Castlefest's Wicker WOMAN

Jennifer Blaakum · 12th August 2007, 03:11 PM

Hello everyone!

Past 3rd, 4th, and 5th August, I travelled two hours to attend Castlefest for three days in the west of my country.

I went there with my partner, and some of my friends, and we had a blast.

What is Castlefest?

It's an event held by fantasy, medieval, and gothic fans, for gothic, fantasy, and medieval fans.
The event drew 150.000 people on the Saturday, about 100.000 on Friday, and 125.000 on Sunday.

Why is this even remotely related to Mr. Lee?

Well, I was rather intrigued when a performing band, Omnia, had built the Wicker Woman.

Apparently, it's a Celtic ritual that was used once a year for people throw their clothes, and other belongings in, and then, they drove their cattle through so they were 'cleansed' for the next and coming year.

Immediately, I thought of The Wicker Man and from what a (self-proclaimed?) expert said, the Wicker Man was based on the Wicker Woman ritual.

Poor lady got burned down to the ground during an Omnia concert (like the meaning was) but it happened faster than planned due the amount of absinthe, vodka, whiskey, and meade.

Such a shame of perfectly good alcohol.

I had a great time in the three days, and I danced a lot, fought swords, did some archery, tarot, and basically partied like mad, enjoying music from Omnia, Faun, Rapalje, the Mediaevil Baebes, and so on.

If you are interested to learn more about Castlefest go here.
Castlefest will be held again in 2008, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of August. It's not cheap, but most definitely worth the time!!!

Wicker Woman Burning:

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=OnGbsGJkCnU <-- Part I

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=mYpzrZVX-bA <-- Part II

**Isabel Alves** · 12th August 2007, 09:49 PM

I liked the music a lot.
Well, I really hope there was not a virgin there inside and animals during the burning.

Jennifer Blaakum · 15th August 2007, 03:12 PM

Well, I read about the Wicker Woman in the brochure, and they said there was the opportunity to make burnable sacrifices such as food, clothes, and drink.

Sadly, children and pets weren't allowed this year T_T

But I'm most definitely going next year again, seeing Omnia and the Mediaevil Baebes live is just amazing, and the atmosphere was just great.
So many nice people, and nothing's better than fighting swords ^_^