From a VR experience that will take you deep into the rainforest to a FitSphere class with Liv Lo to a mindful market with over 80 conscious brands, this edition of The Conscious Festival Hong Kong has unfolded as our biggest and most conscious yet (also cause we went vegan and almost zero-waste).
While many people enjoy the exploratory aspect of a festival, others need more structure and then there are those who spend weeks planning their agenda for fear of missing something epic. Whatever category you fall into, here is a short list to get you started:
1. Explore the Amazon rainforest in VR
Since most people head to snow white sands and sky blue seas when it comes time for holidays, the Amazon rainforest isn’t something that many of us get to experience in this lifetime. Well, Conservation International has got your back! Under the Canopy is a VR experience in which viewers can explore the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem that’s teeming with rare wildlife and Indigenous people. Follow Lee Pace, actor, conservation activist, and the film’s narrator, and learn about why it’s paramount that we protect our rainforests and what we can do to protect the environment in our daily life.
2. (Mindfully) shop till you drop
DO NOT MISS our mindful MARKETPLACE where over 80 conscious brands will be selling goodies, leading transformative talks, offering healthy festival nosh, serving organic booze (see you there), showcasing interactive art and setting up games. Here you’ll find vegan pizzas with Mayse, vegan wines with La Cabane, zero waste brands like ZeroYet100, Bareaya, and Eco Egg, and international sustainable fashion brands like Matter, Coral Secret, and The Hat Couture. Find a list of all the brands here and take a vibrantly visual sneak peek at some of the things you can pick up at the festival here.
3. Learn how to say goodbye to plastic bags
Introducing Melati and Isabel Wijsen, two teens from Bali who founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags, a youth-driven NGO aimed at relieving the ocean of plastic waste. They started campaigning their plight when they were just 10 and 12 years old, respectively. Make sure to stop by and say hi to team BBPB and learn some (not so) fun facts about plastic waste in Hong Kong as well as how to get involved with the cause. Not letting go of the fact that they’re still youths, they group have weaved a game into a learning opportunity that will test if you’re really as eco-enlightened as you think you are.
4. Dance, dance, dance
It’s a festival, of course we have music! Check out local and international acts headlined by DJ Vito from La Mamie’s and Powered by Solar Sound System (on Sunday).
5. Enlighten your mind through some edutainment
Take a step back from the seriousness and indulge in your inner child through games and activities that are designed to enlighten and inspire with a side of entertainment. Learn how to upcycle your own sponges using old clothes (Tawashi) and create planters from plastic bottles with HMLET, our co-living partner. You can also personalize your own water bottle at the Bottle Calligraphy station by Urban Spring, participate in a mini DIY Bath & Body Oils workshop by ZeroYet100, and so much more.
6. Meet the Green Warriors
Meet and mingle with the second wave of Green Warriors who are leading the green revolution across Asia in a thought-provoking exhibition by renowned fashion and music photographers Flavien Prioreau and Zoe Kovacs.
7. Get naked
Head to the LUSH zone and discover how to get naked through beauty products. Their concept pop-up will be based upon their latest package-free collection called ‘Naked’ and you’ll be able to try your hand at making fresh handmade products yourself through their workshops. Of course, you can pick up Naked products here as well.
8. Play ‘Coral Reef Dart-Ball’
The Jane Goodall Institute looks to educate visitors on the damage microplastics have caused to coral reefs and also provide information on the efforts by Hong Kong’s organizations, universities, and government to revive Hong Kong’s coral reefs. Immersive and interactive, this will be done through a game that is best described as “Coral Reef Dart-Ball”.
9. Sweat it out
Get bendy through our one of our many conscious movement sessions like Wellbeing Morning with Fitbit & ChauKei Ngai, fit-yoga with FitSphere by Liv Lo, and a Kapuhala & Fitbit with a bodyweight workout.
10. Feed your mind
Learn how to set yourself free so that you can give more of yourself to the world. Our TALKS will see more than 50 speakers take the stage including international yoga champion ChauKei Ngai, investor explorer & adventurer Paul Neil, Alexandre Tsuk from Bali who will explain how ice immersion therapy can be used to tackle fear and Eugenia Chow youth activist from Bye Bye Plastic Bags – just to name a few.
11. Green your mind
Green Monday will be onsite with a pop-up shop aimed at spreading its Green Monday mantra and revolutionizing the food mindset of attendees through a showcase of vegan products. Indulge in snacks, pre-packed vegan soup, and plant-based milk to learn how to better eat in a way that is good for ourselves, good for others, and good for the planet.
12. Pick up some pre-loved pieces
Redress and Fashion Revolution will be co-hosting two stalls at the MARKETPLACE that will include a curated thrift market chock full of pre-loved items collected through their consumer take-back programme. You’ll also be able to take part in screen-printing of fashion activism quotes onto pre-loved or overstock t-shirts and then check out an interactive wall where people can tell them about their #lovedclotheslast and #haulternative stories.
The Conscious Festival by Green Is The New Black takes place on Saturday 13th April & Sunday 14th April 2019 at the Kerry Hotel 38 號 Hung Luen Rd, Hung Hom Bay, Hong Kong. Find more information on talks, speakers, and the festival schedule here. Don’t forget to register for free entry to the festival here and pick up tickets for TALKS here.