MARCH 2020  

121 Festival was a weekend we won't forget - it was memorable in all the best possible ways from beginning to end. A group of 15 of us headed to Featherson where the festival was held, a short 45 min drive from our home in Wellington. I love that we didn't have to travel far but still got that 'got out of town for the weekend' feeling as well as having that full festival experience. We were all impressed at how this was the very first festival from the 121 crew, but it was so well organised and catered for, it definitely didn't feel like it was their first rodeo. I appreciated their passion and practice towards sustainability - from every food vendor using compostable serving products, a ban on single-use plastics, the use of cabbage tree leaves instead of cable ties throughout where possible and using and encouraging eco-friendly products so that they could process and remove all greywater after 121. They really embraced the 'leave no trace' mindset at this event, it really was inspiring to see.

 

There were different zones, areas and stages which was all set amongst beautiful old trees and nature - the trees gave that warm and natural feeling to the festival, and with the addition of sculptures, illuminated signs and festoon lights throughout, it made a magical atmosphere. Also, being that it was so spread out, I never once felt claustrophobic. With 5 music stages (and absolutely no sound clashing from one to the next...INCREDIBLE!), we could choose to dance to everything from doof to dub, funky beats to hip hop. If you weren't quite feeling the music at one stage you could easily walk to the next. And on the way, grab a bit to eat at one of the many food trucks, pick up a drink from one the bars or shop the market stalls. For sale, there was all the things you would want to find at a festival - clothing (vintage and new), jewellery & accessories, crystals, sage sticks, healings and card readings - my dream combo!

 

Highlights for me for the weekend was seeing Lord Echo play - absolutely blown away by the sound of that full band and the talent of the musos, the beautiful pre-pitched bell tent that Tim from 121 gave us to use for the weekend, dancing my butt off into the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning (two nights in a row...havn't done that in over a decade haha), fun times with all our friends, wearing all the outfits I had planned leading up to the festival, shopping at the market stalls, and the food - I did not have one average meal at the festival it was all so good! Plenty of many highlights and one for the history books for sure! Speaking of highlights, I didn't actually take that many photos at the festival -I switched my work brain off and really relaxed and enjoyed myself. But I did document some photos and videos which I shared on Instagram Stories - you can check those out in my 121 Festival Stories Highlights HERE.

TIPS: If you are planning on doing 121 Festival in the future (they have the event locked in for the next 10 years, SO COOL!), my #1 tip would be to absolutely get in early to book the premium Kahikatea Camp area. This was shaded under 100-year-old Kahikatea trees, so no harsh bright morning sun, and we had private hot 24/7 showers and there were flushable toilet blocks. They also had pre-pitched tents as an option in this area - perfect if you wanted the luxury of not having to set up and pack down your tent at the festival. In the general camping areas, this was obviously a cheaper option, but there was no shade and showers were only available to use from 7 am-11 am. The showers were in open blocks (not private) so you had to shower in your swimsuit unless you were not bothered to get naked in front of people. A few other essentials are listed in my ' Top 9 Festival essentials' guide and my full festival and camping packing list, both linked below.

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A huge thank you to our friend Tim (one of the main organisers of the festival), the rest of the 121 team + all of your amazing staff including the vendors and security, fellow festival attendees who all made the weekend such a success. We can not wait for round two next year! 

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