Thailand’s creating its own little Burning Man.

Back for its fourth and what appears to be its most ambitious year, Wonderfruit Festival  is built on six pillars – arts, music, family, Farm to Feasts, talks & workshops, and wellness & adventures –  all of which are designed to follow its ethos of using the event as a platform for positive impact.

I’ll be heading to the festival (finally!) this year and while it’s been ages since I’ve been to a proper music fest or live show, I’m more looking forward to Wonderfruit’s arts and interactive programs. The festival is so much more than just music with “feasts” put on by some of Bangkok’s leading chefs and restaurants, themed “camps” designed by different groups and collectives, TED-style talks and more.

The festival is also stepping up its sustainability game. In a country where being ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘going green’ often means slapping labels on things that are supposed to look good instead of actually doing anything (for example, 7-11 last year added a recycle logo to their plastic bags and a line saying to reduce the use of plastic. The chain is notorious for putting everything is as many plastic bags as possible…), it seems like Wonderfruit is actually trying to take a step in the right direction.

It became carbon neutral in February through investing in mangrove forests and has joined the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) to make major changes to its plastic reduction policies. This year, festival-goers are encouraged to bring their own bamboo or steel flasks and bottles as there will be no single-use plastic allowed on site. Additionally, all food will be served on compostable tableware and drinks will be poured into cups made of bagasse, the fiber that remains after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract their juice.

Tickets are still available for the festival which will run December 14-17  at The Fields at Siam Country Club in Pattaya. Four-day passes can currently be purchased at 6,000 baht from the Wonderfruit website. The passes include free admission to the general camping area for accommodation throughout the festival.