Port Eliot Festival 2016

The Port Eliot Festival of creative arts will take place between Thursday 28th and Sunday 31st July 2016 in the grounds of the Earl of St Germans Cornish estate at Port Eliot in Cornwall.

Set in the very same location as the legendary Elephant Fayre, back in the Seventies and Eighties, the festival started up as the Eliot Lit Fest early in the millennium and, in the 12 years years of its existence, has grown to offer a rich diversity of arts and entertainment encompassing music, literature, poetry, comedy, film and art.

Line-up

Noel Fielding, Gwenno, Ryley Walker, Isy Suttie, Bo Ningen, Michael Chapman, Bill Ryder Jones, Andrew Weatherall, James Acaster, NZCA/Lines, Meilyr Jones, Vangoffey, Imarhan, Erol Alkan, Money, Sidestepper, Younghusband, Murray Lachlan-Young, 78 RPM Orchestra, Erol Alkan, Amber Arcades, John Andrews, Florence And Virginia Astley, Bizarre Rituals, Black Peaches, James Blackshaw, Will Burns, Laura Cannell, Tim Dee, James Endeacott, Pete Fowler, Nick Hand, Darren Hayman, Ted Kessler, Paul Kingsnorth, Amy Liptrot, The Magnetic North, Rob St John, Stephen Parker, Martha Sprackland, Luke Turner, Simon Fisher Turner, Emma Warren, Andrew Weatherall, Roy Wilkinson, M.Craft, Money, Saint Sister, Sam Lee, Imarhan, The Milk, Sidestepper, Kernow King, Ceilidh Liberation Front, Tamu Massif, Lail Arad, Fenne Lily, Jalen Ngonda, Maniere des Bohemiens, The Mostar Diving Club, The Severed Limb, Goonzian Quartet, Haunt the Woods, J C Deathtrap, Java Five, Mad Dog Mcrea, Matt Harvey, Rambunctious Social Club, Rory Butler, Simon Spoons, Suzie Mac, The Black Tambourines, The Jolenes, The Organisation, The Roosters, The Wireless, Tankus the Henge, Vince Lee & the Big Combo, Wesley Gonzalez, and Will McNicol and Luke Selby.

These first music and comedy names will be joined by chefs Nathan Outlaw, and Mark Hix, food critic Matthew Fort, authors David Quantick, Geoff Dyer, Nina Stibbe, Sara Pascoe, Ali Smith, Jesse Armstrong, A.L Kennedy, Alexander Masters, and Helen Dunmore, Bruce Robinson, garden designer Dan Pearson, clothing designers Piers Atkinson, Barbara Hulanicki, and Sandy Powell, Dartmoor Skies, Sarah Jane Humphrey, Lizzie Orcutt, Fiona Chivers, Ed Gillespie, Arthur Razor, Ruth Weaver, The Kenwood Ladies Pond Association, Jen and Sim Benson, Duncan Minshull, 78 RPM Orchestra, Alexandra Harris, Richard Hector Jones, Antony Harding, Jon McNaught, Martin Nesbitt, Dexter Petley, Bruno Vincent, Sally Clarke, Rose Prince, Jack Adair Bevan, Anna Jones, Alice Lascelles, Jeremy Lee, Alastair Little, James Morton, Claire Ptak, Mackiwa, Sam Pentecost, The Comedy Waiters, The Great Bullzini, The Primitive Noise, Virginia King, WIlliam the Conqueror, Huw Morgan, Daniel de la Falaise, William Sitwell, Cloud Nine Marshmallows' Murphy Williams, Susan Prior, Miranda Sawyer, Bruce Robinson, and Sandy Powell, Botanical Inks, Lancaster and Cornish, The Outdoor Kitchen, The Cider Box, Stuart Woodman (Woodman's Wild Food), Fentiman's, Saltash Creative Space, The Bead Factory, Tate St Ives, Lamplighter London, The Amazing Art Cart, The Grand Port Eliot Clothes Swap, Survival Wisdom, Faber New Poets, Caroline Davey & Mark Devonshire (Fat Hen & Curly Chef), Samantha Evans & Shauna Guinn (Hang Fire Smokehouse), Rose Prince, Kitchen Coach Justine Kanter, Jack Adair Bevan, Honey & Co, Claire Thomson, Ben Tish, Blanche Vaughan, Russell Norman, Tom Parker Bowles, Matthew Fort, Susan Prior, Olivia Laing, Juliet Nicolson, David Quantick, Erica Wagner, Geoff Dyer, Max Porter, Sam Leith, Sam Smit, Ali Smith , A.L.Kennedy, Alex Bellos, Alex Wade, Alexander Masters, Charlotte Hobson, Chris Cleave, David Bramwell, Decca Aitkenhead, Fiona Reynolds, Gavin Knight, Lynsey Hanley, Nina Stibbe, Patrick Kingsley, Richard Godwin, Rupert Thomson, Sara Pascoe, Sarah Moss, Tim Lott, Travis Elborough, William Sitwell, Rosalind Powell, Jamie Brisick, 50 Degrees Choir, Al Fresco, Art of Dance, Ballin Jacks, Becky Brine, and Eden Theatre.

