News

First Wave Of Acts For Camp Bestival

23rd Feb 2011

Blurring the lines between the Great British summer holiday and a fun-filled festival frolic, the multi-award winning Camp Bestival returns to Dorset’s idyllic Jurassic coast for our fourth festi-holiday, all set in the enchanting surrounds of Lulworth Castle, from July 28th to 31st. And boy do we have a breath-taking feast of treats lined up for your delectation. Spread across the Castle Field, Kids Garden, Big Top, Bollywood, Black Dahlia, East Lulworth Literary Institute, Freestyle Sports Park and more, this year will be even more jam-packed with entertainment, from stellar musical morsels and cultural delights to mind-melting sideshow attractions and lashings of family fun, including over 100 Free Things For Kids To Do. With plush camping facilities, hot showers and picnic areas plus a world of fabulous food concessions and free entry for kids under 10, it’s a unique start to the summer holidays and the ultimate family experience.

Festival-goers will be pleased to know we’ve listened to them and will be opening up campsites on Thursday now – Woo-hoo! We're now a '4-day' festi-holiday! They’ll need to purchase a Thursday Camping Ticket, which go on sale today in addition to your normal Weekend Camping ticket from the usual outlets. More info on link. All the campsites will be open from midday on Thursday 28th July with Car Parks open from 10am. And that’s just one of the many improvements we’ve made from the feedback they gave us in our exit survey (thanks!)…with a whopping 74% of Camp Besti folk saying they see our Dorset spectacular as a holiday we’ve strived hard to make sure Camp Bestival has all the best bits of a family campsite holiday but with a stellar line-up, world class kids entertainment and round the clock fun and games.

To keep up to date on news and developments from Camp Bestival HQ, or just to mingle with likeminded family festival types via the social ether, remember to follow us on Twitter @campbestival and on Facebook here. Festival-goers will also be able to follow our new Camp Bestival blog which will feature posts from all the Camp Bestival family including features on celebrity parents, DJ mixes to enjoy with the kids, top tips for camping with kids, weekend tips plus loads more fun and advice.

Camp Bestival Curator Rob da Bank Says: ‘This year's Camp Bestival is going to be the best ever – we've geared up Lulworth Castle to be a total festi-holiday experience, bringing back the spirit of the Great British Camping holiday with bells on. All this plus headline performances from Blondie and Mark Ronson, the return of the legend that is Mr Tumble – and even Sooty, Sweep and Soo are back to bring a bit of nostalgia to the weekend. We can't wait here at Camp Besti HQ, so get your medieval costume in the bag and we’ll see you at the end of July to kick of the school summer holidays in style! Hi De Hi.’

Fronted by one of the world’s most iconic pop stars, Blondie are the first headliners out of the bag for Camp Bestival 2011 topping the bill on Friday night. With an almost endless canon of chart storming hits including ‘Rapture’, ‘Hanging on the Telephone’, ‘Heart of Glass’ and ‘Maria’ spanning their 30 year career, Blondie will, without doubt, be the sing-a-long highlight of the weekend. Mark Ronson and The Business Intl, who are currently riding a wave of love for the acclaimed ‘Record Collection’ album, which spawned the singles ‘Bang Bang Bang’, ‘The Bike Song’ and the sublime ‘Somebody To Love Me’, will be headlining the Saturday night at our Dorset jamboree. So, expect a cavalcade of top-drawer turns as the master himself performs his genre-defying alchemy. And we’ve still got one more headliner to announce which we’re really excited about, keep checking link for more info.

A crowd-rocker par excellence, slapstick superstar Mr Tumble will be returning to his favourite festival for the third year running! One of the indisputable highlights of Camp Bestivals-past, Mr Tumble has caused paroxysms of pleasure every time he’s set foot on Camp Bestival’s main stage, entertaining one and all in his joyously inimitable style.
Mr Tumble said: ‘I am really excited about returning to Camp Bestival 2011! This will be my third year and I just love it! The whole event is fantastic and I can't wait to meet everyone again. Roll on July!!’

