Biophilia is a radical gathering to bring people together and explore our human potential in one of the most stunning and energizing places on the planet. Queenstown is the ideal location for fostering personal transformation as Damian Chaparro, one of the festival co-creators, knows well. He was drawn to relocate from Los Angeles to New Zealand, a country he admittedly had never set foot in prior, to partner in setting up an eco-wellness retreat in 2010. They chose a location near Queenstown, and the ambitious project came to life as Aro Hā, now recognised as one of the best wellness retreats in the world.

Changing Lives

“I’ve witnessed in my own practice, as well as in my work as a yoga instructor and retreat leader over the past 20 years, how powerful the combination of mindfulness, movement and natural living can be in sparking a deep transformation. Now I am eager to find ways to spread this on an even larger scale,” explains Chaparro.

Until further notice, celebrate everything

In 2016, while thinking of a way to mark his 40th birthday, Chaparro had the idea of bringing people together in nature to share some of his favourite things, including Acro yoga, dance, and music. He spread the word on Facebook a few weeks prior and was astonished when roughly 100 people, friends as well as strangers, turned up at Lake Sylvan for the first Biophilia Festival. They camped, hiked, and swam in the river between taking part in yoga sessions in the forest clearing, dancing barefoot while Chaparro spun tunes as his alter ego ‘Djamaste’, wobbling on a slackline and hanging upside down from fabric slings rigged among trees during anti-gravity yoga.

“At its heart, Biophilia is a celebration and an opportunity to connect, and the response has been overwhelming,” says Chaparro.

The first ‘real’ Biophilia in 2017

Offers soon poured in to help organise a follow-up event. Chaparro and a small group of volunteers set out in search of a more permanent venue. For its second year, they secured a stunning site near Moke Lake on Ben Lomond Station where local landowners, John and Ginny Foster, were open to creating a more permanent home for the festival and seeing it continue to grow.

That second event held at Moke Lake in January of 2017 drew almost 300 participants with some dropping in for the day and many more camping on site for the weekend. Over 30 local and international teachers, speakers, artists, and musicians entertained and inspired across three practice spaces with festival goers free to schedule their day according to their interests.

Biophilia is a “giving festival” and participants actively take part in the giving culture by being generous with their time and resources, from volunteering at the gate and cleaning up for an epic woolshed party to sharing dishes at a potluck dinner and offering free Reiki sessions. Donations covered the rest of the expenses for the first two festivals.

Then the first ‘official’ Biophilia in 2018

Thanks in part to a grant from Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), the team could continue to grow the festival and more than 500 tickets were quickly snapped up for the third event held in March 2018. It was built on the same free-flowing format, where festival-goers could sample from a variety of wellness practices suitable for all levels. This time with more than 80 sessions throughout the weekend either held outside in the sunshine against the stunning alpine backdrop of Ben Lomond Station or nestled inside one of two giant tipis. Once again there was yoga, mindfulness, dance, primal movement, slack-lining, and Acro yoga, as well as the addition of a parkour park, pole dancing, SUP yoga on the shores of Moke Lake, and an even broader variety of wellness workshops and talks that took place. Live music sessions and art installations created live on site added to the fun, clean-living atmosphere.

“There is something for everyone at Biophilia, including people who are brand new to yoga and wellness, while longtime practitioners will also find something plenty to take home. Practicing together outdoors with so many beautiful souls in such an incredible environment takes it to another level, there’s a real buzz,” says Anna Bullen Chaparro, a co-creator who has been involved in the festival from the beginning, although she never expected to spend her honeymoon there.

Anna and Damian married shortly before the 2018 event and couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than being surrounded by their tribe doing what they love. The festival’s opening also featured a couple who met at the festival the year before and were expecting the first “Biophilia baby”.

“We invite everyone to join our family of seekers and lovers of wanderlust. Come to be danced. Come to soak in the talents of our global community. Come to meet, explore, entertain, and enjoy this sweet life together,” says Damian.

>> Meet the Biophilia team