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).

“The event is pitched somewhere between a Womad-style showcase and a north of England rave”
The Guardian

The festival was born 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!

• 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

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

If you cannot reach any of these outlets please email will@lakeofstars.co.uk to reserve a ticket on the gate at the festival.

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.’

WHERE TO STAY:
Malawi has a wide range of accommodation to suit every need – from simple beach huts to 5 star hotels. Accommodation during the festival is either camping on site at Chintheche Inn or staying at any of the resorts nearby (shuttle buses operate between the festival and the neighbouring lodges).
Rough price guide to accommodation:
Camping £3 pn, dorm bed £4 pn, private room £7pn, ensuite room £12 pn,
hotel room £25 pn

To arrange your festival accommodation:
Email: info@wilderness.mw
Phone: (+265) 1 771 393

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

HOW TO GET THERE FROM THE UK
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 while in Malawi.

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.closeencounters.com
Office — Mercury House, Northgate, Nottingham, NG7 7FN