1st of August: A day in Dresden and the official last day of the project..

The party lasted until dawn and we could listen to the music until the morning. Everybody is tired, sleepy and moves very slow. However today, it is the only day that the participants can visit Dresden and go sightseeing. It is a bit troublesome to arrive in Dresden as we have to take first the bus from the project area to Freiberg's train station, then the train to Dresden's main station and afterwards the tram to the centre of Dresden.

A visit to the old city of Dresden is the first thing we have to do since Dresden's old city is famous for its barok and roccoco architecture. Most of its buildings were bombed and destroyed in the Second World War but since the reunification of Germany in 1990, they have been renovated and now they offer glamour and character to the city. Martin, a german volunteer is the tour guide of the group and shows the participants the hot spots and most popular sights of Dresden.

Free time is always good to walk by the Elbe river, to wander around the old city's streets, to get lost in the shopping malls or to take a nap in the parks..

Around 21.00 we gather to eat and enjoy the last night of the Trash Rash project. We are all exhausted and need to sleep but we have to be brave until tomorrow! Some food, a little bit chatting and drinking is what we need now to relax and exchange our impressions about the project.

Some of the participants came very close to each other and created good friendships. This is actually what remains from this kind of exchanges. It is a great opportunity for young people to get to know each other, learn from each other, talk about their cultural differences and their customs and traditions.

Not to mention the chance to learn how to build musical instruments out of trash and use creativity and imagination to achieve this aim is also something unique and quite original. We don't know if the participants will follow up this idea and use the knowledge they gained into making their future musical instruments or other installations but at least it is nice to learn and be encouraged to create something out of nothing! Human' s power and mind are so strong that people can make miracles and it is good to use these talents and skills for good purposes.

What we need is ideas, communication, cooperation and the strong will to create and work together peacefully and fruitfully! This was the aim of the project and we are happy that we fullfilled it!

Hopefully there will be a follow-up project so that we will improve and develop what we have already learned!

31st of July: Last day of the Festival and the Trash Rash performance live on stage!

 

Today is the day that we were so much waiting for! At last the Trash Rash project is on the final stage: the performance!! The last rehearsal is taking place on the Sun Flower Stage and the participants seem to be very excited. Finally their hard work will be shown in public.  

All participants have taken their positions on stage and the workshop leaders give the final signal to begin. It is a moment where we see all the efforts and the patience of these young people from Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Italy and Turkey. The atmosphere is warm and the audience welcomes the Trash Rash project with a great applause. The participants look confident and comfortable on stage and they seem to enjoy a lot this moment.

Merve, the Turkish girl with her beautiful voice is singing a Turkish song accompanied with some percussion and stringed instruments. Merve's eyes are shining and her melodies offer us a great pleasure to our ears.  

 After the song, a jam session follows but the audience wants more, "it can't be finishing so early", so now the workshop leaders Robert and Dobrin give the rhythm to the orchestra! It's time for improvisation and apparently it seems that they play pretty well. They are quite relaxed and the audience shows its satisfaction by giving a warm clap and shouts of excitement. It is a great relief to see this scene and to feel that after all these days something good came out of this project.                                                                 
   

After the Trash Rash concert, more bands play until 22.30 which is the end of the Sun Flower Festival but not of the Trash Rash project..! The Backstage party is to start around 23.00 without time limit!!

Before the party, a fire and juggling  performance is being carried out by several young people from Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Spain and the show is quite spectacular.

Fire fans - juggling
Staff & Doublestaff
Club juggling
Levi stick
Staff twirling
Fire orb
Hula Hoop

They are moving and dancing whilst playing with fire and at the same time drums give them the tempo. These drums are our Trash Rash drums!












At the end of the fire show a surprise by Stefan Kiehne, the chairman of the board makes us all stare at the sky...fireworks!!! They color the sky with beautiful shapes and forms and give the signal to start the party!







Balkan sounds and dance music incite everybody to dance until dawn. We are all exhausted, dirty, full of mud and wet from the rain but we don't give up and are still fighting to live this moment until the end!!

30th of July: 2nd day of the Sun Flower Festival

Saturday morning - the greatest day of the Sun Flower Festival but unfortunately it is raining a lot and it is quite cold. A lot of concerts are being carried out today and the participants have all the time to join them and wander around the festival area. It is one day before their live performance on the Sun Flower Stage. 

