Because Covid denial and medical misinformation are rife at wellness festivals, the upcoming NZ Spirit Festival, featuring Rachel Hunter, had help from anti-conspiracy campaigners to send a clear message to its presenters. Anke Richter explains.
This autumn equinox, Earth Beat – “Aotearoa’s most innovative and earth-friendly music and arts festival” – held a five-day party at Ātiu Creek to “balance the light and dark”. On the Saturday night, that balance flipped. Matiu Te Huki, a popular performer on the hippie festival circuit, played after midnight. Instead of bantering between his songs, the Wellington musician used the main stage for an anti-vax speech. Some people in the crowd responded to his passionate warnings about “poisoning our bodies” and a “plandemic” with cheers and clapping. Others were appalled.