What You Can Expect from This Year’s AfrikaBurn Festival

The Afrikaburn festival is a seven-day artistic extravaganza of musical performance and creative expression. The festival main aim is to promote the communal effort. It encourages eccentric, expressive costumes and twisted artistic creations and is popular for attracting local and international visitors who gather and create a mythical atmosphere in the Stonehenge Private Reserve, in which nothing is sold but everything is traded or shared out of common generosity. Afrikaburn encourages the relinquishment of material possession for the enjoyment of nature and artistic interconnection.

What You Can Expect from This Year’s Afrikaburn

This year’s theme is “Working Title” and it was set to stimulate pure creativity in attendees. It encourages people to trade conventional modes of desert transportation (cars and motorbikes) for altered or even grotesque versions, with modified unicycles and old, decked out cars. Theme camps are sought to be particularly colorful, with surrealistic arrangements and the heavy use of textiles. Art installations should all be interactive and encourage onlookers to come for closer inspection, or even attempt to trade pieces for their own possessions.

Performances are expected to be carried out by the attendees, who are both the audience and the attraction. Guest have creative freedom in providing entertainment for spectators, from chants to plays and think pieces. The set-up is yours to establish in the middle of the desert – just ensure it does not inconvenience other attendees.

The camp is divided into zones according to the noise level that can be expected. The blue zone is more tranquil and most appropriate for families, and the red zone is more vibrant, with frequent loud performances and the availability of alcoholic drinks.

The last night of the festival is dedicated to the burning of the San Clan, a sculpture mimicking San Rock art, which represents unity and community. Its flames illuminate the sky and can be seen from miles around.

What You Ought To Pack

This is entirely your prerogative – but it is encouraged that you pack everything you own and most enjoy. This is because trading opportunities might arise and give extra significance to your possession, being given in exchange for something you value even more, and marking a particular experience of communal love and care. Bringing the things you are willing to grace another soul with is the most appropriate way to pack for Afrikaburn.

Getting there

The event is situated in Stonehenge Private Reserve,  just over 300 kilometers from Cape Town. The event location will require you to drive on the longest stretch of road in South Africa, the R355 with minimal petrol stations. Most travelers opt for car rental for their road trip to the festival.