PAROOKAVILLE delivers memorable 5th edition

PAROOKAVILLE 2019’s “City of Dreams” saw 210,000 festival-goers in attendance during the three-day memorable 5th edition. The festival offered a full jaw-dropping experience, with a special retro-industrial vibe, creating a unique atmosphere which was different to any other event in Europe.

This year has catapulted the event into the international top league of music festivals, with 210,000 attendees celebrating peacefully alongside more than 7.5 million people that joined the live stream around the world, and a lineup filled with some of electronic music’s finest stars like Armin van Buuren, DJ Snake, Sven Väth, The Chainsmokers, and Robin Schulz. No surprise that the festival is growing at an incredible pace, thanks to its most delightful, liberating, peaceful and altogether happiest vibe that leaves every attendee in awe with admiration.

PAROOKAVILLE has built, in the former military airbase of Weeze, a very detailed village. Every citizen of the “City of Dreams” receives a free passport, in which stamps are added as more activities and attractions are visited. The side programming is massive, like a huge carnival which dozens of different activities to participate in every corner, and different music throughout. The city contains everything, from a central Town Square, a Factory, a Night Club, a Post Office from which attendees can send a letter to their loved ones, a Kiosk, it’s own giant Pool perfect for the hot days, a Lottery service, a Radio station, a Jail offering tattoos, Hairdresser, Make-Up salon, Bakery and all kinds of food, and even its own church! In the fairy dim-lit forest, thousands of colored bulbs simulate fireflies for a romantic dreamy vibe, and in the desert, swings of every shape and size are placed to the delight of everyone’s inner-child.

The organizers are also engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility activities and aim to use as many sustainable materials as possible, like a Bar built only with wood that has naturally fallen in the forest, or the use of cups made from recycled paper in some of the areas in order to reduce the use of plastic and the festival carbon footprint. In an effort to contribute to the development of the German community, local businesses are encouraged to be involved in the festival, like the local florists, bakers or furniture makers. Attendees have also reported about the quality facilities provided, with a very short amount of queuing time all around. The amount of effort and thought that the organizations put into every tiny piece of the festival is mind-blowing, it seems that PAROOKAVILLE organizers think about everything!

TOWN HALL

As in every city, the heart of PAROOKAVILLE and central drop-in where all visitors become official PAROOKAVILLE citizens by picking up their own free PAROOKAVILLE passport and the annual stamp is the Town Hall. You can even find the daily PAROOKAVILLE newspaper.

BRAINWASH

The Parookaville washroom is a small stage in a bunker. The stage is designed in the style of a wash-house, creating the perfect foam party! Here, no washing is to be washed, but the citizens‘ minds. A brainwashing for all new arrivals, who must first free themselves from all conventions.

PAROOKA CHURCH

The city church is free from conventions and religions. According to the motto: “Marrying who or what makes you happy”. There are no limits for a wedding. Afterwards, there is a certificate of marriage, a stamp for the PAROOKAVILLE passport and a photo. Tolerance and freedom are deeply embodied. All in all, there were more than 2,000 friendship weddings and ten marriage proposals over the weekend.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE

At this place monster waves and violent storms arising. Although the cause is less mystical than the Bermuda Triangle, it is wild at any time of the day. In the 700 square meter pool, the citizens can cool down and continue partying at the same time overlooking the cult stage Bill’s Factory. There also is an award for excellent swimming skills.

Thursday marked the arrival of the majority of the attendees at the several festival campsites where PAROOKAVILLE offers 4 types of different camps, in order to suit the needs of every ‘citizen’. The celebration kicked off on Thursday with the massive pre-party in Desert Valley and on the PENNY DJ Tower with artists including Laidback Luke, Blasterjaxx and Lost Identity.

The sheer beauty of this year’s Mainstage was one of the most talked subjects around the city. A roughly 200-meter wide Mainstage was designed as an airship shuttle station with breathtaking 3D stage construction and state-of-the-art lighting design, to the clear delight of even the scene’s global stars like headliners Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike: “We were here for the very first PAROOKAVILLE and that was already mega. But what you can see now on the Mainstage is absolutely insane, simply fantastic!”

Friday midday, PAROOKAVILLE’s gates were opened and the path was clear into this unique city of freedom and inspiration. During the first day, the “citizens” of the “City of Dreams” danced to the rhythm of names like Afrojack, Lost Frequencies, Martin Solveig, Nervo, Yellow Claw, Charlotte de Witte, Fedde Le Grand, Headhunterz or Pan Pot, between others.

Saturday offered a wide range of sensational performances like KSHMR, who graced the attendees with a highly admired intro show. But also Richie Hawtin, Robin Schulz, Steve Aoki, Sven Vath, The Chainsmokers, Astrix, Infected Mushroom, or Wildstylez to name a few. One of the most celebrated sets came from the hands of The Chainsmokers. The duo is used to performing spectacular shows in the biggest festivals around the world, and this time Parookaville citizens danced to huge tracks like ‘Don’t let me down’, ‘Who do you love’, ‘Roses’, ‘Paris’ or ‘We like to Party’.

Sunday vibes were emotional, being the last day of this year’s adventure for the attendees, who burned their shoes to the beats of Armin van Buuren, Afrojack, Above and Beyond, Oliver Heldens, Ferry Corsten, Alesso, DJ Snake and W&W. Goosebumps flew around the crowd when Armin opened his Mainstage set with a light show and minimix of his best hits, to then lit the crowd with hard-hitter ‘Revolution’, an opening that perfectly fits the free mindset of Parookaville. Once again, the Dutch trance Legend played his own big hits alongside all sorts of huge bangers, in a unique blend of sounds that combined all different styles within electronic music. Blasterjaxx ‘Alice Story’, Vini Vici ‘Great Spirit’, Marlo ‘Space Journey’, as well as his own ‘Something Real’, ‘Last Dancer‘ with Shapov, and as always his mastermind mashups, this time combining Jewelz & Sparks & Afrojack & Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano vs. Loud Luxury – ‘Bring It Back’ vs. ‘Body’, just wow!

Parookaville’s 2019 lineup has gained widespread appreciation within the scene, with their deeply curated selection of the finest DJs from every style, from deep house, to techno, big room, dubstep, house, trance, psy-trance, hardstyle. You name it, the festival has it all! PAROOKAVILLE’s citizens can now begin a very special look back on their beloved city here, with a new retrospective PAROOKAVILLE series starts up with eleven episodes covering the whole broad, multifaceted magic of the “City of Dreams”, before ticket sales kick off for next year’s sixth edition of PAROOKAVILLE from July 17th to 19th, 2020. We can’t wait to see next years edition has in store for us… but we can assure you it’s going to be MASSIVE!