The Village Pump Folk Festival returns to the White Horse Country Park on 22th – 24th July and promises to be a great weekend for everybody. With top line acts like The Proclaimers, Andy Kershaw and Mark Radcliffe, organisers are hoping that the event will attract many local people as well as fans from all over the country.
“For the price of a weekend ticket people can camp for up to four nights and see 30 hours or more of top-quality music from the folk, roots and acoustic music world,” said team member Clive Woodland. “The majority of our audience come for the whole weekend but we offer day tickets as well and this year we’ve introduced evening only tickets so that as many people as possible can experience the festival atmosphere.
“Our BA13 Special Offer £20 evening tickets available from the White Horse Country Park, Suave in Warminster Road and Charlie’s Bar in the Market Place are proving really popular, but they’ll only be around until 19th July.
“The Pump isn’t Glastonbury, but that’s the attraction to many of our audience. You can camp near your car, the performance areas are a couple of hundred yards apart and the site is flat and well-drained. We had atrocious weather on the Sunday last year but very few problems. An independent review – festivalsforall.com – said that we were ‘one of the friendliest festivals’ they’d had the pleasure to review’ and that the whole weekend was ‘virtually flawless from start to finish’.
“We always listen to suggestions from our audience – Pumpers, as we call them. This year we’re introducing a covered area near the food quarter to provide shelter where you can eat the delicious food available from the traders. There will be food from around the world and different regions of the country. Bars will have real ales and ciders. Steeple Ashton Village Shop are coming back so campers can buy food and other essentials.
“The family programme which includes games, crafting activities, magicians and clowns. Street entertainers, dancers, yoga and other workshops mean there’s something for everyone. Bring your instruments and your voices if you want to join the sessions or open mic sessions! Or put on your dancing shoes for the ceilidhs.
“Back on the stages, the music covers everything from traditional styles to contemporary singer/songwriters to the punk- folk of Ferocious Dog or the ska/reggae sounds of Neville Staple Band. The fun doesn’t have to stop at midnight, either. Once the main stages are closed, the late night party in the club house starts.”
For more details and a full list of the line-up see www.villagepump.co.uk
Look out in the next WHN for a preview of some of the acts appearing at the festival!
