My hippie-festival-love!

How are you in this summer of 2023?

Have you been at a music festival in your life? Are you a fan? No thank you I don’t like so many people at one place? Maybe you would fall in love with Uhuru Festival like I did in 2016. Mika was five and I neeeeeded something where we would be both entertained and having some alone time even though Ken was working and not with us. Five bloody weeks of summer holidays. I know. 5 weeks is nothing compared to other countries. AND I love summer. I just like to work and get ahead with my company too so creating an amazing summer and having some time to myself was/is the challenge.

Uhuru is a tiny festival. Not comparable to the big commercial ones of Switzerland. It’s a mighty festival with a few hundred people, world music every evening and over 50 workshops where you can explore singing, dancing, percussion, movement and other cool topics. Irmi, my friend who I met in Circus Monti (back in 1997) told me about Uhuru. I was amazed and decided to sign up little Mika who was five for two kids-courses: Circus performance and singing/dancing and me at the same time for yoga in the morning and chorus in the evening. 4 hours per day we had our own schedule, the rest we’ll enjoy camping, cooking and all the other perks of the festival. Ken drove us and our luggage onto the mountain above Solothurn and liked the atmosphere. Woow, he even decided to stay two nights. Woooow! My man at hippie camp? He told me: Next year I’ll come for a week too! Wohoooo!

Since then, we have attended every year. Uhuru in summer is set. Ken and I enjoyed the cooking and chilling on the campsite which is loosely organized and very spacy. Mika enjoyed every year more and more how free she could roam around and participate in the various activities for kids on her own. She made friends and went to the concerts alone in the evening… it’s so safe, so peaceful, so tiny, so clearly laid out, that kids are just in paradise and their parents too. I always attended one or two courses, Mika stayed in the circus course for many years and Ken was just there and taking it all in.

In 2021 I heard the rumor that the organization team was worried about the survival of the festival. They needed somebody for communication/marketing and had to fill two other positions. I was alarmed and told Irmi, who is like the festival's godmother with her bar in her circus wagon, that I was willing to help for sure because I wanted to go to Uhuru every year forever… Well she told the team and they reached out and after a proper job interview I was “hired”.

Oooh, it’s a lot of work. AND it’s very, very rewarding to know that this tiny team of 8 people is making this wonderful heartfelt event possible every year! Of course we couldn’t do it without our incredible helping staff team. And the farmer who owns the land, Willi, is our hero every year to say yes to using his meadows where normally cows are roaming.

Last year was my first year as an organization team member. I was rushing around most of the days all day long so that my darling husband commented: “Just for washing your dishes, I don’t need to be here! I’m not coming next year.” SAD FACE… but I honor his decision and I’m ok with things changing. He rather goes fishing this week or does something he’s excited about. This year Mika is coming with her bestie. They have their own tent, I bought a new one just for meee and we’ll have separate households : ). I go lowkey on cooking equipment and eat all inclusive at the catering of our team, Mika and her friend will prepare their favorite meals on their own. New beginnings!

My highlight is my yodeling course in the morning. Our teacher is so much fun, an Austrian lady who lives in Berlin and knows Swiss yodeling inside out. Last year I was in her course too and met my yodeling besties who I yodeled weekly in Zurich since then. Follow me on instagram and you’ll be with me at the festival. The signal is super weak up there BUT as I’m in the team I even have wifi… : ).

What are you excited about this summer? And your winter if you are downunder?

I have many more highlights ahead of me and I’m looking forward to each and every one of them. On insta, I’ll tell you about Genoa with my sister. My time at a dreamhouse at Bodensee, the biggest lake of Switzerland where the other side is already Germany and Austria. My mountain cabin time (no wifi up there) aaand an exciting week in London where I visit my bestie Eleshia… gooood times ahead! Again, follow me on insta and tell me about YOUR summer and your little and big adventures in an email-answer or in a instagram-DM. I’d love to hear from you!

Take care and you’ll get a scrapbook-mail all summer loong. AND I created a lot of very cool freebies for new subscribers! I’ll tell you about them next Sunday. If you want one yourself, tell me which one as you are already here and please invite all your besties to sign up to get the Joy-Universe growing.

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