- A Dutch family of event planners have realised their daughters festival idea
- Marcel drew picture of event 'Mandala' with a forest, lake and tribal camps
- Parents, who run Solar Weekend, are holding the event in Holland this June
There aren’t many four-year-olds who get to see their imaginative drawings made into a reality.
But instead of pinning his daughter Julia’s artwork to the fridge, Marcel Mingers, 45, did just that.
She proudly presented her colourful doodle, to him: ‘It’s a festival daddy, Mandala.’ The words written on the paper said, ‘A festival for Julia and Papa and sweet people.’
Like father like daughter: Julia Mingers loves attending her parents' festivals in the Netherlands and Norway
An idea is born: Festival veteran Marcel used imagination and know-how to bring the drawing to life
Two years later and the Dutch family are putting the finishing touches to Mandala – an off-beat family friendly event with music, art, games, workshops, yoga and wellness activities.
It's set to open between June 3-6 in Holiday Park De Bergen in the village of Wanroij, south-east Holland.
Just like the drawing (according to Julia), the 100-acre site has a forest, and lake with a beach. In its first year they’re expecting to attract 7,000-10,000 people, although it has capacity for 20,000.
While it might sound like she's the youngest new addition to The Rich Kids of Instagram TV show, the Mingers are no ordinary family.
As the founder of events company Extrema, Marcel has got more than two decades of festival experience under his belt. Along with his partner of seven years Lena, 47, they’ve hosted Extrema Outdoor and Solar Weekend both in The Netherlands and in Norway.
Now six, Julia has always attended her parents’ festivals – both the build-ups and the main events.
‘When we organised the festivals in Norway, we couldn’t find a babysitter for Julia, who was just born at the time. So she attended meetings with sponsors and even the government. Maybe she picked some of the information up unknowingly,’ says Marcel. ‘Plus she is really smart and has a free spirit.’
Lena’s 16-year-old son Theodor is also set to join the family business, as he plans to train as an architect and design stages. ‘He has great taste in art and music too,’ says Marcel.
Like the UK’s Camp Bestival, Mandala is big on audience involvement. ‘We’re very happy if visitors contribute to the festival, whether it’s creating something, dressing up, whatever.'
Family business: The whole clan loves to party and the kids get in on brainstorming event ideas
Instead of drawing crowds with huge artists and big stages, the site will be divided into 13 gatherings called Tribes, with over 100 performers or ‘Creators’ as Marcel calls them, split between them. There are no campsites either: people can pitch up where they like, choosing their own Tribe.
‘After a bottle of wine, in the middle of the night, I noticed that a lot of the Creators fit with each other,’ explains Marcel. 'That’s when I had the idea to divide them into communities.’
Each Tribe is self-contained, with its own facilities. There’s a Latin Spirit area, a freakshow called Avantura, Fawaka Tribe for vintage dance music fans and the healing area Kokon, which has hot tubs, saunas, massages and even a psychologist.
Tipi town: Guests can camp at any of the 13 uniquely themed tribes around the 100-acre site
Some will be challenging to find, hidden in the forest, and one area - Temple Island in the middle of the lake - is only reachable by raft. The small audience who do battle across will be rewarded with entertainment such as theatre, cabaret, mini parties and readings.
Mandala’s music ranges from singer-songwriters and pop to deep techno, rock and alternative. But if you need your beauty sleep, head to the ‘silent zone’, where there aren’t any activities or music.
‘We want to make art, creativity and spirituality accessible to a bigger audience, so people can try something different,’ says Marcel. ‘I want to give people the best weekend of their lives.’
‘Everyone is welcome. As long as you’re open minded, interested in different cultures and willing to explore. Or as my daughter said when she showed her drawing: This is Mandala, a festival for you, me and all sweet people.’
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