic cultural event that festivals like Burning Man could only dream of.

Working alongside the local village, which consists of only about a hundred houses distributed sparingly throughout the coniferous mountain landscape, Meadows operates under an environmentally and ethically conscious ethos. This includes carbon offsetting the festival through their Meadows family forest in Nepal, funding the village ‘Baba Bus’ to take the elderly villagers in the local town and Little Angels Rescue BG - a charitable foundation that seeks to improve the lives of stray and owned dogs in Bulgaria.

Meadows prides itself on being environmentally conscious and stands firmly by its “leave no trace” policy, encouraging the crowd to leave the site in the same picturesque, untouched state that they found it in. The site is constructed from local timber, supporting the economy in the immediate area. Materials are all recyclable, there is a strictly no plastic policy and food is sourced from the surrounding community.

The local village and its’ inhabitants are a unique part of the festival that nowhere else on earth can offer. The generous, good-natured community re-appropriate some of their houses into restaurants and bars to accommodate the influx of festival-goers, offering home cooked meals and amazing hospitality.

For accommodation the festival works closely with the locals in the village to house guests in the traditional Bulgarian family homes, helping to bridge the gap between Meadows’ international crowd and the tight-knit local community. Those who wish to be a little closer to the action are able to make use of camping facilities; boutique bell tents are located in the flower filled meadows next to the festival site. This year the festival has introduced Tentstile Tents - portable treehouses suspended from trees; perfect weekend homes that blend in beautifully with the mountain terrain.

Meadows in the Mountains boasts an outstanding and varied line-up this year, offering a wonderfully diverse mix of artists from all corners of the globe. Legendary Little Gay Brother take over the main stage this year; the Queens, Kings and Queers that brought the gay bar to Secret Garden Party for the last 6 years. Nowadays they host an immensely popular bi-monthly party at London’s Omeara. They’ll be bringing some of their finest dancers and performers, and two of their favourite DJs to the mountains; Wax Wings and Oli Keens.

Also performing is Valentino Kanzyani is one of the founding fathers of Slovenian techno, a veteran of the scene gaining, first gaining prominence in the 1990's. Playing regularly for FUSE and Cadenza he was the driving force behind Ibiza’s legendary Next Wave parties and will return to Meadows this year alongside fellow Slovenian don Ian F.

Berlin-based vinyl junkie BeatPete will be returning to the mountains with his rare selection of hip hop, funk, and soul cuts. Expect an increidble performance from multi-instrumentalist Marques Toliver, once a New York busker, who won the hearts of the public when he was invited to perform on Later With Jools Holland. He previously performed an unforgettable violin session at Meadows in the Mountains in 2016, where he stage-dived into the crowd and still played every note perfectly -  definitely one to look out for this year!

Meadows in the Mountains full line-up:

Final-tier tickets are still available, snag yours here!