Tickets

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Early bird tickets are priced at £165 each (please note there's an additional booking fee).

Child aged 14 to 17 years inclusive tickets are priced at £100, tickets for children aged 8 to 13 years inclusive are priced at £70, and children aged 7 years and under can attend for free. A campervan pass is £60 with £40 for an electric hook up.

Family options and day tickets are also on sale.

Early entry Thursday

It is expected that once again full weekend ticket holders will be able to arrive from 12 midday on Thursday, giving those festival-goers the chance to discover the most beautiful camping spots, explore the enchanting setting and take in special entertainment laid on in the festival bars dotted around the Estate. The main festival programme will commence at midday on Friday.

Family friendly

Families are especially welcome at the festival and there's a special supervised kids' area featuring performances, crafts, workshops and more.

There's a new area for younger festivalgoers called Pulse offering storytelling, live music, table games, jam sessions for guitarists, bass players, drummers and singers, a well-stocked tuck shop and a series of workshops (including Bangra and African Dance and hip hop and rap sessions). Open until midnight Friday to Sunday. Check the information board when you're onsite to see what's happening and when.

Camping

Festival-goers can pitch their tents in the stunning grounds of the Port Eliot Estate free included in the entry price or hang out in relative luxury by hiring a yurt or teepee.

Comedy line-up includes Dom Joly, Shappi Khorsandi, Mitch Benn, Murray Lachlan-Young, Sara Pascoe, Jonny Fluffypunk, Simon Munnery, Elvis McGonagall, Kernow King, and Alex Edelman.

On site

The festival will also offer the opportunity to take in a séance or a massage on the estuary, dance the night away, and sample the varied selection of food stalls.

There's a new stage for this year’s event. The Port Eliot Science Lab -the result of collaboration with fellow south west institutions, the University of Plymouth and the Eden Project, as well as the British Science Association. For the duration of the festival, the Round Room in the ancient house will be dedicated to exploring science, hosting performances and inviting the audience to perform experiments and witness new developments in action.

Expect a return of The Badger’s Sett , run by knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing and printing aficionados, Ros Badger and Christine Leech, will emerge near the 19th century Orangery, offering all sorts of crafts sessions.

Elsewhere, Anthropologie, will be hosting workshops in its (unsurprisingly) beautifully designed home at the festival.

Plus loads more including Kayaking, Sunrise Yoga, Tai Chi, Barefoot Tango, Foraging, Archery, screen printing workshops with Plymouth College of Art, special tours of the House, themed walks across the ancient estate, festival bookshop & signing tent, festival beer from Sharp’s Brewery and lots more that won’t be revealed until it happens.

New features this year include a programme of workshops, demonstrations and practical skills sessions that has doubled in size, after an overwhelming amount of interest last year. Late night astronomy walks and talks, natural silk dyeing, botanical illustration classes, diorama making, survival skills and the Grand Port Eliot Clothes Swap will all be waiting in the Workshop Barn. Continuing the theme of doing rather than talking, Hole & Corner magazine will present its own stage with Plymouth University.

