SOLA Festival returns to Sri Lanka’s south coast on January 30 and 31 at The Doctor’s House, Madiha. The festival will feature over a dozen DJs from more than five countries including internationally renowned Yung Singh, and local name DJ Shiyam. More than just a music festival, SOLA is a multidimensional platform for art, learning, [...]
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SOLA Festival returns to Sri Lanka’s south coast on January 30 and 31 at The Doctor’s House, Madiha. The festival will feature over a dozen DJs from more than five countries including internationally renowned Yung Singh, and local name DJ Shiyam.
More than just a music festival, SOLA is a multidimensional platform for art, learning, sustainability, and connection, hosting creative activities including communal weaving sessions, natural dye workshops, drum circles, beaded fabric jewellery workshops, make-your-own merch sessions and more.
Founded by a collective of designers from Copenhagen, SOLA aims to become one of the first fully waste-free and circular festivals in Asia.
Chief festival organisers, designers Susanna and Miranda, whose portfolio includes installations and designs for Copenhagen Fashion Week as well as projects with Collective Fashion Justice, explained that the idea for the festival was inspired by how incredibly warmly they were welcomed into the local community in Sri Lanka and their desire to give back and support that community
The festival will open with a traditional Sri Lankan fire ceremony, organised in collaboration with Sarana Sri Lanka. SOLA will also hold a fundraiser in collaboration with WeCare, an organisation dedicated to the wellbeing of street dogs.
A creative market takes place on Friday 30, featuring Lankan businesses and vendors who are not charged a fee for participation. Miranda said “We see this market as a meaningful opportunity to support Sri Lanka’s creative community – creating space for local makers, designers and artists to connect, collaborate, and present their work to the international audience visiting SOLA Festival.”
“We started SOLA to show that festivals can bring joy, creativity, and music while also giving back to the communities and environments that host them,” says Susanna. “SOLA was conceptualized and created with a strong focus on working in harmony with nature and fostering meaningful community connections.”
Community collaboration remains at the heart of the festival’s programming. This year, SOLA is working with a growing network of partners, including ApiHappi, Selyn Fairtrade, Sarana Sri Lanka and Sambol Foundation. The official banking partner for the event is Hatton Nation Bank.
The SOLA team, together with a local school and WeCare will conduct a beach clean-up ahead of the festival. Later, the children will participate in a crafting session focusing on recycling and upcycling everyday waste, while learning about plastic and street dogs. Sambol Foundation will host a natural dye workshop before the festival and the fabrics will be used for festival installations. Selyn Fairtrade, House of Lonali and ApiHappi, will contribute fabric that local women will use to make reusable decorations for the event, ensuring the festival avoids purchasing all new materials in the future. Selyn has also taken on producing festival merchandise and running a fabric bead workshop.
Tickets for SOLA are available on www.solafestival.org or via the link in their Instagram bio @sola.festivals.
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Print Edition – The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka
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