Foraging meets music at The Hills Festival Meghalaya

Back after two years, The Hills Festival Meghalaya’s third edition champions community dining and eco installations alongside the music

In its third edition, The Hills Festival Meghalaya engages its audience with more than just music. The two-day event, kick-starting tomorrow, is all set to channelise a stream of collective consciousness to explore indigenous cuisine and sustainable living. The event, backed by Meghalaya Tourism, is organised by HYPE Meghalaya.

Bloodywood, Taba Chake, Karan Kanchan, Hanumankind, The F16S, Trance Effect, Featherheads, DBryn and Daminot have made it to the festival’s list of performing artists. However, the spotlight this year is not just on the stage: it will shine on a food pavillion that comprises The Forage Aisle and The Pig-Out Affair.

Mumbai-based chef, Thomas Zacharias aka Chef TZac, will be at the helm of The Forage Aisle, a layout of local, wild edibles from Meghalaya. Here, look forward to a culinary exchange between TZac and local chefs, who will share stories and ideas while curating the dishes. As for The Pig-Out Affair, it is a community cook-out serving pork. “In any outdoor feasting in the State, pork is one dish that is symbolic of a community celebration. The Pig-Out Affair is much more than just a platter of pork dishes. It is a get-together of communities, instilling a sense of belonging through food,” says Sahil Majaw, founder of HYPE Meghalaya.

From the venue’s promotional backdrops to the art installations, everything has been built using environmentally innovative materials. The installations embody the mythical tales of the region. “As we evolve, our festival is building an ethos around eco-tourism. The biggest challenge of most festivals is waste management, and this year we aim to sort, compost, recycle and upcycle waste and prevent most of the trash from ending up in a landfill. For this, we have partnered with Shillong My Passion, an organisation which will help us in disposal of waste at the venue,” Sahil shares.

The festival will be held on November 4 and 5 at Lum ‘Er Pyngngad, Umbir, Meghalaya. Tickets starting at ₹885 are on in.bookmyshow.com.