Summer Festival Guide
Sadly festival season is over but check back next spring for our updated summer festival guide.
Latitude
12 –15 July
Henham Park Estate, Beccles, Suffolk
“a truly individual festival with an atmosphere like no other”.
Situated on a beautiful site in Suffolk, surrounded by hills, woodlands and a lake. Latitude has a very varied programme with tents doing an eclectic mix of cabaret, comedy, music, art, film, dance, poetry and literature A lot of thought’s gone into making it an over-all enjoyable experience, with art installations (including a field of sheep painted pink…), and tasty food stalls. Great for families, it has an adventure playground constructed in the tree-tops of the surrounding wood and a dedicated family campsite. This year's line-up inclide Bon Iver, Lana Del Ray, Elbow and Paul Weller.
Secret Garden Party
19 – 22 July
Mill Hill Field, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
“A magical mix of music, art, surreal sights, non-stop parties and carefully orchestrated chaos”,
A four-day fantastical summer festival founded in 2004 said to be one of the friendliest festivals with no sponsorship branding to be seen and an eclectic mix of music. This year’s line up includes the likes of Orbital, KT Tunstall and The Lady Killers. The Secret Garden Party is not just about music. There are parades, art tents, walkabout theatre, big wheel rides, boat rides, swimming, treasure hunts, bands in trees and a festival-wide train service. Some of last year’s highlights included a floating stage and a massive paint fight that left people multi-coloured from head to toe.The Secret Garden Party is one of the many festivals now offering glamping or glamouros camping for those who prefer less mud and more luxury from their camping experience.
Green Man
17-19 August
Glanusk Park, WALES
“it's not hard to see why Green Man has fast become the discerning music fan's festival of choice”.
This little gem of a festival has built up a loyal following among folk fans, families and alt-rock aficionados. It is set in a valley surrounded by beautiful hills in south Wales, with a relaxed and friendly vibe.
This year’s headliners include Feist, The Walkmen and Jann Tiersenn. The festival is introducing a greener way for you to travel to and from the site. The 'Green Bus' will travel right into the festival site from most city destinations. Plus there is a free shuttle bus service from Abergevanny Train Station to and from the festival site for all festival goers coming by train. At the end of each festival the giant effigy of the Green Man who has been watching over festival goers is set a light much to everyone’s delights.
WOMAD
27-29 July
Charlton Park, Malmsbury
“listen to the best music you have NEVER heard”
Womad is one of the best UK summer festivals for ‘World’ Music,
It has the most comprehensive line-up of acts from around the world.
It’s a great festival for families with an old fashioned funfair on the site that is a nice distraction for younger kids.
This year’s line up is yet to be announced and but tickets are already on sale. All weekend tickets include free camping and parking.
Wilderness Festival
10 - 12 August
Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire
“a celebration of the arts and outdoors amongst the wilds of England”
Six years in the making, the Wilderness festival is now in its second year and what is not to love?
Banquet eating, theatrical spectaculars, saunas, a beautiful lake, hot tubs under the stars all in the middle of 800-year old deer park encircled by a ribbon of ornamental lakes and1,700 acres of the most ancient forest in Britain.
Can’t wait for this summer festival and luckily it’s right on our doorstep.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
3-27 August 2012
Edinburgh, Scotland
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city.
Shows are held all over the city and include theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, musicals, operas, music, exhibitions and events.
The hardest part (and half the fun) of the Fringe is choosing which shows to attend. It’s best to accept that at least one of the shows you choose will be awful! But the next will be the best thing you have ever seen.
It’s the anticipation and unexpectedness of each show that makes this festival so great.
You can walk into a venue expecting a straight forward stand-up comedic performance and instead have your whole perception of what comedy is turned upside down by a man in a kimono who speaks about one sentence of Chinese the whole show.
OXFAM are looking for festival volunteers for Latitude, WOMAD and many other festivals, find out more here.
