Malawi Tourism: Lake of Stars Festival

Combining Western artists with acts from all over Southern Africa the fourth Lake of Stars Festival takes place in October this year. Head out to Malawi for a music event like no other. Since 2004 the unique festival has slowly been growing on the shores of Lake Malawi. The Lake of Stars Festival is a three day charity event that has featured Felix B (Basement Jaxx), Groove Armada’s Andy Cato, Mikey General (Bugz in the Attic), DJ Yoda, Tikhu Vibrations and the Black Missionaries (ten piece reggae group).

Felix B (Basement Jaxx): ‘It was a truly amazing and unique adventure to travel to the heart of Africa. I’ve never met such friendly people with such a passion for music. All in all a fantastic holiday and a real eye-opening experience.’

LINE-UP SO FAR...

Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 1/Worldwide)
Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1)
Rob da Bank (BBC Radio 1/Bestival)
Malawian acts to be announced
Joe Driscoll - live
Stuart Patterson (Faith)
The Black Missionaries – live
The Wombats – live
Mulletover (London)
Chibuku Shake Shake (London/Liverpool)
Dirty Disco (Leeds)
Chew the Fat! (London)
Bodytonic (Dublin)
Horse Meat Disco (London)
Wax: On (Newcastle)
Ste Hodge (Common Ground
Pierre-Estienne (South Africa)
Shaun Duvet (South Africa))
The Real Estate Agents – live (South Africa)
Dexterity (South Africa)
Damian (South Africa)
Plus many more…

Songlines Magazine: ‘One of the world’s most extraordinary festivals’

The festival was borne from a desire to raise money for a developing economy and help promote Malawi as a tourist destination. Set on the shimmering, palm-fringed shores of Lake Malawi at Chintheche Inn, for three days Western and Malawian artists gather for a musical, social and cultural exchange which is unlike anything you will ever see or hear. This year’s guests include Radio 1’s Gilles Peterson, Rob da Bank and Annie Mac as well as rising stars The Wombats and Malawi’s biggest reggae legends, the Black Missionaries. For many the festival is the focal point of travelling around this beautiful country, forming part of an itinerary spanning what Malawi has to offer. You can travel on an organised group flight or make your own way to Malawi. Whatever you do, make sure you’re there this year to be part of something truly unforgettable!

Andy Cato (Groove Armada): ‘You’ll never see music cross as many boundaries and borders as this, and you’ll never listen to music in a more special place’

UNICEF:
The festival will donate £2 of each UK ticket sale to UNICEF’s project in Malawi. As well as this Lake of Stars will donate any profit raised to UNICEF. Funds from Lake of Stars will go towards a UNICEF water supply and sanitation project in the Dowa District of Central Malawi. For more details on this please visit www.lakeofstars.co.uk

INFORMATION:
Visit: www.lakeofstars.co.uk or www.myspace.com/lakeofstars
Email: will@lakeofstars.co.uk
Phone: (+ 44) (0) 772 542 8377
(+ 44) (0) 208 880 6519

TICKETS:
Tickets outside of Malawi available from Ticketline:
Visit: www.ticketline.co.uk
Phone: (+44) (0) 161 832 1111
£40 plus booking fee

Tickets in Malawi available from the following outlets:
Harry’s Bar, Old Town, Lilongwe
Phone: (+265) (1) 757 979
James’ Joint, Lilongwe

DJ Yoda: ‘Lake of Stars was without doubt one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever played. I’d thoroughly recommend it to anyone up for an adventure and a laugh.’

HOW TO GET THERE FROM THE UK

Close Encounters:
With many years of first-hand experience and knowledge of Eastern and Southern Africa, your personal travel advisor will lovingly design a bespoke itinerary that matches your aspirations, lifestyle and just as importantly, your budget. Close Encounters can help arrange your entire journey to the Lake of Stars and the ‘Warm heart of Africa’. Call one of our dedicated team now on:

Phone – 08700 948 021
Email – info@closeencounterstravel.com
Visit – www.closeencounterstravel.com
Office - Mercury House, Northgate, Nottingham, NG7 7FN

Global Link Travel:
Lake of Stars has teamed up with Global Link Travel to bring you some of the lowest fares available. Global Link Travel is a charity travel company specializing in dealing with Humanitarian, Aid, Disaster relief organizations as well as charities and missionaries. Head office based in London with locations in Africa, India, USA and Brazil. Global Link will donate £5 for every air ticket issued for this festival to UNICEF. Please quote ‘Lake of Stars’ when making your booking.

Global Link Travel offer return flights from London Heathrow to Malawi from £495 (includes current prepaid taxes)

Phone: 0207 224 7766
Email: Fabian@globallinktravel.co.uk
Office: Capricorn House, 1 Mandeville Place, London, W1U 3AW

STA Travel:
STA Travel and Kenya Airways have arranged group flights for the festival – there are two and three week group flight options. You can either book a place on a group flight or make your own way there. South African Airlines, Air Malawi and Kenya Airways all fly to Malawi. Please quote ‘Lake of Stars’ when making your booking.

Branches of STA Travel in Liverpool and Leeds are arranging group flights so please contact:
Liverpool:
Phone – 0151 707 1123
Email – manager.liverpool@statravel.co.uk
Leeds:
Phone – 0113 244 9212
Email – manager.vicarlane@statravel.co.uk

The group flights cost £650 including taxes. Deposits for these flights are £300 each to be paid by 23rd April and are non-refundable. The remainder of the flights must be paid by July 21st. These flights leave London Heathrow on 29th September with one returning on 15th October and the other on 22nd October.

Places are limited on the group flights and sell out fast so please be quick if you want to book on these group flights.

Terms and conditions apply:
Deposits are non-refundable or transferable. Name changes are not permitted. Upon full payment no refunds are permitted. LOS are responsible for the organisation of the festival alone and will not except responsibility for any activites undertaken whilst in Malawi.

TOURS & ACCOMMODATION IN MALAWI:
UK Tour Operators who specialise in Africa (see Close Encounters Travel above) will be able to fix up a complete itinerary of flights, transport and accommodation for your entire time spent in Malawi.

Alternatively, it is possible to book tours and accommodation in Malawi directly. More information about local tour/safari companies and accommodation options around the country can be found on this website: www.malawitourism.com

Special tours put on to co-incide with the Festival, and special discount offers from some lodges and hotels for Festival ticket holders can be found on the followoing page (don't forget to look again later for the very latest offers):
Special Offers - Tours & Accommodation in Malawi

For further information on the Festival, visit the main Festival website: www.lakeofstars.co.uk

For further information on Malawi, visit the rest of this site: www.malawitourism.com