What better way to shake off the winter blues then to start planning for this year’s festival season? Mark your calendars Toronto! Canada’s premier psytrance festival is BACK! That’s right! Previously a biennial affair, Eclipse Festival has officially announced that it will be held for the third consecutive year over the full moon July 26-30, 2018 weekend. Celebrating a very special 15 year anniversary this year, Eclipse is sure to be the jewel of your summer festival experience!
Eclipse Festival began as an indoor event in 1999. It quickly outgrew its original venue and moved outdoors in 2003. Since that marker year, Eclipse has shifted venues a couple of times, but seems to have found a home at St-Therese-de-la-Gatineau, where this year’s edition will also be held. Although officially billed as an electronic music festival, Eclipse is primarily known as a psytrance event and attracts artists and attendees from around the world. Its triple stages host varying genres including house, techno, minimalist, psychill, ambient, and downtempo, but psytrance reigns as king over the main Solar stage for the lion’s share of the festival. The more intimate Lunar stage is primarily Techno and Minimalist oriented, while the Stellar stage, located right near the shoreline, provides more laid back beats like ambient and psychill. Last years’ international Eclipse Festival headliners included: Sinerider, Thomas Schumacher, Tripswitch, Divinatron, Faders, Burn In Noise, Pollyfonika, Symbolic, & Perfect Stranger, among others. Plenty of amazingly talented and well-known local artists provided headliner support including Sarah Dopstar, AIO, and Akibel.
My first experience at Eclipse Festival last year was nothing short of magical, and I absolutely cannot wait to return this year! For the true psytrance fan, Eclipse provides an oasis of natural beauty combined with the best of performance artistry, community, and what festival-goers call “white space”. The gorgeous venue boasts plenty of camping space, surrounded by pristine forests, a beach, and a family-friendly kids village. Far away from city lights, the visual decor is second only to the myriad stars and the festival’s iconic full moon. Talented artists – both DJ and VJ – provide amazing LED and musical symbiosis and synergy. For those who take part in flow arts like gloving, hooping, fan dance, and poi, there is plenty of room to practice and perform.
A variety of workshops and other activities are also available at Eclipse. Last year’s offerings ranged from morning yoga and dynamic meditation, to Transe Danse, Grow-Your-Own Superfoods, and Infinite Awareness: Answering the Question “Who Am I?”. Beginning with a Thursday night Jamm Session, various sessions ran through Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you were keen on a bit less active interaction, the Dome Theater showed classic films over the weekend like Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and The Wizard Of Oz as well as anime like Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind. This provided provided a cozy spot to chill and keep out of the rain! A Grounding Area was available for those looking to take a break from the intensity of the dancefloor, and the merchant’s square hosted many vendors for handmade goods, like Psychonaut and Ayam Creation, as well as food and drink kiosks, which provided late night and no-cooking options for attendees.
In the meantime, check out this amazing video from last year’s experience at Eclipse 2017: Resonance:
Video credit to TechSafari Records & Eclipse Festival
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Jade – EDM TOR
