Summer is a lifestyle in Croatia, and the Electric Elephant Festival, set at the Garden Tisno resort on the rocky coastline of the Adriatic in early July, is the perfect excuse to soak it in.
This is the backdrop for an immersive natural experience of what is probably one of the best summer destinations in Europe. With its small size, onsite restaurant and all-around leisurely pace, Electric Elephant feels more like a holiday than your average summer music festival.
The site is centred around the bustling Beach Stage (perhaps more beach than stage) and its waterfront bars. Buzzing with spandex-clad festival-goers from noon til past dark, the beachfront pavilions and patios are a great place to relax on the water and sample the atmosphere.
It is where everyone comes to be seen; olive-skinned women carve up the dancefloor as men float slowly on inflatable rafts shaped like unicorns and slices of pizza. A middle-aged man in a harness of chains struts to the beat of a disco remix as spectators on the beach double over laughing.
Nearby a group of lads splash in the shallows; decked out in cotton dress shirts and round sunglasses, they pelt each other with sea cucumbers as friends cheer from shore.
At Electric Elephant you can find culturally insensitive headwear alongside walrus-esque moustaches, English tourists next to visitors from across continental Europe. Anything goes here and why shouldn’t it?
If there are any complaints to be made, aside from the predictable heat and lack of plumbing, it might be that oddly enough, it is easy to miss the music here.
When you have a clear sea and miles of pebbly white beaches to attend to, everything else falls into the background and the music accompanying the environment fits so perfectly that it is hard-pressed to win the attention of party goers over Tisno’s natural beauty.
A little effort, however, and music can be found. Boat parties on the Argonaut are a great way to take in panoramic views of gorgeous nearby islands and spend some focused time with DJ sets from one of the festival’s featured artists. This, followed by a night at nearby club Barbarella, shows how it is possible to find a routine of partying and music that complements relaxation and sightseeing comfortably, and by that point, we can guarantee that you will not want to leave.
Photos: Gobhinder Jjhitta