Spotlight: Best Small Festival of 2007?

Who'll you vote for in the UK Festival Awards?

08 October 2007

Today sees the ‘Best Small Festival’ award get the lowdown, one which ironically boasts the biggest number of nominations to reflect the growing number of small (but perfectly formed) festivals cropping up across the land.

They are:

Beautiful Days
Big Session 
Blissfields
Bloodstock Open Air
Bloom Festival
Cambridge Folk Festival
Cardiff Calling
Cornbury Festival
End Of The Road
Endorse-It-In-Dorset
Glastonbudget
Green Man
Isle of Skye Festival
Jersey Live
Larmer Tree Festival
Rhythm Festival
Secret Garden Party
Solfest
Sugarhill Festival
Summer Sundae Weekender
Sunrise Celebration
Truck Festival
Wychwood Festival

Phew.. So why celebrate small festivals? Chances are you won’t have even heard of some of them. But if you’ve been to one of the above you’ll undoubtedly realise their significance on the festival map. For while some grumble about the Glastos and Vs selling out as their atmosphere evaporates quicker than their surface rainfall, their more miniature neighbours continue to offer unique havens of togetherness, creativity and random fun.

Last year’s winner Summer Sundae Weekender has to be a front-runner but finds itself pitted against its sister event The Big Session, also based in Leicester and run by the same team. Other previous winners, Secret Garden Party and Bloodstock Open Air, are once again nominated, reflecting their ongoing success.

But this year could be the turn of one of the nearly-rans from years gone by. Wychwood Festival had its most successful year to date, Truck saved itself from soggy ruin to September triumph, while Isle Of Skye Festival, Beautiful Days and Green Man also defied the weather to host hugely popular events.
Last year’s Best New Festival End Of The Road should be in with a shout, building on its inaugural success in the same way as Bloom Festival did and sharing the same peacock-peppered location as the more established Larmer Tree Gardens.

Indie dance nuts may go for Cardiff Calling, ‘cover lovers’ will no doubt support the cheekily named Glastonbudget and folk fans may flock to the box marked Cambridge Folk Festival. A few sweeping generalisations yes, and there are many more we haven’t mentioned which also boast their own brand of quirky brilliance.

So check out all the above and if any of them floated your boat this summer (hopefully not literally) then lay down your vote. And if not, pencil one in for next year...  Vote HERE.

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