In a Hypnotic Hippie Daze...And Lovin' It

I literally couldn't think.  I couldn't really do anything but zone in and out of some floating fantasy land.  The worry less feeling didn't seem natural...but I oath nothing sketchy was involved, it was just the product of a soothing noise, reverberating out of a colorful round bowl.  The man who owned the white tent with all the stones and wooden jewelery sported a leather fringe vest and was known as the master of the soothing hippie bowl; he would simply ding the dense stubby wand against the side of the bowl and slowly brush around the edges like Sandra Bullock playing the water glasses in Miss Congeniality with her pointer finger.  Robyn and I floated out of the tent and back into the loud Hilton Arts Festival environment of mini donuts, drunken "free spirits" and dream catchers.  Apparently we were the only ones affected by the soothing hippie bowl; Abi and Anthea were chatty and searching for economically-friendly souvenirs in the market place.  But I was forced out of my carefree zone as I had a split second to weave out of a mother and her baby stroller's way: the Hilton Arts Festival, despite it's chill vibe, was no place to wander without a purpose.  If you did let the crowd carry you, you might not be back in time for dinner. 

This annual fair, sponsored by a local newspaper, is located for three days on the posh, prim and proper Hilton College campus in Hilton, South Africa near Pietermaritzburg. I found it surprising that even though the Hilton residents mock how small and cozy their unmapped town is, the Hilton Arts Festival still attracts international attention every single year, accompanied by foreign tourists, world renown performers, and American exchange students!

While the main attractions usually are the plays and band performances, I didn't actually make it around to a "formal" performance, but that doesn't mean I didn't see talent!  Just walking to buy a water bottle (it was a sweltering Spring day) I was charmed by a Swiss fiddler who knew about 10 traditional American songs by heart, a struggling Rhodes University student with a knack for playing the guitar in unorthodox ways, and a pink-haired lady explaining her new form of art (it is so intricate, even I can't explain it properly).  So one might ponder, "Katie...If you didn't go to any formal performances or plays or whatever, how did you spend two 11-hour days at a single festival?"  Well let me explain:

• Artsy People--It is a proven fact that artsy/dramatic people make life more enjoyable.  They also live longer due to stronger heart muscles as a result of laughing so often.  The artsy to preppy ratio at this festival was easily 5:1.  And thus, the arrogant, mood-killing people that so often surround and oppress the happy were outnumbered and basically invisible at this festival.  Both nights at the festival we stayed till 11 pm on Saturday and 6 pm on Sunday hanging out with chill people, playing guitars on grass, not worrying about the grass stains, and having fat chats about the most random things.  And honestly, that's the way to go. 
• Original Shops--First of all, admit the fact that after a while chain stores get old.  Ex: Aldo, American Eagle, even my beloved Urban Outfitters.  Don't you just wish you could walk into a store and find totally unique and newfangled purchases?  Stores these days all sell the same products in the same range of colors in the same range of sizes and to be frank, it's boring.  Catch phrase of the weekend: "Not at Hilton Arts Festival!"  With one tent per 8 feet, this festival offered quite a bit of variation; food tents were mixed in with jewelery shops, kids toy shops speckled in between handbag tents, and cupcakes melted next to health sandwiches.  This diversity of shops enabled something for everyone and thus, nobody gets bored!
• Hilarious Company--Abi, Anthea, and Robz, some of the most amusing people on this earth, immensely contributed to the most priceless weekend of these past two months.  Abi knew legitimately every single person living in Hilton.  Every two steps the rest of us would be introduced to one of Abi's friends from this school or this party or this place--and pretty soon those people became our friends too!  Since this festival tends to attract the theatrical, free-souled, and loud residents of Hilton and the greater world community, instant chemistry was the norm this weekend.  I would pull up a chair and within 30 seconds the other person and I would be entranced in a fat chat about the most random topics, and y'know what?  We didn't care!  We didn't care that it wasn't your "typical conversation topic" because why does it have to be?

After spending a weekend at the Hilton Arts Festival I have finally come to understand why this 3-day party attracts so many people from so many places: I've never seen anything like it.  Sure, festivals and fairs seem like fairly common weekend outings, but no Festival in the Park in Charlotte can compare to the Hilton Arts Festival's ethnic and retro vibe, the diversity in food and stores, and the raw talent that was showcased by varsity students and experienced musicians alike underneath every tree.