Festivals

Nudity Makes Them Great

1970 Isle of Wight Music Festival

When we think of the great festivals-- Woodstock, Glastonbury, Burning Man-- we think of crazy, outrageous, memorable, get-togethers. We also think of nudism. Is it the bands that makes these events supreme, or the nudism? There’s definitely great music, a sense of community and freedom, but what really stands out are the naked people roaming about like the prize at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks. Great festivals require nudity to be considered great. Nudists are the real stars of the show.

Some festivals never quite reach the level of greatness. We think of the US Festival or Lilith Fair which drew huge crowds and had outstanding performances, but they lacked one important thing-- nudity. A musical festival without nudity feels corporate, too safe, flat, no fizz. The deep sense of openness and creative expression is missing. The human element. Nude people.

The Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh plays above its weight because of nudity. It would probably just be a local event wallowing in the Scottish backwaters, but nude Pagans have put the event on the world map. During the day, Gaelic rituals and parades mark the beginning of summer, but it’s the nighttime nudity, with torches and red people dancing naked that makes it a can’t-miss event.

The summer solstice is a perfect time to hold a nude festival. Warm weather and nudism go together like strawberries and cream. Sweden has Somerfest where dancers circle maypoles, stand-ins for upside-down penises. It’s all about fertility rites. Whether in Greece, Japan, or Sweden, the penis is celebrated as the giver of life, not as something to be afraid of, but to be appreciated and celebrated.

Some of the largest and most significant festivals go back centuries. The Kumbh Mela in India is the largest gathering in the world with over 100 million Hindus participating. While pilgrims bathe in the sacred rivers, it’s the nude Sadhus who everyone remembers. Naked people are considered saints in India.

The Hadaka Matsuri is a Japanese naked festival that goes back 500 years. Thousands of naked men brave beatings with sticks and cold-water dousings in order to purify their body and soul. Japanese women have no such naked festival. Women dress in kimonos and enjoy the cherry blossoms in a serious, refined way, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but a nude festival of Japanese women would make a lot more headlines

Some festivals are one-time events, others occur every year. The Nambasa Festival in New Zealand was a music festival with plenty of nudity. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Kiwi countryside to participate in the Southern Hemisphere’s version of Woodstock. With mostly lesser known bands, organizers were surprised with how popular it became. Seeing all the nude revelers roaming the North Island hills, it’s easy to explain why.

The Isle of Wight Festival drew half a million people in 1970. At one point, 300 naked people jumped into the sea. Inspired by this spirit, the Roskilde Festival in Denmark has grown to become the largest festival in Europe. Roskilde is totally comfortable with casual nudity, even organizing a nude running race. The Fusion Festival in Germany hopes to replicate the formula. Let’s face it, the crowd can barely recognize the faces on the stage, most come for the experience, and nudity is a major part of the fun.

I haven’t been to any of these historic festivals, but I have been to the drum circle on Maui’s Little Beach. I’ve been to Haulover when nudists were dancing with abandon to Cuban music. I’ve been at Oslo’s Huk Beach as Abba sang out Dancing Queen. I must say, these mini-festivals were just as magical as any of the great historical festivals of the past. You see, it’s the nudity that makes the difference, and the people at nude beaches know it.