Equinox is for some people a natural phenomenon; for some it remains a usual day. However, when the day and night become the same length, people in a small city of Sandvika, not far from Oslo, the capital of Norway, will gather together to enjoy the Kulquinox festival.

Kulquinox, a word combination of culture (in Norwegian, kultur) and equinox is one of the concepts developed by Cosmic Wind Cultural Collaborations. As the word indicates, it is a cultural festival which takes place twice a year around the time of the fall and spring equinox.

From music and dance to poetry and acrobatics, the wide range of the festival program is as diverse as the audience itself. For the coming Kulquinox on September 15, 2012, there will be performances of national and international artists to the public such as Sandra Kolstad, a well-known Norwegian visual performer and electronic musician; Assula, a visual artist from Danmark; Lex Tit, a mimer and clown from the UK, Helene Boehler with MBira, a fascinating African instrument; Mongolian Jetset, a promising psychedelic musician band from Norway; Mike Gallaher, a US jazz musician and a dance group who is going to surprise the audience with a fusion of Celtic, tribal and belly dancing.

Taking place in a large and open backyard with a café, theater stage, beach lounge and wide space for lighting and projection, Kulquinox is not only promising international cultural highlights but also a vibrant atmosphere for the local culture.

This will be the 4th annual festival. In 2008, Cosmic Wind Cultural Collaborations established a culture house in Stabekk, a district of Oslo. The house quickly became a popular meeting point for important players on the cultural scene and created a community of friends. In that year, Cosmic Wind organized a night of cultural events, offering concerts, light shows, dance, debate, film, gaming and acrobatics. What began as a summer celebration four years ago has now become a festival.

Last year, over 100 artists from different genres took part collaborating, performing and communicating with each other and the audience till the sun showed its first beautiful morning rays.

In addition to a full program including astronomy show, music, visual art, film, ceramic exhibition, dance and poetry for young and old, there was a market place for crafts. Many large and small organizations such as Red Cross Norway; Amnesty International Norway; Kulturtalk, a consulting company in culture, Norsk Taiji Senter and the Baerum Kunst, a local artshop were presenting and promoting themselves and enjoying the surroundings. The festival really began to take shape and find its place in the local life. It also brought possibilities for local enterprises, such as Lykkehaven café-restaurant, which serves ecological food at the festival.

“The purpose of the festival is to create an event with associated workshops, which promotes collaboration across artistic genres and cultural boundaries,” explains Mr. Aamot Wind, one of the collaboration leaders. “Moreover, the festival has a social profile. We encourage people to participate in workshops, shows and activities. We bring people together and thus promote a positive local community.”

Being an artist himself, Wind is probably one of the most noticeable people in the crowd. With dreadlocks rolling down to his knee while interviewing him in a café, he certainty convinced Toonari Post that a unique look is always an attraction to the public. In that sense, he is already a good example of an exhibition object for the coming Kulquinox.

Toonari Post says lykke til (good luck for) this year’s festival!

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