Starting Your Own Festival

Over the last few years, there has been a massive rise in the number of festivals taking place throughout the UK and Europe, with literally thousands of events scrambling to pander to every taste. From folk to poetry, metal to trance, crafts to ale, it seems that with each new week comes a new festival.

This rise has led a number of people to try their hand at organising their own festivals, fed up with the huge corporate events like Glastonbury and Leeds/Reading and wanting to put something back into their community, thousands of people have picked up the gauntlet and tried to put their home towns on the map. If this sounds like something you would like to do, you should think about the following first.

Money

Before you even attempt to organise anything you need to consider how much it’s going to cost you and whether you can afford to foot the bill if things go wrong. Will you be selling tickets, asking for a donation or letting people in totally free? If you’re booking artists, how much will they cost? You need to do a bit of research – Toilet Hire, marquees, equipment, stages and some sort of catering are all a must regardless of how low-key your festival might be.

Audience

Is there a big enough audience in your local area and if not is the event good enough to draw people from out of town?

Niche

Try and establish something that’s unique. The festival market is so saturated at the moment that it’s near impossible to differentiate between them. What can you offer that others aren’t already?

Space

Where are you going to put it, will you need permission from the local authorities, and how much will it cost you?

Legalities

If you’re planning on selling alcohol at your festival then you will need an alcohol license. Likewise, if you’re planning on charging people to attend you will need a temporary events license. You will also need to sort out some sort of public liability insurance and security and ensure that you comply with health and safety regulations.

There is much, much more to consider, but these are some of the basics. If you’re really determined and prepared to put in a lot of time and hard work, do your research properly and ensure that you are offering something unique then within time your festival could grow organically into a successful, money generating event.

All About The Wakestock Festival

Since its inception in the year 2000, Wakestock has risen to become a spectacle of grand proportions and the upcoming 2011 Wakestock taking place between July 6th and July 10th looks to be the best yet. Founded by Mark Durston initially, Wakestock was first held at Abersoch in Northern Wales. At that time the festival consisted of a much smaller scale wakeboard contest witnessed by a few hundred people. Now in its second decade of existence, Wakestock has swelled in both size and merit, recently becoming a part of the World Wakeboard Series, and things could not look brighter.
The entire festival, now held at Cardigan Bay, has blossomed into a full fledged extravaganza. Now industry leading bands and DJs bring all the star appeal one could ask for to the stage at Wakestock. Famous artists such as Dirty Pretty Things, The Streets, N*E*R*D, Pretty Lights and Moby have all played Wakestock in the past, and 2011 will headline a host of new talent.
This year?s line-up includes over sixty five bands already, with a promise of more still to be announced. Featuring Billy Clyro, The Wombats, The Cribs and Ellie Goulding the concert at Wakestock 2011 promises to be a truly mind melting experience.
If things do start to overheat in your noggin though, cool down by watching some world class wakeboarding. A massive pool jump manufactured next to the music stages will help to bring all the entertainment where you can easily spot it. While on Wakestock?s grounds you?ll have easy access to a variety of food stalls as well as several bars.
If you want to see the World Wakeboard Series though, you will have to leave the festival grounds and make your way to Pwllheli Marina. This is the site where most of the wakeboarding action will be held. Use of the festival shuttles makes this trip easy and convenient and will only cost you £5. The pass you receive is good for the entire weekend.
Thursday is a practice day for the wakeboarders, and it presents a fantastic chance for fans to watch some of the riders while they are more at ease than they could be on a competition day. On Friday between 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm the pro qualifying events will be held, and on Saturday between 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm the pro finals.

Sunday is devoted to trick shows including the Mystic Big Air Competition from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and the Pool Gap Finals which start at 3:00 pm and last until 6:00 pm. These two events will be held at Abersoch Main Beach and on the festival grounds respectively.
The Wakestock festival is a vibrant celebration of music and sport that holds a valuable and growing place within the community, a community that can include you!