COLOURFEST: A restorative alternative to summer festival madness

4-day Celebration of Yoga, Dance, Music, Theatre and Arts

The seventh Colourfest returns to Gaunts House in the beautiful Dorset countryside from Thursday 31 May to Sunday 3 June, bringing a unique opportunity for celebration and connection through yoga, dance, music, ceremony, theatre and arts.

Set amid open landscapes, stunning vistas and ancient trees, the alcohol and drug-free event offers a restorative alternative to the many hedonistic music festivals in the UK summer calendar. With yoga at the festival’s heart, the many workshops, performances and fun-filled activities are infused with its spirit and ethos, bringing the chance for deep connection and nourishment, and generating a calm and uplifting ambience.

Robbie Newman, co-organiser of Colourfest says: “Colourfest blends inner rest with more active expressions and promises to be playful, enriching and insightful, celebrating the many colours of life. The delicious blend of yoga, movement, music, creativity and spirited celebration leaves you feeling connected, in the flow, and full of the joy of being alive.” 

For lovers of movement, the festival offers collaborative dance jams and a variety of workshops covering yoga, dance, and the psychology of movement. Dance highlights include ceremonial dance with African dance superstar Denise Rowe; the UK’s first ecstatic dance band, The Urubu Collective; and silent ‘5 Rhythms’ dancing in the woods with disco headsets.    

Denise Ro-dance, photo: Andreia Dias

This year’s yoga programme features many high calibre teachers including internationally-renowned hatha yogi, Swami Ashokananda, Director of the New York Integral Yoga Institute. Catering for a diverse range of styles, and including acro yoga and partner yoga, many classes will be accompanied by live music, from DJ sets to kirtan chanting. The wider wellbeing programme also includes gong baths, sound healing, meditation, and other personal development workshops.  

On the music front, the eclectic line up of bands and musicians in the Colourfest Café are selected to soothe, inspire and uplift. Confirmed 2018 highlights include Glowglobes with their French-lilted mix of acoustic gypsy-jazz, folk and vocal harmonies, and “good time jazz-band” Skedaddle blending jazz, klezmer and Balkan gypsy songs and dances.

The festival’s kids’ area is a safe and creative space for children to learn and grow. Complete with an outdoor pool, the area also includes a woodland fairy walk and tents for crafts, storytelling, children’s yoga, hooping and theatre.

The venue, Gaunts House, provides clean on-site toilets and showers and the option of indoor accommodation for over 100 people, while cafes and vendors across the site proffer a delicious range of vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

Rowan Cobelli, co-organiser of Colourfest says: 

“Upbeat, nurturing and family friendly, Colourfest is a constantly evolving gem of a gathering created for people looking for a connecting and restorative festival experience. Our programme caters for those just starting to explore themselves and life in a deeper way, as well as offering more intensive opportunities for those more experienced in transformative work. 

“Alongside the uplifting workshops, keeping the event alcohol and drug free really charges the atmosphere in beautiful ways. We encourage you to come for the full four days as it takes time to drop into a slower pace and build sufficient resources to really open up to and benefit from the wellspring of natural treasures this festival offers.”

Colourfest takes place from 31 May–3 June 2018 at Gaunts House, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 4JD. For more information and tickets visit: https://colourfest.co.uk/tickets/

Will Gethin is the founder of Conscious Frontiers.