Many bands have come from different places to play in the festival: Baby Universal, Lady Moscow from Norway, La Pinata from Ecuador, Madskat from Belgium, Oranzas Brivdienas from Latvia, Transmitter, Beat Safari, Radio Havana, Yerbabuena Kajahla from Mexico, Georg Viktor Emmanuel from Austria, Japanese Birds from New Zealand and many more!!

The effort of the people who have organised this big event is really admirable and even the selection of the bands is very good. They are all young artists and not so well known but they are professional musicians and their potentials are great. This festival really gives the opportunity to young talented artists to unfold their skills and to offer unforgettable moments to the audience and the visitors of the festival. All night long melodies are coming from different sides just a few kilometres far from Freiberg. It is probably the only time that Freiberg is so vibrant and lively!

29th of July: 1st day of the Sun Flower Festival!!!

 The first day of the Sun Flower Festival is just getting started and the the Trash Rash project is almost ready. The participants are having rehearsals and the workshop leaders are giving them the last tips and instructions about their performance. Each participant plays a musical instrument out of trash, stringed, wind or percussion instrument and we are setting the programme of the Trash Rash performance. It is unbelievable how beautiful instruments these young people have created and it's even more interesting watching them playing them!!

The only problem is the weather as the sky looks quite ominous covered in grey colors and clouds. Hmmm...it will not help so much if it rains. We are keeping fingers crossed but nature is stronger than our will probably!

The first concerts have already started in the evening and quite a lot of people have gathered to see what is going on in the different stages. There are four stages which host different kinds of events:

Ska, Rock, Reggae & Blues at the main stage which is the Sun Flower Stage, Cabaret, Theatre & Readings at the Art Stage, Hard Rock & Punk Rock at the Rock Stage, Reggae, Dancehall, Dub, Goa Trance & Chillout at the Dub and Space Station. Apart from the concerts, theatrical performances and  readings, there are yoga, fire performing, juggling, circus, belly dance, jam session and body painting workshops and a wellness and spa area with hot tubs, sauna and chill out space. 

 The participants have a free weekend to explore the festival, meet international people, enjoy various concerts and performances and participate in any workshop they are interested in. 

  

28th of July: Jam session and chill out evening

Thursday is a bit lazy day as everybody needs some rest and most of the work concerning the workshops is done. The participants are rehearsing and the workshop leaders are conducting the trash rash orchestra. During the rehearsals, the atmosphere is very pleasant, as the participants cooperate very well with each other and follow the instructions of the workshop leaders. They seem to enjoy what they are doing and they are doing it quite well. The percussion instruments' sound dominates and the two workshop leaders, Dobri and Robert give the rhythm. One of the Turkish participants, Merve, who comes from Turkey sings in Turkish and her voice is absolutely marvellous. We all listen to her with so much attention and are charmed by the wonderful melodies this girl produces. At the end of the rehearsal, the jam sesssion follows which is full of power and energy!

At night the participants are gathered around the fire, listening to some music, dancing, chatting, playing the game "One night in Palermo" or just enjoying the peaceful night.

27th of July: Let's play the trash instruments and Freiberg by night!

 The morning starts with a lot of motion and exercise! The jugglers and fire performers from Bulgaria, Belarus, Serbia, Spain and Hungary have arrived and they have decided to do the warm-up activities of the TRASH RASH project. Some stretching, some yoga combined with pilates are the main part of this training which is done by the Argentinian juggler and fire performer Carlos who lives in Mallorca, Spain.

The participants get excited with the power and the spirit of the jugglers' training and they are ready to start the workshops and rehearsals. The worskshops are going very well and the participants have decorated their instruments very nicely. The workshops leaders show some techniques about how to play these musical instruments and the participants are divided in small groups and play the instruments they have chosen.

Everything goes really well apart from the food, which is quite disappointing but we try to find alternative ways to compensate the people such as the excursion in Freiberg at night!!

 Freiberg by night is a cultural night where the participants have the opportunity to see the city of Freiberg, some of its most important momunents, museums and sights as well as its nightlife. Freiberg is a very beautiful and picturesque city with an interesting architecture and a lot of tunnels. In the past there used to be a lot of mines full of silver and therefore the city is quite rich and wealthy. However, now the mines are empty and some of them are used as museums. We wander around the streets and cobbled alleys and feel the great atmosphere of the city even if there are no people outside..

The Turkish participants are delighted to notice that there are quite a lot of döner kebab restaurants and we decide to make them a surprise and offer them a nice dinner with their national food. However, in order to satisfy all the participants we also decided to go to a pizzeria which is closer to the taste of the Italian and Greek people. Unfortunately the Bulgarian participants are very tired and could not join us.

