Electric Picnic is so close we can smell the chips and taste the mud.
Festivals have long graduated from days of exclusively showcasing musical acts.
They are celebrations and increasingly they are places for ideas to spread and activists to get their message across to people who might never have heard it before.
In the past few years mental health has come from the shadows into a space of open discussion.
The A Lust For Life stage at Stradbally is a perfect example of this. This is the first time that a dedicated space for the discussion of mental health and wellbeing has been available at Electric Picnic.
According to Bressie the co-founder of A Lust For Life, a non-profit organization, the vision for the stage is one where “people come first in our society. The wellbeing of humanity is the headliner on the main stage and everything else is just the support act.”
The A Lust For Life stage will be located in the Theatre Tent in the Mindfield area from 7pm-10pm each evening of the festival and the Minister for Health Simon Harris will join a discussion panel on the future of mental health on Sunday at 7pm.
There is also a workshop on confidence by elite Performance Psychologist and advisor to Olympic athletes Gerry Hussey, and a workshop on humour with Psychologist Joe Geary.
The area will be MC’d by Shane Gillen and there will be music and optional dancing in between sessions.
Bressie spoke at #JOElive: Mental Health in Dublin this May and delivered a powerful message to politicians:
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