I went to the We Are One Colour Festival on Saturday. All I have to say is, “What a day!”
For those unfortunate souls who don’t know what We Are One is, it is an open-air festival that uses eco-friendly coloured powder thrown into the air as a symbol of freedom. Festival-goers are encouraged to wear all white and by the end of the day they are covered in different coloured powders from head to toe. Every hour from 13:00, the DJs or performers called the crowd together to count down the last ten seconds of the hour and to throw the powder into the air. If you were at the festival, I hope you stood back from the crowd at least once to see what it looked like when the powder filled the air. It was breathtaking. If you missed it, don’t fret. All the photos are on our website.
Who knew throwing coloured powder around could be so much fun? Standing in front of the stage with all those people really added to the elation. It seems very childlike, but I’m starting to think that we all look for opportunities to forget that we are 20-something-year-olds who need to enter the adult world soon.
Isn’t that why some of us stay at university a bit longer than the usual three or four years? It’s escapism, I tell you. We are trying to evade responsibility and the real world. Ironic though, isn’t it? We spend our entire school careers wishing we could skip a few years and be “grown up”, and when that time comes knocking on our door, we run the other way throwing coloured powder into the sky. Oh Murphy, you got us. Again.
What I learnt on Saturday though, is that everything has its limits. The first few times we madly threw the powder around were amazing, but soon enough the novelty wore off and then you’re coughing and struggling to breathe, tripping over Black Label cans and scrunching up your eyes because you thought you were too hardcore for goggles and a mask. You’re probably just not drunk enough, but sometimes you need a break and have to walk away.
And the powder was a killer. The first time the powder covers you it’s luminous and beautiful. Some people had the most interesting colour combinations over their bodies. But soon it fades and turns to this strange colour between orange and brown. And the only choice you have is to run to the stage area again, chant the countdown and immerse yourself in coloured powder to get that radiant glow that comes with a fresh layer of powder back. Wait, was I trying to make a negative point about the festival? Never mind then.
If you weren’t there, flip through our pages for an inside look at what happened and what it looked like. If you were there, use it to reminisce and as an incentive to get your friends who didn’t go this year to join you next year if the festival comes to South Africa again. You can find our coverage of We Are One on page 9. This week also contains some important information about the TSC on page 5 and an article about the Harlem Shake on page 12. Sudoku, as promised, is on page 7. We’ve also put in a crossword puzzle. Let me know if you like it or not.
We Are One
