Confest 17/4/2014 - 21/4/2014

Aboard the "Marakesh Express" bus

Photo by Guy Menzies-Saunders

"I'm coming back every chance I get"

- Me... hehehe

I have no idea what I expected to write about Confest. I did have a vague idea for a post before the festival started; but that is a post which would now mean nothing based on what I saw there, felt there and left with afterwards.
So here goes...

The first thing I noticed immediately was the mix of cultures pouring through the gates on the 17th, and by "cultures" I'm not simply speaking of ethnicity; I'm talking about identities. Each person I saw was as different as the next, sporting a different look, ideology, personality and attitude to life.
Before I saw what Confest was truly about, I laughed foolishly among my friends about it being a "Hippie Festival", but honestly many of these people were anything but hippies - some were, certainly, and indeed many had been coming to Confest for years. Yet as I walked around the site watching people set up their tents, I saw that some were just day to day city slickers like myself, or just country kids who had no clue what to expect. People old, young, child and newborn; they all had this in common:
they were all there for the show.
The show.
That is what Confest was, or rather, it is, because as people finished setting up, many began to transform into whatever they pleased - some dressed as the opposite sex, some took all their clothes off, some took it to the next level covering themselves in mud. Some preferred fairy wings or eloquent clothing and face paint. There were couples, singles; saints and sinners, and there was something else in the forming in the air that I couldn't define at the time as it was still growing, something subtle but beautiful. The first night was quiet, though the Vibes Tent ran at a low hum, and people still insisted on running in the steaming hot sauna and then running out again into the freezing cold river.

The wild nature of Confest really came to life the following days.The "Mud Tribe" began it's fun and games, parading around the festival site, speaking in jibberish, screaming at cars and bikes and smacking each-other's bums, guffawing loudly. They were totally unrecognizable as their former selves; it was total method acting for these people. Everywhere there were workshops running, for people who wanted to learn to do practically anything - tantra massage, how to twirl, music lessons, how to survive zombie apocalypse - you name it. Not to mention the music.
Over the course of the days, more and more drum circles formed, and at night, every musical talent migrated to the arts village and created what can only be described as a titanic, earth trembling roar of djembe bass and drums, the almost symphonic armada of guitarists and strings, and a choir of absolute angels who sang late into the night, whose every word was as deliberate and full of heart as the next.
And they would smoke, and sing, and laugh, and cheer, harmonize, chatter and go to bed. Once one person left, another three would arrive to take their place. It was fun, passionate, sensual, sorrowful, energizing and at the same time meditative.
None of the songs played during those long night time jam sessions will ever be listened to the same way again, I am certain of this.

If you had "a thing", you could show it at Confest. I'm not just talking about genitalia; it is more than that. Your art, your views and everything about you is appreciated, admired and respected, and it is impossible to describe just how that feels when such a large number of people greets your identity in such a way,
which leads me to the final and most important detail of this incredible and stupendous festival, the thing which, at first I could not define:

Love.

Love that breaks you down to your very core, as genuine and as passionate as you could ever dream of it being; love that never patronizes, yet always stays with you, no matter how far you are from the people who shared it with you.
It's love that inspires you and motivates you, and it comes in such a variety of ways, whether it's a simply gesture like a hug or a meal, a conversation that lasts for hours, or to be told you are loved; to be held by genuine person or to have company for the night and leave with a powerful bond and friendship that will stay in your heart for the rest of your life.

Without the faintest shadow of a doubt, you can be certain that nothing was shallow, hurtful, misguided, or of a nature resembling anything but that short, but immeasurably powerful word, and I know very definitely that I love every soul I met there and look forward to seeing them again at the next festival, outside it, and on the road in my travels. I know now from this experience that every person, no matter how they dress, walk, talk or differ from the next, is capable of this, and it is such a beautiful thing to see it so concentrated in one place, to create an environment I will never forget, yet such a terrible shame that the world isn't always this way. I suppose for love to exist, pain does also, but I at least know which one will always be stronger in my heart from now on.

To end this blog here, to some may seem unfair. I hyped Confest up quite a bit as a crazy, no holds barred madness educed party, and in many ways it was.
For me, however that wasn't the highlight.
That is why I have decided, between blogs, I am going to once in a while share a story with you wonderful readers out there, which means plenty of photos and plenty of the shenanigans that I got up to whilst at this incredible occasion. This series of blogs will be titled "Confestions To Make #(1,2,3, etc.)", (hahaha, i know, very punny...) so keep an eye out for those.

And the drugs were great! (DISCLAIMER!)
Can't get too soppy...

Hopefully I can keep you all updated more frequently than I've been doing since arriving in Asia - I have come a long way since Easter. For now though, thank you everyone who helped make this years Easter Confest everything it was, especially Dad for taking me.
I hope all of you out there take my experience with you and keep festivals like Confest alive by attending, volunteering and supporting their existence; I plan to.
If it isn't your cup of tea, then I implore you all to do one thing, and that is to simply love.
It's a choice we can make, and a choice we will never, ever regret.

More coming soon, but for now feel free to share and leave feedback!