A Year of Festivals

Freaky, mad and wonderful stuff going on in the world to keep you inspired on your travels.

July - World Bodypainting Festival, Austria

AUSTRIA | Friday, 26 June 2009 | Views [617]

World Bodypainting Festival. Photo by [NeoGaboX], Flickr.com

Location: Seeboden, Carinthia, Austria

Dates: Weeks ending on the penultimate Sunday in July

Level of Participation: 3 – watch the models or get colourful

Description:

A bodypainted bungee jump from a 165m dam is among the attractions at the world’s greatest festival for the art of bodypainting. In 2007 one jumper was made up to resemble Spiderman. With the year’s theme of ‘chaos versus control’. Many of the models looked like a cross between a Cubist sculpture and a Lord of the Rings tree person.

During the day the event swings between a technical trade show and a group hallucination. In the lead-up to the spectacular competitions at the weekend, there are workshops for bodypainters, models and photographers. The contests draw 20,000 spectators to admire artists from as far afield as New Zealand, competing in categories such as ‘brush and rub’ and ‘airbrush and special effects’, or the World Facepainting Award.

Every visitor will be blown away by the glow-in-the-dark World Fluro Award, the Body Works photo exhibition and the bodypainted ballet.

Essentials: Don’t forget the make-up remover or, for die-hard bodypaint enthusiasts, an umbrella.

Local Attractions: Lake Millstatt is a fjord-like lake surrounded by the Central Eastern Alps.

More Info: www.bodypainting-festival.com

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Information provided courtesy of Lonely Planet
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