Destination Ooty - Monkey Town Arts and Music Festival 2017

The tents are up, the stage is set, and the spirits are high at the second edition of the Monkey Town Arts and Music festival .
Destination Ooty - Monkey Town Arts and Music Festival 2017

With the temperature soaring in Kovai, where would you rather be when you have Ooty just a drive away? Inviting you for a long weekend is the the Queen of Hills, with its cooler clime, some groovy music, great food and soulful art.

Monkey Town Festival, is an offbeat celebration of art and music organized by Abhinesh Balasubramaniam and friends. And, staying true to their last year’s promise, in its own way, it's bigger this time. “Though we have included more art forms and installations this time, we also have reduced the number of artistes in order to give them more space and play time”, says Abinesh who expects over 2000 people to attend the festival. Apart from promoting independent artistes of the country, the two-day fete which starts today, also spreads awareness on preserving Ooty.

Musical affair

The nights sure are going to be long at Ooty this weekend as the line-up bosts some brilliant artistes with some killer. The lineup for the first day includes rock bands Cosmic Resonance, Space Is All We Have, MADD and Mind Map. Jhanu, the popular Tamil rock band with Jhanu Chanthar(Kabali fame) as lead guitarist and Ome Jayadev, the psy-trance DJ of Old Man Earth, feature in the list to stir the souls of the festival-goers. Serving some pop will be popular bands like Kuru Circus & Orchestra and Marcus Finds A GunThe Family Cheese with its progressive Carnatic, WACX with some hardcore punk, Junkyard Groove for some alternative funk along with Thaikkudam Bridge with its reggae fusion, complete the discography. 

<em>The Void</em>
The Void

Art matters

Apart from great music, the fest also features some engaging art with a whole crew of artists exhibiting their work, performing live and conducting workshops. The exhibition will showcase the works of celebrated artists including artist and photographer Ari Jayaprakash and Akilesh S kumar, the Chennai-based mural and street artist. 

 “Considering one of the visions of the fest that is to create awareness on preserving our environment, we have incorporated more eco-friendly art forms and workshops this time”, says Neha Rajan, the PR of Monkey Town Festival. These include the Didgeridoo workshop by Abhijith (Psy Didge) from the Psy Didge Club; painting and sketching workshops by Namaha Art Community; dream catcher making workshops, and compost workshops by environmental lawyer Nikhita Lakshmikanth. Promoting the idea of recycling, as part of the fest, there will be workshops on making musical instruments from recycled products by artist Friederike Fokuhl, while artist Anik Khapai will handle sessions on creating handicrafts from garbage. A flamenco guitar workshop by guitarist Enoch Harold and Poi art workshop by Poi artist Ashwin Kumar will also be part of the series.

<em>The Monkey Biscuits</em>
The Monkey Biscuits

Under the stars

Another exciting feature of the weekend fete is the two-day camping facility. The camp, organised by Addventures unlimited, a recreational firm, will have adventure activities such as trekking and hiking for the campers along with the opportunity to be part of interactive sessions and after-party with the artists. Apart from the electrifying gigs and art exhibitions, expect various forms of visual arts, live performances, flea markets and food joints at Monkey Town this time.

Feeling food?

Apart from Café Coffee Day, Domino’s and the Barbeque Shop, here are some interesting food stalls to look out for.

  • Blessita’s burgers
  • Place to Bee(for Pizzas)
  • Momo House
  • Gem Fruits (for fresh juices)
  • The Monkey Café (for tea, sandwiches and brownies)
  • Choco Galleria (for homemade chocolates)

 April 14-15, At Space 4 Resorts, Ooty. From 11 am onwards. Tickets from Rs. 749 onwards at insider.in

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