On Saturday the 3rd of May, I embarked on the highly popular Masked Ball, situated in the beautiful rolling hills and coastline of Porthleven, Cornwall. As a newbie, I was over the moon about getting the chance to experience the Masked Ball, as I had heard many great comments about the event from friends and course mates.
Upon entering the festival, I was greeted with a sign stating “Land of make believe” and an arrow pointing the way. I immediately knew I was entering something I had never quite seen before.
As I made my way through the barriers, I spotted tents popping up everywhere, with crazy characters appearing from them; a penguin, Santa, mermaids and a fairly worse for wear Cinderella, all making their ways to the bars and tents.
My first stop was the Rum Bar, where I was greeted by a man in a tuxedo. I bought myself a rum and coke and soaked up the care-free festival atmosphere!
Alongside the Rum Bar was a food tent, where burgers, chips and falafels were being served to hungry men in suits, and women in fishnets and clown costumes. I bought myself some chips, which were served in a cool cardboard box. As chips go they were great and certainly lined my stomach for the upcoming drinks I was going to consume.
I explored the other tents; one a tea and toast shop for hangover partygoers, the next a massive music dome where you had to climb through a tunnel, guarded by a clown. Inside the dome was a massive clown and theatre fest, with loud dance music and some old classic rave tunes.
The next tent I made my way into was the Raveyard. This tent was situated on the cliff edge, and had a great view of the sunset on the sea. Again, the music was classic dance and rave tunes, and although I admit that rave is not my absolute favourite genre, it took no time at all for me to adjust and get involved. The atmosphere was contageous!
Lastly, I entered the main, largest tent, where partygoers were gearing up for the much anticipated Groove Armada. The tent was rammed, and people were trying to get as close to the DJ set as they could. Other lesser known DJ sets were performing as Groove Armada were not set to play until midnight, but you could hear the massive excitement from Groove Armada fans!
As a keen music fan, I am always up for a music festival, and The Masked Ball did not disappoint! The atmosphere was exciting, fun and creative, not to mention the costumes! Everyone put a real effort into their costumes and clothing which made the whole event more fun and crazy. The music was bang on, loud and entertaining, with dancers and artists dotted around the DJ sets.
If you are up for a whole weekend of music, partying and an all-round crazy (or chilled, whichever you fancy) weekend with your friends, I highly recommend The Masked Ball!