Nestled amid the world-famous Glastonbury Festival lies an enchanted oasis known as Shangri-La. Equal parts interactive art exhibit, wellness sanctuary, and spiritual epicenter, Shangri-La Glastonbury teleports visitors into a whimsical realm inspiring unity through music, art, and nature connection.
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The Genesis of a Utopian Vision Brought to Life
Inspired by the mythical Himalayan paradise “Shangri-La” from the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton, Glastonbury Festival’s Michael Eavis first envisioned a sustainable sanctuary promoting holistic healing back in 2011. After years attracting visionary artists, designers, and therapists to manifest the dream, team Shangri-La finally unveiled their hand-crafted utopia to widespread fanfare and returning pilgrims annually.
“Imagine a place both ancient and modern – where science and wonder meet…” That’s how Shangri-La’s creators described their lofty original vision.
Channeling the legend of an isolated mountain abbey so beautiful it enchanted all who discovered it, Eavis sought to replicate similar awe and magic. Constructed gradually across hillside woods and pastures adjacent to the Park Stage, Shangri-La blossomed as a living art project embodying the divine partnership between creativity and nature.
With intimate wooden venues and impromptu parties often unfolding till sunrise, Shangri-La offers a perfect counterpoint to Glastonbury’s giant headline stages. Attendees wander misty forests discovering mini-venues showcasing future thinking, global artistry and well-being activations uniquely curated year after year.
An Oasis For Body & Mind Rejuvenation
Shangri-La Glastonbury prioritizes holistic healing with specialized programs:
- Massage & Bodywork – On-site massage therapists offer bespoke sessions from deep tissue rubdowns to traditional Thai yoga stretches. Sound healers also conduct gong baths and crystal bowl therapy providing restorative vibrational realignments.
- Movement & Meditation – Daily morning yoga classes attune energy centers surrounded by nature’s tranquility. Guided meditations also avail miniature zen gardens for enhanced focus and mindfulness.
- Nutrition & Organics – Vegetarian fusion bites and detox smoothies from the central Sanctuary Cafe nourish weary festivarians between revelry. Everything served here adheres to local and ethical sourcing, often containing foraged ingredients like dandelion, nettle, and berries from the Avalon orchard nearby.
- Eco Awareness – Workshops promote sustainability by building bee houses, grain grinding, or making natural skin salves and tinctures. Leave with actionable tips for greener, cleaner living to implement back home.
The Healing Hub’s welcoming expertise provides ideal refuge following long nights dancing or muddy treks cross-country. Treat yourself to some supplemental R&R in this positively recharging region. Licensed acupuncturists, herbalists, and organic chefs also offer consultations for total restoration before returning to reality beyond the fields.
A Living Canvas Showcasing Visionary Artistry
As a key patron of the Arts Council since its 2011 inception, immersive and interactive world-class art remains central to the Shangri-La camp.
“We invite pioneers across all genres – music, theatre, sculpture, and design – colliding creative forces at the bleeding edges of imagination.” – Shangri-La programmers
Annual Display Variety
| Year | Art Theme Highlights |
|---|---|
| 2022 | The Truth Stage, Ukrainian poster art installation |
| 2021 | Introspective “Invisible Circus” reflecting the pandemic |
| 2019 | “Truth Stage” debut & sci-fi rocket sculptures |
Recent years spotlighted local Ukrainian artists responding to war plus visionary representations of post-pandemic consciousness while past lineups saw industrial performances like firebreathing sculptors, aerialist cyberpunk, and ecstatic deep house ravers. Venues like the surreal Invisible Circus tent or mystic Truth Stage foster revelation through art, while the Unfair Ground freaky warehouse raves till dawn. Dance along to dramatic fiery sculptures or chat with a robotic priestess – Shangri-La offers eye-opening dreamscapes at every turn!
