Wonderfruit inspires positive impact once again, welcoming thousands to a pop-up city where the embers of creativity are fanned and plastic is banned
Thailand’s pioneering celebration of art, music, food and ideas, successfully turned this edition’s idealistic pop-up city into a meaningful and sustainable reality to inspire its crowd who turned out to The Fields at Siam Country Club, Pattaya. By demonstrating the power of positive contribution, around 15,000 Wonderers from all over the world had a chance to experiment with and explore the sustainable lifestyle at Wonderfruit, where eco-friendly solutions and inspiring encounters brought people together through six diverse and creative pillars – art & architecture, music, farm to feasts, talks & workshops, family and wellness.
“By reimagining all aspects of our pop-up city’s infrastructure in innovative and effective ways, we successfully extended our commitment to sustainability in this edition of Wonderfruit,” says Wonderfruit founder, Pranitan “Pete” Phornprapha.
“By highlighting our new rule of no single-use cups in The Fields, we are moving further towards our zero-waste goal. And by bringing a range of new and inspiring experiences for Wonderers to explore, we aim to catalyze a platform where these experiences act as small festivals within The Fields to encourage everyone to contribute in a positive way.”
As sustainability is always at the heart of Wonderfruit, all elements in every edition of the festival are based on its bold environmental goals. This year, from the outset, the festival allowed Wonderers to contribute to carbon footprint offsets by calculating the amount of carbon dioxide they released based on their travel choices and by supporting the reforestation of Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage. On arrival at the festival, they became a part of a sustainable pop-up city where the no single-use plastic cup policy was successfully implemented for the first time. Wonderers were encouraged to bring their own cups and bottles for on-site usage, with refill stations and cleaning spots provided across the site for their convenience.
This year— on top of aiming to be a carbon-neutral festival — Wonderfruit also applied a sustainable waste management policy, where festival waste was considered, separated and leveraged to ensure the most effective methods of sustainable management and usage. Based on the Circular Economy concept, 95% of the waste produced at the festival was diverted from landfill, delivered instead to industry partners to be used as a resource. Food waste and biodegradable containers were composted on-site, for use in the farmlands surrounding the venue. Wonderfruit Tetra Pak water containers were recycled to create roof tiles and eco-boards for local communities. Meanwhile, recyclables and non-recyclables were given second lives as new creations, with the latter producing alternative fuels to substitute coal and fossil fuel producing kilns. Coconuts were also decomposed naturally at the onsite resource management center.
In addition to its extended commitment to sustainability, Wonderfruit as always curated an endless list of one-of-a-kind experiences for Wonderers to explore. This year, the new iconic venue Living Village – with its unique design concept of human senses combined with upcycled and recycled materials – brought Wonderers together to explore a wider Wonderfruit experience through one living place of music, workshops, food and drinks, and experiences in a community ambience. The latest artist platform Creature Stage with Indorama Ventures, featuring a decorative fabric made from colorful recycled PET fiber, enlightened Wonderers with the stunning performances of top acts from all over the world, including GoGo Penguin, Beardyman, The Turbans, etc.
This year’s music experience was highlighted by Musicity, a global music project in which artists under England’s Erased Tapes teamed up with local artists to bring musical interpretations of Bangkok landmarks to perform in The Fields for the first time at Theatre Stage. Other unforgettable music experiences came from the iconic highlight venue for sunrise and sunset, Solar Stage by Gregg Fleishman, which provided shady spaces for Wonderers to enjoy the tunes of Acid Pauli, Daddy G (massive attack), Gidge, Floating Points, Four Tet and more.
Polygon and its eclectic line-up mesmerized Wonderers with a 360-degree experience of sound and visuals featuring various international DJs including Timboletti, Be Svendsen, Viken Arman, Spaniol and more. The Quarry offered a genre-defying and experimental curation of “Collisions” by Craig Richards with Bobby., Felix Dickinson, Willow, DOTT, Sonja Moonear and more playing from behind a motion-graphic screen. Always filled with Wonderers dancing the night away, Forbidden Fruit was the place to be as artists from across the world took over the stage, led by LGBTQ party promoter Go Grrrls Crew and friends, the French phenomenon Ed Banger Records and Rainbow Disco Club festival from Japan. Neramit prepared a range of musical selections with a takeover by ZudRangMa Records, while SOT got Wonderers in party mode with a bombastic lineup of Def Jam Thailand artists; Red Bull 3Style-winning DJs, and top urban artists.
Designed by Ab Rogers, the Theatre of Feasts told stories of sustainability through new and intriguing dishes. All the menus combined local ingredients with innovative ideas to mesmerize Wonderers through unique dining experiences by award-winning chefs, namely bo.lan x Rishi Naleendra, 80/20, DK from Haoma restaurant, and three lady chefs from Koei Trang from Trang, Tanya’s Homemade Eatery from Hua Hin and Blackitch from Chiang Mai. In the Wonder Kitchen, Chef Num from Samuay and Sons, Udon Thani, led Wonderers to explore modern Isaan dishes based on local wisdom, while Chef Randy from Fillets at Lang Suan created impressive omakase courses using locally-sourced seafood.
At Eco Pavilion, Scratch Talks brought Wonderers to explore new perspectives through inspiring stories, experiences and ideas from thought leaders from all over the world under the themes LIVE, LOVE and WONDER. Highlight panels included Weed Legalisation 101; Innovating Alternative Proteins, and The Great Plastic Debate.
Wonderers rejuvenated their minds, bodies and souls through various traditional and contemporary wellness workshops at Wonderness including Yam Khang, an authentic Thai Lanna therapy which implements fire into its massage; a sound bath featuring gongs to combine physical and mental therapy, as well as Buddhist meditation. The festival also incorporated Andean Amazonian Culture in a herbal treatment based on local South American wisdom, alongside Kava Ceremonies – a medical ritual utilizing natural methods of the Pacific Islands – and modern types of exercise such as Thai Dancercise: the combination of Thai traditional dance, meditation, and breathwork to invigorate.
As for little Wonderers, they could enjoy new adventures with their parents at Camp Wonder. At a kid-sized stage, children’s music bands showed off their best performances. Kids also learnt more about animal life through a guided farm tour and could exercise their imagination by painting with colors made from nearby natural materials.
“Wonderfruit is a truly brand-new experience to me. As a person who is interested in sustainability and aware of impact that people can create to the world, I’ve been offered an opportunity to explore, learn and exchange ideas with diverse groups of people about well-being, environmental issues and sustainability development through many fun and interesting activities. Here too, I also discovered the method for self-management, in order to minimize negative impact and maximize positive impact directly and indirectly, further inspiring me to create a positive impact on the world.”
Chayanit Vivatthanavanich, a Wonderfruit attendee
The sixth celebration of Wonderfruit is now complete. By offering a range of new ideas and experiences, Wonderfruit really hopes that Wonderers will keep these unforgettable experiences in their hearts and stay inspired to spark positive impacts for the world in their daily lives.
Prepare yourself for the next journey with #Wonderfruit2020 in December at The Fields at Siam Country Club, Pattaya.
For further information and the next phase of tickets, please visit www.wonderfruit.co.
