The Astral Harvest Festival is set in the hinterlands of Alberta, Canada, under an enormous sky amid white spruce and poplar trees and with hardly a town in sight. A setting perfect for some 2,000 fans who travel for the remote, unplugged backdrop for the festival's feel-good hybrid of EDM rave and trippy workshops.Event goers mostly come in long, flowy skirts and peace signed t-shirts. Many carry glow sticks and lighted hula-hoops that light up the night. Well-known DJs spin their magic each evening, from tech house to drum-and-bass, nu-disco, glitch hop and psychedelic swamp hop, with a handful of string strummers mixed into the blend.
Performance art is also one of prime parts of the Astral Harvest's mission to celebrate music, art, knowledge, community and the human experience. The fest is more laid-back than most of its kind, as most surprisingly, alcohol is not sold onsite.
The nighttime schedule is laden with DJ's and music. But during the day, the Astral Harvest provides the chance for attendees to enjoy several different arts classes. Among those that are offered are Yoga classes, movement workshops and "Harvard Conferences" which are basically lectures about midwifery for the soul.
Travelers and festival goers take these activities just as enthusiastically and seriously as the EDM shows, so you'll have plenty of company while in class. What's more, it's a welcoming, Canadian-polite crowd that partakes.
The campgrounds lay a short distance beyond the main grounds. They're equipped with free water and wood for the fire pits, as well as coin-operated hot shower stalls. But unfortunately for those social media hyper actives, the grounds offer limited cell service, hence Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts of your activities will have to wait.
The Astral Harvest also welcomes children. The fest has a family-friendly camping area with a playground, and extensive children's programming that includes crafts, circus games, puppet shows, kids' yoga and a lot more. The more reason to come and join in.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
