Thailand’s Wonderfruit festival puts sustainability at its core, creating one of the most socially conscious (and fun) Asia parties
With yoga, meditation, mangrove-backed cryptocurrency and gourmet food, the four-day event near Pattaya is no ordinary music festival
Talking about hedonism in Thailand will usually conjure up images of backpacker-powered debauchery at Koh Pha Ngan’s full moon parties and the relentless temptations of Bangkok. But Thailand’s party scene has come a long way in recent years and there can’t be many better examples of this evolution than the Wonderfruit festival at the Siam Country Club, near Pattaya.
Returning for its fourth edition from December 14-17, Wonderfruit takes cues from alternative festivals such as Burning Man, Wilderness Festival and Secret Garden Party to create an eclectic programme of music, arts, food, talks and wellness. Among other things, the festival is underpinned by an ethos that champions sustainability, innovation and positive social impact.
Thailand’s Wonderfruit is not like any other festival, with its focus on sustainability as well as fun
The festival is the brainchild of Bangkok-born entrepreneur Pranitan “Pete” Phornprapha, who founded Wonderfruit with Thai DJ and musician Montonn “Jay” Jira and Hong Kong-based director Jason Swamy in 2014. Phornprapha says six years ago he started “playing around with the idea” of creating a movement that would inspire people to create social change. “Wonderfruit was born out of that,” he says during a recent visit to Hong Kong.
Drawing on his experiences of 1990s rave culture in the US and Thailand, as well as a passion for sustainable living that he inherited from his father who founded environmental project Think Earth, Pranitan began to envisage an event that would appeal to a savvy international audience while promoting positive change.
What started off as an idea for a small one- or two-day event then expanded into a full-blown festival that runs 24 hours a day for four days.