This years Peace Festival had an unexpected twist to things. Due to the heavy rainfall leading up to the event, there was a lot of mud and grass just ready to be churned and turned by the party goers. By Saturday night, what once was the nice grassy yard in front of the stage (and many other places as well) became a 3 - 5 inch soup that looked more like a chocolate milkshake than a field. The thing is, the weather held up for the majority of Saturday and Sunday, so we were plodding around in a sea of pudding, in nice cool weather for the weekend. One added benefit was the temperature at ground level, which made sleeping in a possibility, as normally it would be too hot to be in the tent by 9 in the morning. After a night of partying and sloshing around, the extra sleep was well received.

One of the highlights of the festival in my opinion, was the aboriginal drum group and their fire blowing friend. It was cool seeing and hearing them rocking some beats and sloshing through the mud on their procession while the fire blower was blasting fireballs into the sky. The kids were so excited and were really cute preparing for their event.

I didn’t get any photos of the peace circle this year. After 4 years of being a part of it, I felt it was time to make this year’s circle a personal circle and it ended in a satisfying nap back in the tent. Being a little shy, I never really appreciated people with cameras pointed at me in a time that I just want to be free. I guess this affects everyone differently.

The Peace Fest is always a time for me to catch up with some old friends and of course, make some new ones. I think I can safely say Taiwan is becoming a place people want to stay because I have been seeing many of the same people around year after year, and even some newer faces that have been around for several years. Taiwan isn’t the b est for artists, but it does allow time for you to develop what you are doing while still maintaining a decent quality of life. I guess that is one reason the performances get better every year.

Peace Festival photo galleries from years past.