Boombamela is a former Shanti/ New Age

New Age

The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...

 and currently a Mainstream festival held annually on Chol HaMoed Pesach (Intermediate Days of Passover) in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 since 1999, described by its organisers as "a place for meeting, experiencing, crossing borders and transcending social limitations through music, creation, and connection with nature."

The festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

 is located on the sandy beach of Hof Nitzanim, between Ashdod and Ashkelon

Ashkelon

Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...

, about as far from anything as anything can be in crowded Israel.

Over the years, the festival has risen in popularity and prominence and is now perhaps the most notorious of Israel's festivals (challenged only by Tel Aviv's summer Love Parade

Love Parade

The Love Parade was a popular electronic dance music festival and parade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held in Germany annually between 1989 and 2003 in Berlin, and then from 2006 to 2010 in the Ruhr region...

). The seventh Boombamela, in 2005, attracted 36,000 visitors - the third highest, after 2004's 41,000 and 2003's 37,500. More and more foreigners have taken note of the festival, and a visitor will often hear tongues being spoken beside Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

.

The inspiration for the festival is the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 festival of Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges river.The normal Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 3 years, the Ardh Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag, the Purna Kumbh takes place every twelve years, at four places Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain,...

.

In 2007, Boombamela was held on April 5th, 6th and 7th.

Boom at the Mela

The festival grounds, sprawling over hundreds of dunam

Dunam

A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...

, are divided into villages (such as the spiritual village, where people may rest in a tent and listen to the teachings of imported Indian Gurus) and areas (for example, the performance area or the camping area), and there are also restaurants, shops and bathroom and shower facilities.

The grounds spill right onto the Mediterranean beach.
There is a sequestered nudist beach and a family beach, which are not adjacent.

For socialising (or 'hanging out', "sutul"), there are many chai (tea) shops, where chai is sold and pillows for sitting provided.

There are organized bus services from all over Israel to Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

 specially, and from there, organized bus rides to Hof Nitzanim.

The festival features many performing bands on several sound stages, during the day as well the night, and dance clubs which operate around the clock. A great variety of music genres can be heard at the festival, including reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, trance

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

, hip-hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

, Indian Ragas, and rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

.

For those looking to enjoy Passover or Shabbat while attending the festival, kosher for Passover food is available and prayer services are held at either of two locations. The first being Ohel Ahava V'Teffila (Tent of Love and Prayer) located in the Neo-Hippy Chassidic Religious Camp. The other, located officially outside of the main grounds, being the Chabad Tent.

External links

• Official website (Hebrew - limited English version)
• Boombamela 2011 in Eilat (English details)
• www.tsalam.com Photo galleries (Keshet Anderson)