The first wave of live acts joining our two announced headliners will include the recently reformed House of Pain who are sure to make you jump around, Sheffield funksters ABC, the hotly tipped Claire Maguire, dubstep’s first lady Katy B, the irresistibly hooky Eliza Doolittle, the one and only Cuban Brothers whose side-splitting soul and cheeky repartee are not to be missed, plus there’ll be beatbox genius and all-round top bloke Beardyman and swing hip-hoppers The Correspondents . There will also be performances from the eight legged groove machine that is The Wonder Stuff, Ms Dynamite, Wretch 32, Ed Sheeran, Breakage feat. Jess Mills, The Selecter, Fenech-Soler, Frankie & The Heartstrings, Brandt Brauer Frick, Lau, Lucky Elephant, The Crayonettes, Smerins Anti-Social Club, Two Wounded Birds, Caitlin Rose, Jaipur Brass Band, Kawa Circus, Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew, The Bad Shepherds, Marcus Foster, The Emerald Guard, Jellicle Cats The Widow Maker and Kathryn Williams.

Crazy club vibes will come courtesy of the man like Rob da Bank with his famed beyond eclectic fare, plus the mighty Groove Armada will present Redlight, Norman Jay will to deliver the good times, arch scratch master DJ Yoda is sure to get the show jumping and the venerable David Rodigan will demonstrate just why he’s one of the most respected selectors on the planet. And there’ll be more booty shaking, speaker shredding action from the likes of London Elektricity, The Nextmen, Dub Pistols Soundsystem, Channel One Soundsystem, Krafty Kuts, A.Skillz, DJ Derek and Reggae Roast. There will also be three appearances from the Sunday Best Forum Allstars a very special DJ collective formed from our very own Camp Bestival Forum (and if festival-goers fancy having a crack at playing for the Allstars, they can head over to the Camp Bestival Forum and look out for rseamer’s thread with details of how to get involved).

Another Camp Bestival favourite making an exclusive and very welcome return is The Gruffalo. After becoming one of the hits of last year’s show, we couldn’t resist getting the clever mouse, the fox, owl and snake and The Gruffalo himself back to Lulworth Castle to entertain the Camp Bestival kids of all ages with their amazing live show. Even more kiddy fun will come from the Sooty Show in a UK Festival exclusive. A children’s classic and the star of the longest running children’s TV show in the UK, Sooty along with Soo & Sweep will be on hand with his wand invoking it’s powers with the magic catchphrase ‘izzy wizzy, let’s get busy’. Also joining the throng will be Panzee, Tang, Zak and Drum AKA the ZingZillas. The band will be monkeying around mixing up rock and soul, jazz and samba and could even drop in some big band sounds!

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Café will be returning to Lulworth Castle for a Camp Bestival exclusive! The River Cottage Team are very excited to be working with Camp Bestival once again, they’ll have several of the River Cottage experts joining them to run workshops for kids and adults, plus they’ll be cooking up some fantastic River Cottage grub from their Canteen, with their famous spicy mutton burgers served from the barbeque as well as some fresh fish cooked in the wood-fired oven!
Rock 'n' roll chef, Gizzi Erskine, will also be joining Camp Bestival this year to help feed the thousands with some of her delicious recipes. The star of C4's Cook Yourself Thin and Cookery School, who is a big fan of Rockabilly and 60's Garage, is excited to be setting up camp this year and says:- ‘How cool that there is a festival the whole family can enjoy! I'll be putting my stamp on this year's Camp Bestival by bringing my 50's and 60's vibe to Dorset. Good food and good music is what I'm all about.’

After last year’s amazing spectacle, we’re over the moon that Gavin Turk’s House of Fairy Tales will be making an exclusive appearance at this year’s Camp Bestival. A treasure trove of creative play and enchantment, providing imaginative spaces for children to learn and play, the House of Fairy Tales will allow your little ones to explore the complex minefield of their hopes, dreams and fears on a self-lead journey.

We’re also thrilled that English National Ballet, one of the world’s leading ballet companies, is coming back to Camp Bestival for a third year with a host of expert ballet workshops in the ballet tent. There will be something for children of all ages; family sessions for tots, introductions for complete beginners and workshops for improvers! There will also be some other treats in store in this tent over the weekend, including ballet Pilates to de-stress and revive your weary festival bones and creative workshops so that you too can look like a proper ballerina. In between the workshops, you will have the chance to sit back and relax and watch screenings of English National Ballet's very best shows or try on ballet costumes in dressing-up corner. Make sure you pop in and enjoy a taste of the magical world of ballet!

