11 transformative ways to break the festival mould with Kolour In The Park

In 2019, Kolour went from being a house and techno event to adding a live stage with elements of indie, hip hop, jazz and electronica. Guess what happened? Their audience expanded, and Kolour went from being classified as an event to a festival. “We did this because we didn’t want to limit ourselves to a crowd of only house and techno fans — because there aren’t that many. Before we did this, we hadn’t grown in four years. After adding genres, we doubled in attendance in just one year.”

When selecting live acts, they do, however, make sure that that it will appeal to people who like electronic dance music. “A lot of our live acts have a strong electronic element to them and are danceable. We don’t want sleepy indie bands, for example, our core audience would hate that.”

Kolour wanted to elevate the festival experience for festivalgoers so they last year they flirted with exploring new forms of experiential art that created more immersive and interactive activities. This year, they have a Thai based art team called Studio Ke.Th, who are a super innovative young team that love festivals and strongly value sustainability. One of the most impressive pieces this year will be an eight-meter high art tower that they produced. “The tower has square-like gaps in which audience members will be gifted a coloured block to insert as they climb the tower. Meaning they will get to build the outer layer similar to how a Tetris game looks and at the end of the night we will light all the colours up. We’re very excited to see how that goes and to have people interact in this unique way.”

Rumour has it that Kolour donates 100% of leftover event payments to charitable causes, and we got some facts behind that. Previously they have worked with the Soi Dog Foundation who spay, neuter and vaccinate stray dogs and cats across Bangkok all in an effort to provide a better life for street animals. They have also worked with Social Giver to fund a music program in Bangkok slum in an effort to help and empower the youth in that area through a means of music and arts. “We always like to do what’s right, and doing right includes giving back to the communities around us. It’s those communities that enable us to do what we do, and if there’s ever chance to help them out and we have the capacity to do so, we try our best to alleviate any of the problems and stressful situations they may be going through. This could be through monetary means or sometimes just as simple as offering a helping hand.”

Love the experience and leave no trace are words that team Kolour live by. Sustainability is a hot topic every these day amid the music industry, and if you’ve ever stayed until the end of a festival, you’ll know it’s not pretty. Festival grounds are often strewn with plastic cups, buckets and straws that end up carpeting the venue. “It’s our job as organizers to promote positive change and to prevent the impact we have on the amazing planet that we’re on. This year we’re taking steps towards becoming more sustainable by introducing water refill stations at the festival where our attendees can refill their reusable bottles or cups throughout the day without ever needing to use any single-use plastics.”

“We’re also going to be announcing and encouraging the use of designated smoking areas, the availability of compostable/biodegradable plates and utensils in the food area and more. We aspire to become a carbon-neutral or positive and sustainable festival in the near future. Becoming more sustainable every year definitely makes our venues look sexier.”

Stemming from a love of their space to employing a leave no waste policy, Kolour regularly uses material from their stages and art displays to make our next round of merchandise. This year, Studio Ke.Th will use reclaimed plastic baskets to build a dome style structure after which they will be returning them for use in a local Thai food market. Also, the full roof structure of the Water Stage will be used to make our next round of merchandise. The style will be tote bags with the Kolour logo on them.”

Your time on this planet is short. Kolour are here to make as many moments as they can magical – and that means hiring people who love what they do. “ ‘The team builds the dream’ is one of our internal core values,” the team say. “Passion for music and events is what we look for as the top priority versus purely work experience or university degrees. We believe that when someone enjoys what they are doing, they can do it well, and our audience can feel it if the events are made from passion.”

Kolour also have a very strong company culture. “We are more like friends who have each other’s back rather than colleagues. During our job interview process, we require a personality test and a half-day trial day at our office to see if the candidate illustrates our core values and is a team fit or not.”

In just the past few years, Kolour In The Park has grown in size, line-up and production. 2020 will be the first year where the will expand to a newly grassed land at Thai Wake Park and that’s a direct result of innovating the experience by adding more interactive art installations, activities and expanding the food market.

“More importantly, we have started a 'Kommunity', an online platform for our Kolourians to get to know each other and get to talk to the Kolour management team, sharing real feedback. It’s not just the event features that we’re trying to improve each year, but also our interpersonal relationship with the Kolourians. Festivals should innovate the experience every year from the audience’s feedback because it’s like saying thank you to the people who have supported us all this time. They deserve to have an amazing experience, too."

Kolour In The Park will return on March 7 to the picturesque open-air space at Thai Wake Park, Lumlukka. Tickets are B1,900 and can be purchased here.