411. FESTIVAL GUIDE BELGIUM: THIS WAS PARADISE CITY

6:37:00 AM

The last weekend of June was fully booked for Paradise City: the most eco friendly festival in Belgium and it was the first time I've been there. Time to have a little recap, to tell you my experience, show you some pictures and to convince you to go back with me next year!

By arriving at the festival area you immediately see the first signs of the eco friendly decisions and actions they took: the camping created with 100% cardboards, or called "Kartents". This new concept of camping comes back from the Netherlands and the most fun part of it is that you can draw on it and personalize the tent just as you like. After the festival they pick up the used kartents and recycle them into other things such as toilet paper, books, etc. How amazing is this? By doing this kind of camping they reduce a big footprint created during festivals. 'Cause think about all those people that leave their tents, plastic bottles or metals from the set ups,...

If you walk a little further you see the entrance located at to Castle of Ribaucourt in Perk, close to Brussels. This locations gives the wonderful atmosphere of Paradise City also a fairytale-ish feeling. The paths to the different pop-ups, stands and stages are decorated with warm lights and over the water they created a comfort area where we could enjoy a delicious dinner made by chef Sofie Dumont. On the Flemish television she's well known for her cooking programs and her re-invented recipes. It was delicious!

But of course there was more to discover than the VIP area. At the Planet Parfum truck you could get a festival proof tattoo on your skin created by the make up artists. At different drink stands you could take pictures at the photo booths, which is always fun! For food lovers there was loads of choice and it was all bio: Balls&Glory, Dutch Weed Burger, Spoon, Fritez, Bavet, Oscar Waffles and many more. So if you were still hungry, something went wrong! On each corner you could also find free tap water to avoid an overdose of plastic bottles and if you had another drink you could return your cup and get coins back for it.

Next to all the food there were also brands representing their 'green' products, such a Neubau Eyewear. They have frames made from eco friendly plastic (NaturalPX) and the box is made from cellulose which avoids to use glue. Their concept is called 'See & do Good' and is a match made in heaven for a festival like this. Don't you think? My favorite is MIA and I took it home with me!

I've never seen a festival as clean as this edition and the peaceful athmosphere triggered me to come back next year for sure! How did you experience the festival?

Thanks again to WE FASHION and SACHA SHOES for providing me with a festival proof outfit!