“Stars are stars and they shine so hard…………………………..”

DEER SHED FESTIVAL: An update on what looks like being the festival of the summer. 

JULY 22^nd – 24^th 2011 

BALDERSBY PARK, TOPCLIFFE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

 SKY AT NIGHT THEME PLANS UNVEILED

 Pop-up planetarium, Russian cosmonaut hosted cabaret, telescopes, binoculars, space hoppers, a band of merry local astronomers, star gazing, papier mache lunarscapes and more in honour of headliner I Am Kloot’s album Sky At Night

 Over at Deer Shed Festival HQ they love their headliners I Am Kloot so much they’ve decided to theme the event in tribute to the band’s Mercury Music Prize nominated album title, Sky At Night. As a tribute to the band’s exclusive UK festival headline appearance under North Yorkshire’s night skies, the festival has lined up lots of Sky At Night type related things.

 Possibly the first festival to have a pop-up planetarium on site, the Deer Shed Festival Cosmodome will be open during the day on Saturday giving festival-goers the chance to sit back and be completely surrounded by visuals of the sky of their choice with commentary from local astronomers. The festival couldn’t afford everyone’s favourite TV boyfriend Professor Brian Cox but they’ve found some equally enthusiastic local experts with just as much knowledge, but less floppy hair, to help those astronomically inquisitive festival-goers navigate and learn their way around the stars in the skies.

 Once I Am Kloot bring the music to a close on Saturday night, this band of merry local astronomers will also be leading star-gazing jaunts around the site with telescopes and binoculars aplenty provided to help festival-goers understand the difference between the big-dipper and the Milky Way. There will also be some Sky At Night related activities as part of the arts and crafts workshops. The Deer Shed Festival DIY ethos is in full effect with a lovingly produced papier mache lunarscape made by the mum of one of the organisers setting up home for festival-goers of all ages to create their very own plasticine aliens to roam on. These other-worldly beings will then be filmed for a stop-animation masterpiece – this could be the beginning of Deer Shed Festival’s very own Star Trek series. The festival will also be encouraging as many people on site as possible to make their own alien mask so I Am Kloot might well be playing to a sea of Doctor Who extras. 

 There are some very ambitious plans afoot which are currently in the hands of the Civil Aviation Authority for approval. Once the festival organisers have finished jumping red-tape hurdles, they hope to unveil details of something special that involves sending an item space-bound. All the festival can confirm right now is it isn’t Virgin Galactic’s first shuttle. Even Friday night’s cabaret is getting in on the Sky At Night act – a Russian cosmonaut will be hosting the Green Top Circus’ evening of comedy, cabaret and circus performances in the Big Top. And they’ll be space hoppers for those of the sporty persuasion. All in all, there’s a distinctly starry, spacey feeling about this year’s Deer Shed Festival.

 In keeping with being all scientific and educational, here are some random stats about this year’s Deer Shed Festival:

 –          30 music acts performing

–          Five performance stages

–          Three undercover bars

–          One big top

–          Eight railway sleepers

–          Two scrap cars

–          340 fencing panels

–          Seven tonnes of play sand

–          2000 cable ties

–          4000 flyers

–          50 swingball sets

–          2000 paintballs

–          Ten space hoppers

–          30 man hours of free face painting

–          Six birds of prey

–          20 ukuleles

–          12000 pints of real ale

–          10 wheelbarrows

–          16 bespoke eco-loos

–          One tractor

–          Zero deer

 Tickets available now through www.deershedfestival.com/tickets

Adult (16+) weekend ticket (Fri-Sun)                                      £59

Adult (16+) Saturday & Sunday only ticket                            £45

Child (6+) weekend ticket                                                            £15

Child (5 and under) weekend ticket                                         FREE*

Weekend campervan & caravan pass                                     £15

* But will require a ticket obtained through the ticket sales outlet

 MUSIC LINE-UP FOR 2011 **

I Am Kloot, The Go! Team, Frankie & The Heartstrings, The Leisure Society, Erland and The Carnival, Caitlin Rose, Admiral Fallow, Marcus Foster, Tom Williams & The Boat, Matthew and The Atlas, Lanterns on The Lake, Laki Mera, Arthur Rigby & The Baskervylles, Tigers That Talked, Spokes, Let’s Buy Happiness, The Neat, Just Handshakes (We’re British), Yonderboy, Hope & Social, Two Spot Gobi, My Forever, Sam Airey, Holly Taymar, Her Name Is Calla and The Glendale Family

www.deershedfestival.com / www.facebook.com/DeerShed / @DeerShed

“…………………………….all your dreams are hanging out to dry.”

And below are a few pics from last years festival taken by Stuart Rhodes.

By peter on May 19, 2011