Træna Festival originates in a remote Norwegian archipelago of outstanding natural beauty, 33 nautical miles off the coast near the Arctic Circle around it there is only the Norwegian Sea, a truly fascinating place to organize a cultural event.
There is a strong probability of rain being the festival held in northern Norway but the weather conditions are not so important, it is the vibration of the place, the romantic and remote nature of the archipelago itself that makes this cultural event as intriguing as few others in the world.
The Traena Festival has already attracted attention and recognition from numerous world-famous newspapers, one of them, the New York Times called it “The most beautiful and remote festival in the world”, doesn't really seem like a title to be underestimated.
A few hundred people live on the Træna archipelago and once a year this unique festival is organized with a little more than 2000 tickets available, the population of the island increases by about 10 times with specialized press arriving at the festival from all over the world.
Suddenly the locals feel part of a much larger community for a weekend: the Norwegians also provide a free public sauna on the island of Husøy, just ask for directions to know where it is!
One thing to mention among all is the phenomenon of the Midnight Sun, which seems almost as bright as it does at noon, a Nordic spectacle that can be appreciated even more at the remote edges of the Træna archipelago, and because of this natural wonder it is advisable to bring a mask to better sleep in the "night hours". ”.
Concerts where they mainly play Scandinavian pop artists (although international artists also perform from time to time, Manu Chao played it 2 times!) take place in many different places: in the main festival area which is centrally located on the island of Husøy, in a small church, inside a chapel on a hill with a view breathtaking ocean.
There is also the possibility to attend a concert on top of a mountain or in a suggestive prehistoric cave: for the 2018 edition, songs in English and Sami (ancient language of the Scandinavian aborigines) were played in concerts of a more experimental nature.
To attend both concerts you have to take a very short ferry ride to another "large" island of the archipelago called Sanna, cross a dark tunnel lit by candles to see the first, and after done a difficult hike (which is like taking a walk for Norwegians but which is actually not that easy at all) as a reward you can enjoy the highlight of the whole festival.
Listening to a concert in a huge natural cavity in the mountain is a wonderful experience in itself, the tranquility of the landscape, the vibrations of millennia that have passed in that place and the music blend together to overwhelm the spectators in a multi-sensory experience that none of the people in the audience will ever forget again.
One way to get to the festival is to take the train from Oslo to Mo i Rana, then from there a bus to Stokkvågen and finally a ferry which takes between 2 and 5 hours depending on the weather conditions. When you finally make it to the small harbor of Husøy there is a sign complimenting the visitors: “You did it, people of the sea!” And that says a lot about the general atmosphere of Trænafestivalen.
Simply put, Træna Festival is the event that every nature and live music lover should immediately put on their to-do list in life.
All the photos in this article were taken by Gerardo Iannacci and all rights to the above are reserved to him
