5 Alternative festivals for summer 2015

JUST SO FESTIVAL
Rode Hall Estate, Cheshire
21-23 August
www.justsofestival.org.uk

The award-winning Just So Festival is a bonkers weekend-long camping festival for children and their families, where the focus is on imaginative outdoor adventure. It showcases art, music, literature, comedy and theatre for families all set in a rural landscape of woodland clearings, parkland, arboreal amphitheatres and lakeside spots in the Rode Hall Estate, Cheshire.

Now in its sixth year, the 2015 programme is based on the golden age of travel and features an eclectic mix of regional, national and international artists and performers. Organisers promise to take  you on an “expedition of mischief and mayhem, to lands full of magical midnight feasts, raucous pillow fights, tribal tournaments, curious creatures and breathtaking beauty”.
 
* First stop is a visit to Grand Central complete with Passport Office, Bureau de Change and mischievous luggage porters. In the eccentric new Village Green you’ll encounter ridiculous knitting, toddler jousting, pillow fighting and a nonsensical game of Consequences.

* Head over Heels is the most spectacular and flamboyant area of Just So. Expect tumblers and somersaults, aerial mastery and juggling galore. The Spellbound Forest features a woodland theatre, dancing and exploring by day, plus bonfire bands, stories and songs as dusk falls.
 
* At Footlights and Jitterbug you’ll find family music and theatre performances including poet John Hegley, comedian James Campbell and authors Emma Carroll and Paul Stickland. When evening comes, you can dance the night away here.

* At Silver Screen you can take part in BFI slapstick workshops, delve into the Picture Palace, encounter eccentric producers from the turn of the century, or bring a blanket while night falls watch classic family movies.

* Peekaboo is for the youngest visitors, and features music, paint, clay, dens and bubbles, listening to stories and songs and baby bath time.

PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL
St Germans, Cornwall
30 July - 2 August
www.porteliotfestival.com

This is a festival with a difference. For more than a decade, Port Eliot has been “an annual celebration of words, music, imagination, laughter, exploration, and – above all – fun”.

The overall impression might be of the North London literati descending on Cornwall for the weekend but don’t let that put you off. Unlike traditional festivals, music is a small part of what goes on here, although The Unthanks, Lilac Time, Stornoway, Villagers and Sarah Cracknell are all well worth seeing.

Port Eliot offers a wider and more thoughtful range of entertainment, with spoken word contributions from the likes of Dom Jolly, Shappi Khorsandi, MP Alan Johnson and many more.

Camping at Port Eliot is also a bit different to most festivals. For a start there’s more space, with 6,000 acres of parkland available, surrounded by ancient woods and views of Port Eliot House, home of the Earl and Countess of St German’s.

Of course it wouldn’t be a modern festival without the option of going glamping – so you can have Tangerine Fields pitch a tent that’s ready for your arrival or indulge in a luxury tipi, yurt, bell tent or gypsy bowtop caravan. All in all, the chance to expand your mind while having a good time in the beautiful Cornish countryside.

WEST DEAN CHILLI FIESTA
West Dean Gardens, Sussex
7-9 August
www.westdean.org.uk/chilli

Ah, we see what they did there. Chilli – salsa. Salsa – Latin dancing. Latin dancing – Strictly Come Dancing. Strictly – Brendan Cole. It all makes sense. Brendan will be appearing at West Dean Gardens’ 20th Anniversary Chilli Fiesta this summer but to be fair he will be a mere appetizer to the real attraction – the chillis.

Regardless of the weather, the 20th Chilli Fiesta is sure to be the hottest place this summer,  As well as a variety of salsa bands the festival also features Levi Roots, of hot sauce fame, will be leading his band on stage as well as bringing his culinary expertise to the Cookery Theatre.

The Chilli Fiesta is the original and one of the biggest UK chilli festivals attracting over 22,000 visitors, with many of them camping over the weekend in the spectacular grounds of the estate in the heart of the South Downs National Park.

It is a family-friendly festival offering a bit of everything. In the Cookery Theatre popular Sussex cook and food writer, Rosemary Moon will be joined over the weekend by; Malcolm Riley, The African Chef; Danish-born Master Baker Troels Bendix and food, drink and travel writer Andy Lynes, author of How to be a Chilli Head.

You can pick up tips on growing chillies at home and there are more than 180 stalls offering quirky gifts, hot and spicy food, chilli plants and seeds. Family entertainment includes the Vintage Steam Fun Fair, Face Painting, Punch & Judy shows, Rock School Workshops and plus the Great Chilli Throwing contes.

Of course there’s a variety of camping options for the weekend depending on your requirements, including quiet camping and glamping.

BIG FEASTIVAL
Kingham, Oxfordshire
28-30 August
www.jamieoliver.com/thebigfeastival

Jamie Oliver and Alex James, Blur’s bass guitar-playing cheese aficionado, are the brains behind this food festival on the rock star’s farm in the Cotswolds. There is music from the likes of Heaven 17, Dizee Rascal and Paloma Faith but as the name would suggest, this is more about cooking and eating. It’s the foodies’ Glastonbury with an A-list line-up of chefs including Oliver himself, Raymond Blanc, Monica Galetti and Gennaro Contaldo among many others. 

For youngsters, there’s the Little Dudes’ Den where they can learn to bake, practice yoga moves, enjoy storytelling, jam sessions and dance lessons inspired by travels around the world. Elsewhere, the little dudes can visit Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park and cuddle rabbits, chicks, lambs and piglets. CBeebies’s Justin Fletcher aka Mr Tumble will be performing on Saturday and Peppa Pig will be making a special appearance on Sunday.

Other attractions include market stalls selling food, drink and posh clothes, a barbecue academy, live cooking lessons, street food stalls and a funfair. And don’t forget to visit Alex James’ cheese hub, where you can try and buy his range of artisan cheese, many of which are made on the farm.

See the website for camping and glamping options.

GREEN BELT FESTIVAL
Boughton House, Northamptonshire
28-31 August
www.greenbelt.org.uk

This is billed as the event where arts, faith and justice collide, so you know it’s not exactly going to be the Reading Festival. It has a long history stretching back four decades, the Sun newspaper billing the first event in 1974 as ‘The Nice People’s Pop Festival’. Its roots are in the Christian tradition and it’s fair to say it’s a festival like no other. Music and spoken word are given equal prominence and it is an programme heavy on visual and performing arts, spirituality, comedy, talks and debate.

On the programme are best-selling writers A.L. Kennedy and Matt Haig, spoken word artist Harry Baker, Guardian columnist Giles Fraser, award-winning writer Madeleine Bunting and renowned theologian Dr Paula Gooder. Music includes The Unthanks, Polyphonic Spree and Duke Special.