After dinner a shisha bar and some relaxation is all what we need. Lying on the comfortable pillows on the floor, smoking some shisha and drinking tea or alcoholic drinks is a great way to have a rest, chat and enjoy this beautiful night. Everybody seems to be happy and quite satisfied with this city tour by night but it is time to go back to the project area as the workcamp volunteers are having a Spanish night and we should not miss it!

26th of July: Sunny and warm day at last!!!

Today the weather is really good, we are with T-shirts and shorts and we all can't believe it after the first cold days..! The young participants have apparently adapted to the environment even if they are again a bit late in the morning for some energizers. Some body exercises and gymnastics are always good to start the morning dynamically! The participants and especially the Italian people really enjoy doing some warm-up activities in the morning and taking some exercise even if the workshop leaders are quite stressed with the work that they have to do, but everything is arranged so after 20 minutes of energizers and warm activities the workshops start!!

Some instruments and music installations are already finished, some others need a bit more work but the positive thing is that everybody is quite engaged and motivated. The workshops last for almost half a day and the participants have some coffee breaks, lunch break and some free time.

The night is again quite exciting as the Bulgarian and Italian people make a presentation of their countries. Each participating country has its own way to present and show some of the things that they find interesting about their country but both of them use music which is always welcome in this project!

25th of July: Building instruments and having fun!

 In the morning it is always difficult for the people to wake up but they are trying hard to be on time for the workshops. The reason is that the nights of the project are always long and full of fascinating activities, dance, songs and of course a lot of chat around the camp fire. All nationalities are gathered together, as at the same time in the same area there are workcamps and there are also two more projects which are going to be held in a few days. Young people from China, Taiwan, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Belarus, Greece, Germany, Turkey, Chile, Argentina etc. are all interacting with each other, sharing experiences, telling jokes and enjoying this multi culti environment.

The participants of the Trash Rash are getting day by day closer to each other and are more focused on their aim. Some of them are building stringed instruments, some others are constructing percussion instruments and other participants are creating wind instruments. The work is quite hard as it needs a lot of concentration and guidance by the workshop leaders. The time is running though as on Sunday the 31st of July at 13.00 the participants of the TRASH RASH project should be ready for their live performance on the main stage of the Sun Flower Festival!!!

24th of July: The workshops are getting started!!

The weather is getting better and the workshops have already started!! The workshop leaders; Matthias and Robert from Germany, Dobri from Bulgaria and the workshop assistant Johannes from Germany have brought their instruments, their good mood and their ideas so that they will inspire the participants to imagine, create, build and experiment! Eveybody shows to be interested and quite curious to learn what these workshops about are as it is something completely new to them and they have never done something like that before!

23rd of July: All the participants are here!

 On Saturday the 23rd the Bulgarian and Greek participants finally arrived at the project area in Freiberg. We gathered altogether so that we would start to get to know each other. The ice braker activities started as well as some warm-up activities so that the participants would familiriaze themselves to the materials and the trash and start getting ideas about how to create musical instruments and installations. All people were quite excited about the multicultural spirit of the project even if they got surprised by the weather conditions since all of then come from Southern countries and are used to much warmer climate. However, this could be a unique experience for all of them!

22nd of July: First day of the Trash Rash project

While we are preparing everything and trying to find out what time our first participants are coming to Freiberg's train station, we are arranging lots of different things concerning the organisation, the free time and the cultural nights of the project. The phone is ringing and yes around 18.30 in the evening the first participants from Turkey are arriving at the train station of Freiberg. Everybody is safe and sound and they seem to be quite excited about it! The only problem is that they forgot to bring warm clothes because they are used in very hot weather in the summertime in Turkey...but here it is like Autumn; rain and cold dominate! Nevertheless, we will find a solution to keep them warm and happy! We are showing them the facilities and serving them dinner. Very late around 23.00 the Italian participants show up, quite tired and very hungry. We end up around the camp fire, socializing and talking with the workshop leaders about the next days. The following day we are expecting the Bulgarian and Greek participants and then we are ready to start!!

Preperation Day: Thursday 21st of July

Rainy day...clouds in the sky, wind and cold. Yes, the weather doesn't seem to help us that much but we are willing to make the most of it and do our best. We are working in the office non-stop and trying to get everything done until the first participants come. We are preparing our containers and tents for the Trash Rash workshops and the workshops leaders are checking the tools and materials so that we will be ready to start!!! The night is chilly but our mood is always good and positive!

We hope for the best!!