Aestival 2010 a festival review

So what was it about?
Clearly the inspiration of the departed Festinho sowed seeds in the minds of the children of the Phillips family at Kentwell Hall. The site, as ably demonstrated by Festinho is just made for festivals. So with the aforesaid festival departed to pastures new, they decided to have go at running their own. Any profits to go to Barnados.


Another festival, what made this different?

The concept was an invite only produce your own festival, a team drawn from friends and acquaintances put the infrastructure together, a few mistakes were made but they did most of the basics right. The festival was limited to 500 bodies, simplifying licensing and lowering costs a bit. But every punter paid a mere £30 and then volunteered for a shift in one role or other, or just performed.



Did it work?
Having a pool of 500 people to draw on (less kids and babies of course) meant that Stewards had one two hour shift each, Similarly the bar staff, first aiders and other shifts were taken up with what looked like 100% success. Ironically the supposedly professional Security failed to fulfil their contract. But also at the end about 50 (maybe more) people helped with the take down, all the decor was down in an hour, all the tents, marquees and lighting dismantled in 2 only the Sound systems remained plus the stuff to be taken away and stored. A really interesting idea as a result, imagine getting a percentage of a festivals crowd to don a tabard for two hours and put something back into the festival, it worked, was successful but was maybe hardest on the volunteer organiser. Good lesson to learn.

Did that leave time for fun and games
Too bloody right it did, the Woods were again used for what they are now infamous for, dancing, with an added stage. The excellent and professionally procured sound and light meant it all worked nicely, as for the fun, a mad hatters tea party and a dream based fancy dress theme added to the good time feeling. Everyone partied like it was going out of fashion.

The Hackney Colliery Band on Friday Night















So what didn't work?

Classic festival mistake, listen to the advice of the toilet supplier, book too few and no emptying = almost disaster. Thankfully flush toilets in the stables saved the day. I was unable to get involved at the planning stage, and I knew roughly how to do it or would have phoned a friend. But hey ho, that's the learning curve.
Lighting. The woods looked great but LEDs and glowsticks just don't cut it for actual seeing where you are going. Thankfully the kids were asleep and the adults were happy to bump into each other.

And the music, what about the music?
Well an eclectic mix of artists gave their time for free. Highlights were the Hackney Colliery Band on Friday, Blanco, Pixelh8, Public Service Broadcasting, BangStrokeBlow and Amy's Ghost on the Saturday and a host of smaller bands and DJs on three stages. A few programming mistakes but again hey ho.

Public Service Broadcasting
Amy's Ghost













Drink, Drink Show me the drink
The bar was stocked with local ales, cider and lager at £2.80 a throw, plus spirits and cocktails. Needless to say it was busy.

Keyboard player of the Blanco Collective
Bleeping local superstar Pixelh8
















Will it happen again?
It was a success, it looks like it raised money, but the hard long hours on preparation was a bit of a shock to the organisers. We shall see. Having said that the timescale for organisation was only a matter of a few months, so such a timescale probably made it harder.


Conclusion
You can produce a festival that is successful in a short time scale, if you have enough energy, enough time, enough bodies and enough ideas. It did have a Big Chill feel to it, it did work and it was fun. Interesting to note that if you organise something sort-of spontaneously make sure the bogs and lights are factored in, and everyone gets involved in one way or another.