Hills Festival Meghalaya to be held on November 4 & 5

SHILLONG: This November, The Hills Festival Meghalaya will set the stage to host some of the most popular musical bands from the country and beyond.

Via a press release, The festival officials have just shared a sneak peek into what's in store for the visitors. The spectacular line-up of local, national, and international artistes includes Bloodywood, Taba Chake, Yung Raja, Karan Kanchan, HanuMankind, Trance Effect, Featherheads, DBryn, and Daminot among others.

To be held on November 4 and November 5 in the breathtaking locales of Meghalaya's Umbir village and Umami lake, a large section of the festival will be dedicated to gastronomy. The organizers have announced that the highlight of this year's 'Food Pavillion' will be 'The Forage Aisle' and 'The Pig-Out Affair showcasing regional cuisine from different parts of Meghalaya.

Featuring the famous Mumbai-based chef Thomas Zacharias aka Chef TZac, 'The Forage Aisle' will be a special layout of indigenous forage and the local wild edibles from Meghalaya. The aisle will host a culinary exchange between Chef TZac and local chefs, who will come together and share stories and ideas while curating lip-smacking delights along the way.

The 'The Pig-Out Affair' is a community cook-out serving pork dishes distinct from their tradition and culture. "In any outdoor feasting in the State, pork is one dish that is symbolic of a community celebration. The Pig-Out Affair is much more than just a platter of pork dishes but a get-together of communities, instilling a sense of belonging through food," says Sahil Majaw, founder of HYPE Meghalaya.

Keeping the environment an important mandate for this year's festival, the organizers are introducing several green initiatives. From the venue's promotional backdrops to the art installations, everything will be built using environmentally-innovative materials. The installations will embody the mythical tales of the region. "As we grow and evolve, our festival is building an ethos around ecotourism where we highlight travel responsibility to natural destinations. This is a chance to slow down and reconnect with nature. The biggest challenge of most festivals is waste management, this year we aim to sort, compost, recycle and up-cycle waste and prevent most of the trash from ending up in a landfill," Sahil said. To ensure minimum wastage and cleanliness, there will be arrangements of RO water stations, biodegradable service ware, and plastic/flex for promotional backdrops to be replaced with recycled paper and bamboo.

The Hills Festival is organized by HYPE Meghalaya and backed by Meghalaya Tourism. The vision is to make the festival a huge tourist attraction whilst keeping it environment-friendly. The team at HYPE aims to offer an immersive experience, and introduce concepts similar to a boutique festival that are quite popular around the world. Something that people can escape from their bustling lifestyles to find solace in idyllic surroundings. Going forward, they want to create an experience through a mix of music, art, food, and culture, and build a community that celebrates life in one place.

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