Behind The Scenes: Curation & Design
Overseen by Glastonbury officials, Shangri-La evolved from a participatory living art gallery into a multifaceted adult playground equally nurturing free expression and consciousness expansion. Their year-round team lovingly crafts each season’s intricate world from salvaged materials during the fallow months between festivals while extending open submission invitations to “dreamers, makers, and mavericks” internationally.
Hundreds of proposals now flood their annual art and music callouts. A rigorous review process assesses each on innovation, sustainability, practicality, and safety before selected works get integrated with lighting, set, and sound design into the evolving Shangri-La landscape. Sculptors then arrive early to inhabit the woods, installing peacock thrones, decks between trees, and yurts that host talks, DJ showcases, or simply chill out cushions under the stars. Every niche of nature sees mindful shaping into points of connection and wonder.
“We delight in repurposing everyday waste objects and technology to create mesmerizing realms fueling the imagination.”
Most materials are salvaged from old barns, abandoned cars, and charity store runs since Shangri-La holds strict zero landfill policies given its spiritual reverence for nature’s cycles. Some past highlights included a DJ booth inside an ancient Morris Mini or Funktion One speaker meticulously fitted into recycled oil barrels. Partners Greenpeace, Woodland Trust, and Permaculture Magazine also help implement best sustainable practices yearly. Ultimately the entire forested camp strives to welcome people into deeper rapport with both art and earth simultaneously.
Mystical Venues & Events Unfolding 24/7
As the sun sets, multiple mini-stages spotlight boundary-dissolving talents from radical poets, avant-rock psychedelians, or underground DJs dropping heavy dubstep and breaking within the trees. London’s occult House of Fairy Tales crew and NYC’s House of Yes also host ritualistic gatherings like costume parades or group trance dancing awakening senses dulled by default reality.
And Shangri-La stays buzzing all night long with its signature arboreal venue Into The Woods – an adult fairy tale land imaginary woodland dotted with treehouse DJ booths and twinkling disco grottoes. Wander torch-lit paths discovering stars projected onto the forest canopy above then stumble upon intimate parties with Hernandez Brothers’ desert punk sounds or Banco De Gaia’s global grooves amping the witching hours. Even when musical acts don’t actively perform on elaborately built dragon stages, guest DJs freely plug into the glittering solar-powered sound system pulsing each copse with diversified playlists spanning underground electronica, reggae-dancehall, neo-soul, goa-trance, ambient plus live sharings riffing indigenous mantras and earth-conscious themes.
Everywhere glimpse fabulous curiosities from shimmering art cars and healing domes to pop-up saunas within old buses for those craving additional steamy sweat lodge purification. Costumed performers on stilts also roam transporting visitors into vibrant fantastical realms equally psychedelic and introspective.
Mythical Musical Discovery
Beyond nonstop spectacles, Shangri-La’s sonic curation consistently unearths inspired talents destined to perform the Pyramid Stage in years ahead after emerging through these woods. Early bookings of now world-famous artists like Aurora, London Grammar, or Rag’N’Bone Man trace directly back to formative appearances on Shangri-La stages where they first revealed rare star potential.
“We live to spotlight fresh musical pioneers that touch souls as much as shake booties!”
Other visionary staples birthed here spanEPOCH bands Jesus & Mary Chain or Spiritualized plus iconic venue designers Arcadia Spectacular now famous for their 50-foot robotic spider stage at luminous desert festivals worldwide. Shangri-La’s tastemaking radar stays tuned ahead of the curve, making its uncharted stages essential rites of passage for tomorrow’s icons across electronic genres.
Insider Tips For An Enriching Visit
Follow these pro tips to enhance your journey into the Shangri-La dimension:
- Pack Essentials – Bring layers, sunscreen, camelbacks, wellies, and costumes to ease long days prancing woodland raves.
- Use The App – Download Glasto’s maps to navigate easily between zones across thoroughfares and secret portals.
- Arrive Early – Queue before dusk when capacity allows as nights fill fast. Slow mornings allow enjoying artwork before excitement builds.
