Having already unveiled an enviable music line-up and more crafts and sports activities than a hundred episodes of Blue Peter rolled into one, Deer Shed Festival has also lined up artists and performing artists for this year’s event who will be creating work that evolves throughout the day and holding workshops for festival goers to get involved in.
Graffiti crew Best Joined Up mix classic street styles with fine art, a mash-up you could say. Creating artworks on Saturday, they will also be running tagging workshops on Sunday. As if traditional Morris dancing was not entertaining enough, how about Morris dancing with a gothic twist? Deer Shed Festival welcomes Jet Set Gothic Morris Dancers all the way from the spiritual home of goth – Whitby, North Yorkshire. Faery Floss combine two seeming unrelated thing as they offer relaxing yoga sessions over the weekend as well as supplying the festival audience with organic candy floss.
Cabinet Fatalia, all the way from Germany, combines (and we’re quoting here, obviously) “elements of freakshow, object theatre and cabinet of curiosities. The 6-wheel-mobile includes a chamber of mysterious viewing boxes, strangely animated furniture, convulsive forms and phantom guests. Fatalia’s viewing boxes are miniature constructions and hermetic dream worlds, in which secret desires, memories and present perceptions coexist.” Ooh err.
Duckett & Jeffreys Gallery are bringing their mobile gallery to the Deer Shed Festival site. The DJ Tour vehicle is a small but perfectly formed 1960’s dinky Sprite Caravan and will be exhibiting original artworks in CD cases. And on the final day of the festival, the Big Top will be home to a Sunday market with a wide variety of arts, crafts and vintage wares on sale, all from local Yorkshire artists.
And now on to the food…
As an army marches better on a full stomach, so a festival audience dances better full of good food and drink. This year Deer Shed Festival has put together a mouth-watering menu to ensure festival goers of all tastes will be catered for.
There’s the French version of a Yorkshire pudding only flat and sweet from Absolute Crepe and The Crepe Company. According to Wikipedia, crepes are best served with cider. Luckily there are three bars on site selling drinks at pub prices so that’s an easy duo for festival-goers to get their hands on. Bars will be selling local Yorkshire real ale and one will have a late-night, drinking den flavour just for the grown-ups. Keeping on an international theme, they’ll be German sausages to make the eyes water from Bratengrill, pizzas courtesy ofPizza Farm, delicious selection of curries from Sizzle & Spice and oriental catering from Takodo.
Carnivores can choose from oak-smoked wraps from Dorset Smokery, hot pork sandwiches from Farmers Oven, ostrich burgers fromHolly Tree Farm and venison stew from Oldfields. Vegetarians can feast on award winning veggie burgers, falafel, hummus and a 13 ingredient salad from Goodness Gracious Healthy Foods and both carnivores and vegetarians can get stuck into hot Mexican food fromFood Bums Chilli Bar.
Geoff Allan Fish and Chips will be bringing good ol’ fashioned fish suppers to the Deer Shed Festival site and award winning pie maestrosI Pies return with their handmade pies, quiches and tarts. A firm favourite last year, Stovepuppets bring back their Yorkshire puds served with a choice of fillings and Lucky Chip is a pop-up version of a classic American diner with a difference, serving hand-cut chips with home-made sauces and a selection of nut and veggie burgers.
Yee Kwan’s award winning, Far Eastern-inspired, handcrafted ice creams and sorbets make the perfect dessert after one of the above treats or there’s Simply Strawberries (cream and chocolate sauce optional!). All dinners can be finished off with a lovely cup of steaming hot Joe from Coffee Galore.
Lullabelles Lunches will be serving delicious and tempting treats from Lullabelle, a pink VW campervan, while Oso Juicy will be dispensing super tasty smoothies from Poppy, their campervan-come-mobile-smoothie-shop. Fresher Snacks are bringing the Toastie House full of snacky delicacies to site and for those with a sweet tooth, Dinky Doughnuts, Moo Moo’s Milkshake Bar and Joneva will be on hand to sate the sugar cravings.
Music, arts, crafts, food, drink, sports – the Deer Shed Festival has it all for families this July.
Adult (16+) weekend ticket (Fri-Sun) £59
Adult (16+) Saturday & Sunday only ticket £45
Child (6+) weekend ticket £15
Child (5 and under) weekend ticket FREE*
Weekend campervan & caravan pass £15
* But will require a ticket obtained through the ticket sales outlet
** MUSIC LINE-UP FOR 2011 **
I Am Kloot, The Go! Team, Frankie & The Heartstrings, The Leisure Society, Erland and The Carnival, Caitlin Rose, Admiral Fallow, Marcus Foster, Tom Williams & The Boat, Matthew and The Atlas, Lanterns on The Lake, Laki Mera, Arthur Rigby & The Baskervylles, Tigers That Talked, Spokes, Let’s Buy Happiness, The Neat, Just Handshakes (We’re British), Yonderboy, Hope & Social, Two Spot Gobi, My Forever, Sam Airey, Holly Taymar, Her Name Is Calla and The Glendale Family
** ACTIVITIES FOR 2011 **
Softball, football, swingball, hula hoops, sand pit, doodle wall, paintball art, graffiti workshops, ukulele lessons, junk modelling, badge making, cartoons & films, storytelling, blacksmith artist-in-residence, circus skills workshops, face painting
** THEME FOR 2011 **
Pop-up planetarium, Russian cosmonaut hosted cabaret, telescopes, binoculars, space hoppers, a band of merry local astronomers, star gazing, papier mache lunarscapes and more in honour of headliner I Am Kloot’s album Sky At Night
Tree Main Bar with live music and a sumptuous Cocktail Bar with live DJ sets, Stone Circle acoustic sessions, Silent disco, a huge Vintage fair, Healing field, and a multitude of fun will be available at Cattows Farm, Heather in stunning rural Leicestershire. For more info http://www.strawberryfieldsfestival.co.uk/‘
