Your Rainbow Serpent Festival Guide
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Your Rainbow Serpent Festival Guide

Some 15,000 people are expected to make the annual Australia Day weekend pilgrimage to Lexton, Victoria for the country’s premier music and arts festival, Rainbow Serpent. There’s such a huge array of stages, workshop areas and activities at the event, we thought we’d help break it down for you.

MAIN STAGE

The 20 hour, fire-breathing, lightening cracking behemoth of Rainbow Serpent Festival runs from dusk on Saturday to late Sunday afternoon. This year it will host Iboga Record’s 20th anniversary celebration featuring some of the label’s top producers and DJs and an immersive 3D hologram and light show.

MARKET STAGE

Running from Friday afternoon nonstop to Monday afternoon, the Market Stage hosts a massive range of artists across all genres. Costumes and frivolity abound and the sense of fun and community is as thick as jello. Monday on the Market Stage has developed a legendary reputation and you definitely want to leave some fuel in the tank to experience the incredible sense of togetherness that permeates the dancefloor.

THE PLAYGROUND

In 2016 The Playground returns with a host of quality bands, DJs and spandex spectaculars to keep you moving like WD-40 on teflon.  Expect a pulsing hub of magical mayhem, delivering three full days of transportation to another realm, genre blending into three nights of live music and world-class performance art.

SUNSET STAGE

The Sunset Stage feels like a party within a party.  Providing the Ying for the Market Stage’s Yang, or vice versa, you can expect to hear some of Australia’s most talented producers and DJs with a healthy splattering of international acts too.

Chill Stage

A place to relax and unwind while you tune in, drop out and absorb downbeat and ambient delights. The Chill Stage runs from Friday afternoon until late Monday and is a lush, cosy haven where you can either catch up with friends, old and new, over a cup of chai or kick back and bliss out to the aural treats on offer.

Cocoon Lounge

As the sun goes down and the workshops come to a close, the Speakers area in The Village will turn into the Cocoon Lounge – Rainbow’s newest addition of aural delights. Running from dusk till dawn, this is the place to immerse yourself in flowing soundscapes and tranquil delights from Rainbow’s most awe-inspiring ambient acts.

ARTS

Rainbow Serpent is committed to encouraging artists to delve deep into the wilds of their imagination to boldly produce the beautiful, the bizarre and the brazen. There is a full artistic program over the long weekend to see everything from massive installations to multimedia shows and street performance.

THE VILLAGE

This is the space within Rainbow to step away from the dance floor and join informative discussions and workshops on a range of topics from environmentalism, political action, consciousness, permaculture, plant medicine, spirituality, yoga, dance and movement. There’s even an outdoor cinema, permaculture garden, art gallery, kid’s area and more.

MARKET PLACE

Rainbow’s market is one of the biggest in Australia at over 1km long and you can find everything from designer festival wear to jewellery and herbal supplements. The international food market hosts flavours from Thailand to Lebanon, all served with biodegradable plates and utensils in accordance with Rainbow’s leave no landfill policies.

WHAT TO BRING

-Your ticket and Photo ID
-Drinking water & refill container
-Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses
-Warm clothes – it gets cold at night!
-Camping equipment, tent, sleeping bag, plus tarps and poles for shade
-Spending money
-Swimming gear for the Saturday pool party in Beaufort!
-Portable ashtray and bags for rubbish
-A carefree and fun loving attitude
-Costume changes and of course clean underwear