- Explore Solo – Wandering alone lets you get lost discovering whimsy not beholden to groups. But avoid total isolation in dark woods late at night.
- Pace Yourself – Alternate stages with holistic recharging to maximize stamina through the marathon navigation.
- Book Ahead – For massage or healing therapies, secure advance appointments as slots fill fast.
The mystical Shangri-La arena keeps attracting free-spirited thinkers and ravers thirsting for existential adventures off the beaten track. Follow your bliss here to unveil profound connections with both human and Mother Nature’s unseen realms.
Embodying Glastonbury’s Enduring Ethos
Beyond showcasing leading-edge artists and wellness therapies, Shangri-La’s overarching role lies in manifesting the iconic Glastonbury Festival’s core values year after year into this condensed microcosm arena. As smaller autonomous villages within the greater temporary city are erected annually, designers carefully shape immersive spaces reflecting the evolving themes most relevant to modern audiences.
Channeling The Radical Spirit
Ever since launching in the 1970’s psychedelic age, Glastonbury carved distinction as Europe’s most influential counterculture musical mecca and enduring rite-of-passage. Yet today’s plugged-in generations face vastly different realities than the hippie era. Visionary spaces like Shangri-La adapt programming to meet newly emerging needs around connection, creativity, and consciousness.
“We hold space for revelers to rediscover authentic alivenessmomentarily freed from tribalism, competition and technology dependence.”
Showcasing world-class artistry and ethics-driven brands, the village demonstrates imaginative possibilities beyond corporate capitalism’s profit-above-all pandemic-era dysfunction. Shangri-La also addresses growing mental health struggles by fostering an unplugged presence geared less around Instagram likes and more around human connections.
Sustainability As An Ethical Imperative
Glastonbury Festival first banned single-use plastic bottles back in 1994, making environmentalism core to operations even when less popular. Today, as the climate crisis rages, sustainable thinking gets embedded into every layer of Shangri-La through mindful materials reuse down to solar-powered lighting and regenerative permaculture farming practices on site. Organizers state:
“We hold deep reverence for the planetary cycles sustaining all life. Our choices strive protecting fragile ecosystems here for future generations.”
Eco-conscious values translate into action from maximum capacities allowing sufficient sanitation to collaborative workshops teaching natural DIY solutions beyond corporate greenwashing fast fixes.
Accessibility For All Budgets
Another classic Glastonbury principle sees ticket prices capped far below comparable UK festivals, with profits re-invested to improve free areas and reduce general admission costs annually. Similarly, Shangri-La offers hundreds of free participatory adventures alongside affordable paid healing services so maximum communities can sample its magic rather than just elite tech bros. Authentic connection carries no price tag.
Ultimately, ravers resonate most with the chill accepting vibe allowing anyone to join in celebrating however briefly they choose. Veteran DJ Fat Boy Slim perfectly summarized the enduring communal appeal:
“Glastonbury’s not about watching superstar acts, it’s about losing yourself having fun with thousands others giving out love.”
Through a lens of radical inclusion for all generations and lifestyles, Shangri-La strives to uphold the beautiful borderless society all earthlings deserve.
Why Shangri-La Matters More Now Than Ever
Emerging from the pandemic’s uncertainty and polarization lies a fresh opportunity to redefine a positive trajectory forward together. As societies awaken, new paradigms get pioneered at the frontiers. Ancient indigenous wisdom tells us that within each crisis lies gifts of growth for those willing to walk the illuminating ‘red road’ beyond fear. Places like Shangri-la are divinely ordained to midwives these rites of passage reveal restored meaning and direction when old systems crumble. Visionaries here plant seeds inspiring humanity’s collective healing reunion with Mother Earth and one another.
An Antidote To Division
While pundits preach of soaring tribalism between political and social factions, transcendent spaces like Glastonbury Festival stand united with focus simply nurturing the human spirit beyond separatist mentalities. When 400,000 people congregate peacefully to celebrate music and arts annually, it proves genuine unity still shines behind the sensational headlines and fear-mongering isolationist rhetoric.
