A non alcoholic four day music festival is taking place in Dundalk in Louth this weekend.
The idea of the event is for people to leave feeling rejuvenated and refreshed rather than drained and tired. The festival is taking place in Bellurgan Park House in Dundalk from May 12 - 15.
Event organiser Caroline McMullen also known by her stage name 'Pixie' said: "It's about 30% retreat and 70% festival vibes and at night it is still very much a party and good fun just without alcohol in the equation."
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She told Dublin Live: "I have been working in the festival industry for the past 16 years and I've been working in the wellness industry for the past 12 years. The idea came to me because I wanted to create an event that wasn't just a session and where there could be something gained from gathering that many people together at once for everyone.
"I organised the first festival in 2021 and I found that many people enjoyed having fun without the pressure of binge drinking."
Speaking about what people can expect she said: "During the day there's workshops and at night there's live music, DJ's, storytelling and fancy dress. It's a good time and people can expect to have as much fun maybe even more than if there were at any other music festival."
Caroline explained that there will be a bar at the festival, saying: "We will have a medicinal mocktail bar where people can get non alcoholic mocktails and kombucha drinks so that they can drink something that gives them energy and makes them feel good as opposed to being bad for your health.
Many people think you need alcohol to connect deeply with others but it is actually counter intuitive and Manifestival is also about collaborating and connecting with like minded people and building a community."
Some of the activities that people can expect on the day include herbalism workshops, craft workshops, dance classes, a panel discussion about how to live sustainably and much more.
The festival is also trying to be as sustainable as possible so they are encouraging people to bring their own cutlery and reusable flasks to avoid single use plastic.
The festival runs over three nights and four days and people have the option to camp, stay in campervans or there are cabins available as well.
Caroline added: "The most amazing thing that has come from this event is that people are forming friendships and communities from the people they meet here and continue to meet up throughout the year for hikes or other things like that which is great and is something I could never have predicted would happen."
Tickets for the weekend cost €222 for general camping for the weekend and €111 for a day pass for Saturday or Sunday. For more information about the festival you can visit manifestival.ie on Instagram and buy tickets here.
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