More than 800 people from around the world are participating in a live action role-playing game inspired by post-apocalyptic fiction. The Old Town Festival -- the biggest post-apocalyptic festival in Europe -- takes place at an airport in northwestern Poland.
A town destroyed by a nuclear war --- don't worry, it's just part of The Old Town Festival in Stargard City in Poland.
Hundreds of people created remarkable settlements, wore self-made outfits, built camps, and drove custom-made cars built specially for this festival.
"In Poland, live action role-playing games or LARPGs, have been organized for years. It started with a rally of "Fallout" computer game fans. Dozens of people used to gather and play a small outdoor game. Over the last 12 years, it has evolved to a huge size. We try to simulate an actually existing town. We have our own currency, a functioning economy, and a variety of tasks called quests. Players have a lot of work, someone fixes a weapon, someone is working in a hospital. There is a town guard, who charges a fee. People trade among themselves," said Wojciech Cysdorf, organizer.
The Old Town Festival -- the biggest post-apocalyptic festival in Europe -- takes place at an airport in northwestern Poland.
The festival has tickled the imagination of many participants.
"Participants can create festival costumes from everything. Literally, they often use garbage. Costumes can be created with cans of beer. For example, I used a part of a cage for pigeons, which I found in an abandoned warehouse," said Wioleta Sychowska, participant.
"Different kind of inspiration like 'Mad Max,' 'Fallout' and then we browsed Pinterest and the internet, we searched for different kinds of cool outfits and then combined them. The way that inspires us and we have this different, very special kind of Finnish faction called 'Children of Ashes' and we are like post apocalypse tribal shamans and that is why we combine post apocalypse style with old ancient Finnish pagan shaman style," said Ida-Emilia Kaukonen, participant.
Participants outside Poland who wish to bring replica weapons can check the festival's website for detailed advice.
The event is accompanied by concerts, sports, crafts workshops, parties and will last until July 24th.
