Wizard Festival 2009

The Wizard Festival, now in its third year, takes place at the New Deer Show Ground near Peterhead and Fraserburgh, North East Scotland. Organisers have changed the date of the event to keep in line with the August bank holiday weekend and will be held on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th August.

Located on a 50 acre site, on New Deer's Showground, The Wizard Festival incorporates a campervan park and tent campsite, food courts, shopping areas, a fairground, first aid & security village, ample car parking and plenty of portaloos!

Headlining on Friday are Levellers, with support from Idlewild, The Beat, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, and King Voodoo. Saturday headliners will be The Charlatans, with Buzzcocks, Twisted Wheel, and The Travelling Band in support. Wizard's second stage will be taken over by dance club Snafu for both the Friday and Saturday night of the festival.

Confirmed to headline the stage on Friday are The Japanese Popstars, with Streetlife DJs, topping the bill on Saturday with Harri, Snafu DJs including Giles Walker, DJ Lunik and Funky Transport, The Cuban Brothers (DJ Set), Mr Green, Greg Gibb, Vic Galloway, The Ray Summers, Luva Ana, Proud Mary, and Celtallica. More acts will be announced shortly.

Committed to promoting local up and coming talent, Wizard is inviting artists to submit demo's with a closing date of Friday 1st May. The most talented artists and bands will be asked to take part in Wizard showcase events in and around Aberdeen in order to battle it out for a place on the festival's bill.

Wizard festival organisers have announced that the theme for this year's event is 'climate change'. In support of the initiative, The Co-operative will be sponsoring the main stage at this year's event, bringing its strong climate change message to the festival.

Tickets are on sale priced at £70 for an adult weekend ticket (includes camping & parking from 1pm Fri to noon Sun) or £45 for a Saturday adult day ticket (includes camping & parking Saturday only), a campervan/caravan ticket is priced at £20. Children 12 years old and under go free.

To buy tickets, click here.

A full two day programme of events aimed at young people and children has been organised. A team of Hip-Hop dancers and MC's will be putting on performances in the kids' arena. They will also be holding Hip-Hop and MC master-classes over the course of the weekend. Artizfun, a children's arts and crafts group, will also have a presence at the festival this year. Established artist Jacky Niven will be making being creative fun by holding workshops and art and craft classes at the Wee Wizards arena. In addition, a well known group of Aberdeen based street drummers will be performing in the Wee Wizards field. They will also be holding drumming workshops for kids and adults.

Other performances over the Wizard weekend include tales of witches and wizards from the Grampian Story Tellers, magic from the frighteningly mysterious Drac-in-a-box and many more magic surprises that have been lined up for families over the whole weekend.

Friday at Wizard has been handed over to the best dressed when Fancy Dress Friday is introduced for the first time at the festival. Kids, and big kids, are being asked to come dressed as their favourite character. The fancy dress winners, a boy and a girl, will win goodie bags full of Wizard merchandise as the prize, as well as some free passes on the festival's fairground rides.

A separate quiet family camping area has been set aside for families with young children who want to come along to the festival. Set just a few minutes from the main camping area, the family camping area will be well signposted and have a well cordoned off section specifically for families with young children.

In order to encourage festival goers to 'go green' as much as possible, Wizard organisers have announced that there will be buses running to and from the event over the course of the weekend. The Happy Bus will leave Aberdeen on Friday 28th and return from the festival site on Sunday 30th.

Further sustainable transport options are also being promoted by Wizard organisers with car share links and alternative travel options.

Wizard festival also has Fringe events happening in the run up to the festival.

There will be more information here as and when it becomes available.

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