Attendees openly traverse all ages, races, and classes intermingling joyfully within Shangri-La’s welcoming tapestry. Strangers spontaneously serenade one another or trade intuitive readings and life stories while lounging atop wooden platforms strewn through the trees. No judging or superficial status chasing disturbs the free-flowing conviviality found in these sanctified grounds. Visitors unanimously describe feeling “overwhelming togetherness” that “faith in humanity gets restored” amidst the playful atmosphere blessing all who enter.
“We dissolve the illusion of disconnection from one another and hurtful divisive mental constructs falsely imprisoned in narratives.”
In many ways, Shangri-La functions as a working visionary model for how enlightened post-postmodern societies might prioritize relations with more sincerity, vulnerability, and inclusion between diverse walks of life.
Resilient Communities
Many posit that current globalized systems suffer fragility when crises hit due to excessive interdependence with little regional self-reliance. Shangri-La demonstrates augmented resilience through localized renewable energy, farming, crafts, and health practices that communities require to flourish independently during shocks. As economic uncertainty looms ahead, pioneers manifest smaller self-sufficient villages and gift economies like this one thriving aligned with ecological limits rather than chasing infinite material growth.
Attendees leave understanding that off-grid living need not mean regressive sacrifice but rather joyful liberty from exploitative extractive industries destroying our planet’s sacred support systems. The solutions shine brightly before us from permaculture to renewables. Shangri-La embodies this abundance paradigm daily.
Safeguarding Collective Consciousness
Modern commerce is notorious for manipulating human attention towards consumption, comparison, and empty celebrity. Shangri-La contrasts this diminished reality by immersing visitors back into the direct sensorial experience with present-moment richness devoid of ads continually vying for neural mindshare. Relaxed exchanges open space for meaningful dialogue on humanity’s higher potentials without establishment constraints. Provocative workshops explore topics like ancient archaeology, extraterrestrial life, entheogenic awakening, dreaming futurism plus mysticism from lost civilizations. Ever since its inception, Glastonbury Festival pioneered interactive debate expanding consciousness beyond mainstream comfort zones.
Today with web algorithms and media structures limiting diverse worldviews, Shangri-La preserves this evolutionary safe zone for discovery, delight, and disruption of consensus trance states that limit higher truth. The Gravity Bar venue specifically curates lectures ranging from mitochondrial health to nonviolent civil disobedience to community organizing building bridges between intellectual and grassroots change-making. Come peek behind the curtain of controlled narratives seeking more veracious information.
The Journey Never Truly Ends…
Since opening its gates over a decade ago, Shangri-La has continued expanding imagination and elevating consciousness through the interactive arts. Its rich legacy already counts thousands of performers and co-creators who collaborated manifesting this mundane nature preserve into a legitimate portal bridging cultural and spiritual dimensions. Seasoned Shangri-La stewards liken themselves less owners but rather temporary caretakers and conduits for this sacred site’s unfolding magic. Hallowed ground forever supports revelation across generations when enough collective creativity consecrates a home for its manifestation.
Yet Shangri-La’s most lasting impact shines less through built trails and wooded venues but rather through the indelible inspiration it ignites within all who wander its mystic borders and then return to default reality charged renewing society from the inside out. Attendees carry the spark into their communities as active agents of change through compassionate choices and creative catalysts.
“The mythical Shangri-La lives not ultimately in a physical location but within our hearts as love, where it quietly empowers world healing each time we surrender fears to walk in grace.”
So come participate firsthand writing your own legend into England’s most lauded pop-up extravaganza! Escape the default world and enter this wonder-filled parallel realm awaiting your exploration. Let the eternal spirit of Glastonbury Festival commune through each soul willing to receive its blessings. A boundless future unfolds when we co-author it together.
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