This year the fancy dress theme is all things Medieval, which means we should have an army of brave knights to save the myriad beautiful princesses that are sure to be at Lulworth Castle. There’ll be the traditional Fancy Dress Parade for everybody on Saturday in the Kids Garden, the Camp Bestival resident dressing up box will be stacked full of vintage princess dresses, hand-made costumes for all sizes, and next to the dressing up tent is the Camp Bestival catwalk where the little ones can parade and dance up and down to music all day – some have to be bribed to leave! Also in the Kids Garden you will find our huge face painting tent with a team of professional face painters to add the final touches to your costume or to transform you into the creature of your dreams!

There will be a variety of erudite pleasures on offer all weekend including the Satin Lizard Lounge Spoken Word line up curated by Scroobius Pip and hosted by absurdly talented Sound of Rum front-woman Kate Tempest. There will also be guaranteed hilarity from a cavalcade of comics including Milton Jones, Andrew Maxwell, Marcus Brigstoke, Barry Castagnola and Craig Campbell. Plus there’ll be Opera Up Close, Gideon Reeling Theatre, Heritage Arts Company and lots and lots more effortlessly enjoyable diversions to while away your fest-holiday.

As ever, we have some amazing premium camping space for you and yours to spend the weekend with top-notch facilities but for those looking for the peace of mind in knowing their spot is reserved Camping Plus will also be available once again following its huge success last year. Designed with the larger families with enormo-tents in mind, Camping Plus gets you a reserved 70 square metre plot less than 200 metres from the Car Park entrance. All the plots can be individually booked so you can guarantee your whole party get to camp near each other, plus you’ll have quick and easy access to exclusive showers, flushing loos and a top notch café, so breakfast will only be a few brisk strides from your tent door all for £120.00 per plot. Camping Plus goes on sale from 10am Monday 21st February so be quick to ensure your space!

And helping you again this year is Mr Trolley – a trolley hire service to help you carry all your kit from your car to your camping spot and back. Located in the car parks will be trolley-hire points, this is where you can hire a trolley, load up and ease into the festival. More details on the website

With all the best music, arts, entertainment and everything in between Camp Bestival 2011 is set to be a corker!

Remember to check link for more details and the most up-to-the-minute news.

TICKET INFO
Ticketline: link /// 0844 888 4410
Adult Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) – £170
Student Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) – £160
For full-time students only. Valid NUS or ISIC ID required at the box office – no other student ID accepted.
Age 11 to 17 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) – £85.00
Age 11 to 17 Weekend Tickets are for anyone aged 11 to 17 on 29/07/2011. These ticket holders must be accompanied by a Ticket holding parent or guardian over the age of 21
Age 10 and Under Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) – FREE (BUT YOU MUST OBTAIN A TICKET)
One ticket holding parent or guardian can only accompany up to 4 people under the age of 18.
Campervan Ticket – £65 (per vehicle)
Advance Car Parking – £10 (per vehicle)

Thursday Camping Ticket details:
Ticketline: link /// 0844 888 4410
Adult Thursday Camping Ticket – £10
Age 11 to 17 Thursday Camping Ticket – £5
Age 10 and Under Thursday Camping Ticket – FREE (BUT YOU MUST OBTAIN A
TICKET)**
All Tickets:
– will incur a booking fee.
– are non-transferable and cannot be re-sold.

Live Performances From: Mr Tumble | ZingZillas | The Sooty Show With Soo & Sweep

Festival Exclusives From: The Gruffalo (Live) | Hugh’s River Cottage Café | Gavin Turk’s House of Fairy Tales | The English National Ballet |

Plus: 100’s of Free Things For Kids To Do | Gizzi Erskine | Medieval Fancy Dress | Freestyle Sports Park | Super Family Campsites + so much more

Plus: follow Camp Bestival on Twitter @campbestival and on Facebook to keep up to date with our new Camp Bestival blog for festival loving family folk