Peacefest 2007 English Press Release

The leafy mountainside of Kunlun Herb Garden in Longtan will ring with beats and songs again this year, June 1^st to 3^rd, as peace-lovers from all over the island gather again to join hands for an end to war. Now in its fourth year, the Peacefest has grown to be one of the best-known music and art festivals of the year on Taiwan, drawing a veritable 'who's who' of the Taiwan independent music scene, as well as artists, speakers, fire-dancers, representatives of NGOs, and several hundred partygoers to the firefly-lit mountains for the weekend.

This year's musical offerings include Afro-Caribbean drum and dance troupe Pan Africana, Taiwanese fuzz rockers 88 Guava seeds and Rabbit is Rich, oldtime jug band music from David Chen & the Muddy Basin Ramblers, roots and reggae from festival veterans The Anglers, The Admissionaries and Uli and the Brood, blues by Boogie Chillin' and BoPoMoFo, punk from Divebomb and Heavy Smoker, Rockabilly from Tainan's Full House, groovy folk by Faye & the Slacks, live electronica by Viba, Macedonian and world fusion music by Paparazzi and the Macedonian Music Band, mountain songs by Sophie and Cemelesai, who are members of popular aboriginal group Totem, big-band funk and soul from Taichung super-group The Money Shot Horns, a trilingual punk rock musical puppet show by Ren Jian Bao Theatre Company, all stripes of rock and roll by Changhua's the idiots, Hualien's Mister Green and Highway 9, Taichung’s .22, Chiayi’s Ad Hoc, Tainan’s Charlie Swiggs Band, and Taipei’s Public Radio, Rocket Grrrl, and to a god unknown, plus DJs Marcus Aurelius, Dragon, and Soundmindset for the wee hours.

Music runs from 9pm on Friday until 4:30pm Sunday. As usual there will be workshops, games, and activities running throughout the days, and there will be booths set up with information about various charitable groups and peace-work worldwide. There will be a wide selection of affordable food and drink from all over the world, and there is ample space for free camping, either right onsite or a bit further away for those who need more peace & quiet. There are also rooms (with spa access) which may be rented for the weekend through the festival website.

This year the festival has been timed to coincide with the full moon (which falls on Friday), and Friday night has been stacked with talent, including Faye & the Slacks, the Anglers (playing their last show for the foreseeable future), Public Radio, .22, and DJs Marcus Aurelius & Dragon. Sunset Saturday features the peace circle, followed shortly thereafter by a fire show. Admission is free on Sunday, and kids' activities run all day.

From its humble beginnings in 2003, back when the war in Iraq was just a really bad idea rather than the very real quagmire it has become, Hoping for Hoping has always tried to not only protest against the war, but also to offer a positive alternative to a way of life based on violence and coercion. The organizational model is based on the values of consensus, co-operation, and transparency. The Peace Festival sets itself apart in that it is completely non-profit and totally run by volunteers. The organizers are very excited to see the festival gathering momentum year by year, and growing into something that can sustain itself through the usual comings-and-goings that characterize expat life here.

This year the number of charity recipients has been reduced, so that a bigger impact can be made for each one. The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) and Taiwan International Workers' Association (TIWA) are back again this year, along with newcomer Basic Human Needs, which runs a free school and clinic for street kids in Varanasi, India. This year, some money will also be set aside to ensure the continuance of the festival, rather than it being completely bankrolled by individual organizers, as it has been so far.

The volunteers behind Hoping for Hoping invite everyone to come and join them to party for a good cause. “It’s a meeting of minds,” says co-organizer Scott Cook, “people who sincerely want to change themselves, this island, and the world, even just a little bit, for the better.” Got something more important to do with your weekend?