More alternative and covered in graffiti, the Trailerpark Festival returns this year for the sixth time running. The event is a weekend-long cross-genre festival that offers up a host of happenings and acts.
The festival started out as a private party held at Islands Brygge, but in 2007, the festival’s founder Carla Cammilla Hjort, along with artist collective ArtRebels, decided to crank up the volume and turn the festival into a bigger event. The name for the festival originated in the simple fact that at the time of the festival’s creation, Hjort was living in a trailer herself.
“It started out as a much smaller event,” festival spokesperson Kristoffer Rom said. “In the beginning, there were just a couple of hundred people, but then it evolved into what it is today.”
Trailerpark is not just another music festival, as it distinguishes itself by mixing art and design into the music milieu.
“The festival offers a kind of display window into Danish music, art and visual design,” Rom explained. “The event is both a music and art festival, not just one or the other.”
This year, over 40 musicians are set to perform and an even greater number of artists will have works on display at the festival. This year’s lineup is more Danish-centred than in previous years, with the headline acts including synth-rockers Turboweekend, hipster-disco boy Vinnie Who and When Saints Go Machine. Festival guests can therefore expect some of the best that the alternative Danish music scene has to offer and also look forward to discovering a couple of unknown treasures.
An important part of the festival is the actual venue, which takes on a new shape each year, with the only constant being the ramps and rails of the CPH Skatepark – and of course, the trailers.
“We really love the venue,” Rom said. “Each summer the skate park gets rebuilt, so not only does our setup change, but also the actual venue itself.”
The fact that the festival is held in Copenhagen’s only skate park creates a unique dynamic, as festival-goers will spend much of the time with their feet dangling into skate bowls or hanging off of ramps. And as the name suggests, the festival is littered with trailers that are often transformed into installations and works of art.
“We try to rebuild the trailers as much as we can. For instance, last year we had a trailer that we turned into a fire truck with a bar,” explained Rom. “But the trailers also have a functional purpose, as people can use them for hanging out.”
This year the festival comes wrapped in a distinctly summery theme – namely vintage Miami Beach.
“This year we decided to have two curators that would be working from a very colourful theme, and it is our hope that people can get into the feel of a real American summer,” Rom explained.
Due to its genre-crossing feel, the festival should be able to appeal to a broad section of people, with something for everyone.
Trailerpark Festival
Copenhagen Skatepark, Enghavevej 80, Cph V; starts Thu, ends Aug 3; festival pass: 450kr, one day tickets: 200kr; www.trailerparkfestival.com
