From magical floating markets to stand-up comedy and live performances by Farhan Akhtar and Boyce Avenue to slacklining, the first edition of the U/A Festival aims to curate an experience beyond music and comedy
Imagine spending a weekend (as fancy as it may sound) in nitrogen science labs or magical floating markets or learning to play the ukelele. Add to that the joy of doing all of these crazy stuff with your family. You can do all this, and much more, at the much awaited U/A Festival that kicks off from tomorrow at the National Stadium.
You can scream your lungs out with Farhan Akhtar’s concert or let heavy-weight comedians like Abish Mathew, Tanmay Bhat (of AIB fame) and Biswa Kalyan Rath (Pretentious Movie Reviews) tickle your funny-bones. “There’s no dedicated outdoor festival experience for families. We wanted to build a festival that caters to people of all ages, where you can bring your kids and parents. Usually, the choices families have are restricted to malls. This will be a fun, safe proper festival experience for them,” said Vijay Nair CEO, Only Much louder (creators of the festival).
Speaking on the idea of the festival, Mathew said, “Just like the name suggests, it’s a universally accepted festival that’s meant for “family viewing.” It’s unique because in this festival you don’t have to leave anyone at home to enjoy a show.”
Anubhav Pal, on the other plans to talk to kids through one of his workshops. “ I hope to speak to kids about what annoys them about their parents. And I hope to speak to parents about what annoys them about their kids. The idea is young, progressive, and is everything new India should be, and I am proud to be associated with it. Also I really think families are important for comedy. I don’t think comedy should be only about bad language and shock.”
Here are six major attractions that you can expect at the festival
The Big Stage: Catch Farhan live, Florida based international YouTube sensations Boyce Avenue and Tanmay Bhat from All India Bakchod, Abish Mathew and many more to make you laugh out louder. Each of these artists will perform special sets that they don’t usually play at other live events.
Creator’s Corner: A carefully-picked list of workshops in various fields including music, technology, art, science, and logic. Assemble a solar-powered miniature car, try paper marbling, learn to play a ukulele, print 3-D structures, and experiment with illusionist’s tricks.
U/A lab: The one lab where you don’t need to balance equations. Check out the Nitrogen-led science experiments and a fantastical bioluminescent interactive installation here.
The Playground: Walk the slackline, create spin art, dabble with poi play, paint your best friend’s face and capture the memory with some cool pictures at the photo booth.
The Magical Floating Market: The never-seen-before Magical Floating Market has weird, peculiar, spectral and other-worldly creatures hosting stalls and trying to sell things that you will never manage to get your hands on otherwise – from bottled charms to dragon scales – they have a range of bizarre things on offer. There’s no money accepted here. Be ready to trade your laughter or your dreams for these unique items. “It is actually a theatrical experience with a 20 member cast. The idea is to create a unique and unexpected immersive show. We have worked with Crow Productions on this, who helped create this magical experience within the festival space. The market has characters you’d think have walked out of your favourite fantasy book as a child, and each of them are here to trade all sorts of charms,” said Nair.
Food and Flea Bazaar: The bazaar will feature independent artists, DIY makers, entrepreneurs, people with dreams and great food and finds. From caramel popcorn and cotton candy to a chef’s spread to pretty trinkets, you will get them all here.