Hundreds of men gathered on Wednesday evening to mark the beginning of Belgium's annual "Men's Festival": a five-day event whose official mission is to reinvigorate men's "hearts, bellies and balls".
The festival, which is taking place in the forests near Oud-Heverlee, will purposefully not include "traditional" male activities such as drinking beer and organised sports. Instead, it will consist of nearly 100 "workshops" as well as music, dancing, and "healing" sessions – all accompanied by "delicious, healthy" meals.
"There is room to relax, to scream, or to enjoy yourself," the festival's website states. It adds that it is open to "any man who is willing to look at himself.... Just show up as a man. You are completely welcome as yourself."
Participants have nearly tripled since the festival was launched in 2018, with this year's 450 tickets quickly selling out – despite costing up to €1,189 apiece. The number of volunteer organisers has also increased more than tenfold, from six to 80.
'It feels like coming home'
Erik Habraken, the oldest of the festival's co-founders and its self-described "inspirer", suggested that volunteers are motivated by various factors.
"They know we're putting something meaningful here," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "Here, any man can get close to himself, stand up for his boundaries, be assertive, ask for help."
His words were echoed by Joris Van Doorslaer, who leads the festival's communications and outreach initiatives.
"At the festival, men don't have to compete with each other, but they can just be free, without being judged," he explained. "Many feel resistance to coming for the first time, but when they come, it feels like coming home. And then they recommend others to come too. Most of the men are here by word of mouth."
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Van Doorslaer added that the event offers participants both material and non-material benefits, emphasising that it runs specialised workshops for entrepreneurs and managers as well as more openly "spiritual" gatherings.
"We are not a spiritual festival, but we do not shy away from the spiritual either," he said. "We are here in nature, so we dwell on Mother Earth. The Men's Festival is a good way to experience that sacred space."
