If you’re looking for an escape from the city, without having to deal with arranging any travel plans yourself, then Wonderest is the festival for you. A dedicated travel bus took festival attendees to and from the grounds, with stops in Budapest, Hatvan and Debrecen, before heading straight to Transylvania. The bus ride out was a relatively quiet affair – it departed Heroes' Square at 6am, so many riders choose to grab some shut-eye en route. By the time the bus was returning, however, it was alive with conversation, as friendships formed quickly over the course of the four days.
Arriving
at the festival site itself did require a fair bit of stamina, as a steep
climb up the dirt road was no small hurdle between the bus drop-off and the
campground. Those thinking of attending next year should bring a sturdy pair of shoes for this walk, if they don’t want to find themselves weary and sore by the end of the first day!
Local
farmers put down their work as attendees passed, waving and shouting
encouragement. In fact, the locals were quick to get involved in the activities
at the festival, showing up to offer horse rides, home-baked goods and servings
of blueberry pálinka over the weekend.
Once we made it to the festival, a straightforward registration process granted us our wristbands for the weekend – one to indicate our attendance, and another acting as our food ticket. Two meals were provided each day, at roughly 3,000 forints each, with an additional drinks card for coffee, lemonade, wine and spirits.
It’s difficult to get this far without mentioning the surrounding scenery – which is so lush and serene that we almost can’t do it justice without running the full gamut of synonyms to “beautiful” and exclaiming them all in a breathless outburst. Alpine flowers and shrubs adorn the hillsides all around the camp, with the dark greens, blues and greys of spruce trees in the background forming a most charming picture. In the evening when the fog rolls in, the scene becomes something out of fiction, almost too exquisite to be real.
The festival is also dog-friendly, and it’s hard to say whether the humans or canines enjoyed their time more in this fresh, wondrous, bewitching environment.
The
musical acts were predominately acoustic, Indie-Folk with a healthy dash of ambient
and even electronica thrown in. The single stage faced the main
gathering space, with audience members sprawled on blankets and yoga mats as
close to the stage and they wished.
In some instances of rain, the audience even
came up on the stage to sit directly at the performers’ feet. It’s an
extraordinary laid-back, personable affair which disguised the incredible
amount of planning and preparation which went into the event.
The event organiser, Hanna Gulyás, kept a calm, buoyant countenance at all times, but it was clear that she was an extraordinarily busy woman, always being called to address this question or that new object of duty. This being the first year the festival was held in earnest, there were still a few hiccups along the way, including the arrival of the police on the first day over misunderstandings in paperwork.
One
of the most memorable experiences from the festival sprang unexpectedly out of
this bungle. As music was not allowed to proceed on the first evening until bureaucratic
mandates were sorted, a secret concert was set up in the woods. The
announcement was made to festivalgoers for those who wished to attend, and we
crept into the dusky shadows of the forest’s edge, following the little
footpath, until coming across a magical scene.
Illuminated by a single overhead
lamp, and fairy lights strung across the bushes, Australian musician Edward
Hughson strummed his guitar, and as the sound of the creek mingled with the
music, listeners perched on the hillside fell into a silent reverie, spellbound
by the ambiance of the evening. Perhaps no music festival has ever played to
such an attentive audience.
The police duly appeased and the sun shining bright the following morning, the programme proceeded as planned (or mostly, at any rate). Besides music, the festival had other activities for attendees, including morning yoga sessions, film screenings, panel discussions and a foraging trip, led by local guides. It was on this adventure that we were shown minute, wild strawberries – a pop of sweetness – wild thyme, edible flowers and spruce sprouts, and expanses of blueberry bushes on the cusp of bearing fruit. (If only the festival had been a few weeks later!)
It
was during this adventure that the warmth and sunshine began to fade,
accompanied by low rumbles of thunder, and festivalgoers only just made it
under the communal shelter before torrents of rain, hail, lightning and thunder
pounded the site. While explosive, however, these summer storms were short
lived, and did little to dampen the spirits, as impromptu sing-along sessions
soon popped up around the fire.
Card games and film screenings also passed the
wet moments, and a few unbothered souls raced through the downpour with that
enraptured glee we rarely glimpse outside of childhood. In such a setting, the
expression of self is not only tolerated, but wholly encouraged.
In
this way, unapologetically unhurried, communal and authentic, the festival lapsed
between music, laughter, conversation and a general appreciation for life.
Wonderest is a place to converse comfortably with strangers, and bond over a
glass of beer.
The festival’s beer was brewed specially by Bers Nova, a
Romanian brewery run by the charismatic Paul Olau. When washed-out roads
prevented the last shipment from making its way up to the grounds, Paul
offered any volunteers willing to re-dig the road a reward of free beer, and a
heroic task force was assembled. Even these sorts of troubles were met with
smiles and gracious forgiveness, feeling more like a small town community than
a paying clientele.
Food
at the festival was another deviation from the norm. Foregoing the festival
favourites of greasy hamburgers or cheesy lángos, Wonderest employed renowned
vegan chef Gergely Zsolnay from FLOW Café to design the festival’s menu. Everything
was cooked with fresh produce from local Transylvanian farms and suppliers, and
was prepared onsite by Zsolt from Csíkszereda, Transylvania and assisted by his girlfriend Viola.
Each meal was cooked over a wood-burning fire. Nothing
short of gourmet, each meal was a delight, with servings large enough to
satisfy day-long activity and extras left over for anyone who wanted a second
serving. Being a zero-waste festival, attendees were instructed to bring their own kitchenware and cutlery, into which the food was served.
Coming off the heels of quarantine, lockdown and self-isolation, the opportunity to meet new faces and converse with fresh acquaintances was nearly more a breath of fresh air than the breath of fresh air itself. Perhaps now more than ever, the simple act of conversing is an invaluable gift, and an undemanding festival like Wonderest is an ideal environment for it. Good music, good food, good beer and a good location come together to form an unforgettable experience.
We’ll see you there next year.