Caught by The River

Caught by The River, the online haven for music, nature, rambling, gardening, poetry, film, art and angling, will take up its position in the quarry in front of the boathouse looking over the Lynher estuary. Offering music, DJ sets, conversations, readings and archive radio broadcasts.

The Hullabaloo

The Hullabaloo - Port Eliot's 100-year-old Rhododendron Garden will be transformed into a world of games, drama, imagination, music and treasure hunts as Cornwall's captivating Rogue Theatre invites children to take part in tales of fairies, pirates, witches, giants and elves.

Imagine a place where you can dance with trolls, take tea with a giant, make mischief with the pixies and knit dreams with a faerie. Only the wildest of imaginations will open the door to this fantastical other world, The Hullabaloo , nestled in the 100 - year - old Rhododendron Garden, where an international emporium of enchantment is waiting to whisk away children of all ages. Summoned up by the endlessly inventive Rogue Theatre , it’s a family - friendly feast of entertainment, workshops and activities.

Idler Academy

Down on the riverbank, the Idler Academy runs the UK’s ultimate free school. Encouraging philosophy, husbandry and merriment, the Academy’s delightfully eclectic approach to learning has two principles at its core: self - improvement and idling in equal measure. From getting up close and personal with the great Greek thinkers to learning about Luddites, mastering the art of doing nothing to understanding the peculiar habits of the sloth, this is learning with a difference.

Flower and Fodder Stage

Home to the chefs, growers, gardeners and food writers coming to Port Eliot. Polpo, the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, will build Venetian bàcaro on Port Eliot House & take over the 800 year old kitchen. The Orangery will become the Comins Tea House. The Flower & Fodder stage will host culinary experts includeing Nathan Outlaw, Bl anche Vaughan, Sally Clarke, Madeleine Shaw, Alastair Little, Peter Gordon, Claire Ptak, Rose Prince, Jeremy Lee, Peter Gordon, Honey & Co, Anna Jones, Alice Lascelles, Ben Tish, Hang Fire Smokehouse, Claire Thomson, Jack Adair Bevan, Daniel de la Falaise, Fat Hen Caroline Davey and chef Mark Devonshire, Kitchen Coach Justine Kanter, William Sitwell and many more. Plus Russell Norman’s Food Fight with Tom Parker Bowles & Mark Hix.

Much of this year’s workshop programme is inspired by the search for good food and drink. Workshop subjects include foraging, mixology, wild cocktail making, learning all about the most powerful food on the planet with the Cornish Seaweed Company, cider and cheese pairing and campfire cooking.

Audience members of all ages are invited to enter all sorts of competitive classes, which include flower arrangements inspired by the stories of Roald Dahl and Shakespeare and the garden designs of Capability Brown, as well as putting forward their best pasties, cakes, buns, jam tarts and boozy preserves. Once again, this year’s Jam Cup will be sponsored by Fortnum & Mason, which will put the winning jam into production and on to the shelves of its Piccadilly shop. Among the judging panel will be Daniel de la Falaise, Rose Prince, Russell Norman, Alastair Little, Claire Ptak, Matthew Fort, Jamie Wilson, Blanche Vaughan and Fortnum & Mason. All the class details are at www.porteliotfestival.com

Cornish food, drink, produce, treats and delicacies will also be on show, treats on offer all over the site will be the Oyster Shack, the Bhangra Bus, Wild Food Kitchen, the Shellfish Pig, Pacha Mama, Dosa Deli, Vintage Doris, the Cheese Truck, Dartmouth Ice-cream Company and many more.

Take a dip

Festivalgoers are invited to leap into the estuary of the river Lynher - a particularly beautiful part of the site - whenever the mood takes them. All ages are welcome to dive in and enjoy themselves at high tide. Last year, hundreds jumped in the river.

More information will be here when available.

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