Just when the brimming line up was thought to be full, more than 80 Street Venues have been added! Totally unique weekend long parties guaranteed to lure even the most seasoned citizen into an adventure of unadulterated excitement and intrigue! Gracing the streets will be some spanking new treats, The Sky Bar, Behind Bars and Patisserie Calorie, as well as staple favourites; the Job Centre, Postal Posse, The Bank, ASBO Disco.
In anticipation of more people on the ground, sustainability steps are being taken to minimise the festival’s impact on the surrounding environment. With audience travel making up around 70% of a festival’s carbon footprint, BoomTown are encouraging sustainable, green travel and reducing congestion via a number of public transport methods including; Coach & Festival Ticket packages; Shuttle Buses from the train station and Car Share schemes. To help those who plan to attend via public transport, the event organisers are offering a couple of pre-pitched tent hire options to help minimise the load and encourage attendees to only bring what they need and intend to take home.
Sticking to the promotion of environmental awareness and sustainability, Boomtown’s main charity partner for 2016 is Energy Revolution. Every penny donated is directly invested into clean, green energy projects to helping balance travel emissions and create a sustainable future for everyone. Long-time pioneers of the EcoBond project, Boomtown encourage all attendees to bag up their waste and hand it back in to us, dramatically reducing the impact the fair has on the estate. A tidy BoomTown is a happy BoomTown.
Boomtown’s charitable and sustainable ethos doesn’t end there; a vast amount of guilt free shopping is available at a spectrum of charity based shops. Vintage clothing can be found at Help Refugees where items, at a stall decorated by the refugees from the “Jungle” in Calais, have been donated to their Calais refugees project. For the fancy dress lovers who want to preserve memories, the Barrio Loco crew have snuck a photo booth into the set. Learn more about the projects of Alianza Arkana who are running workshops in the Peruvian Amazon, supporting its indigenous people through community alliances… Wander up the hill to Whistler’s Green and the Purple Community Fund recycling warriors will be #onthepull,collecting ring pulls from the top of drinks cans. Each pull is worth 4p and is hand crafted into beautiful handbags and accessories in Tondo, Manila to support children and families who live in dire poverty on dump sites and in open cemeteries in the Philippines. As part of Love Support Unite who support hundreds of Malawian people and their communities, LoveSpecs can be found in Mayfair with their LoveLounge in Whistlers Green; a tipi bursting at the seams with huge African cushions and fairy lights. A table to “pimp my specs” will offer the finest bling to accessorize your glasses. For those who may have left some essentials behind, the Oxfam Festival Shop has a range of second hand items; from practical warm and waterproof clothing, to sparkly and vintage wares. All money raised goes directly helping people all over the world fight poverty.
Finally, with just over a month to go, the festival is urging attendees to pick their camping districts. To aid in the decision making process, Boomtown have put together a series of podcasts encapsulating the musical treasures that provide the districts’ soundtrack. The options are wide; so far we have Trenchtown (Damian Marley, Inner Circle, Kabaka Pyramid) Barrio Loco (Derrick Carter, Derrick May, Will Clarke) China Town (The Ska Vengers, Big D and The Kids Table, The Rifffs) Sector 6 (So Solid Crew, Dub Phizix, Newham Generals)and Whistler’s Green (Prince Fatty, Cate Ferris, Will Varley) Find your match on Mixcloud and Soundcloud.
It is the year of the Revolution, a chapter in the ongoing fully immersive storyline that plays out throughout the festival, in recent years the festival has seen elections, corruption and Chapter 7 (2015 event) was left on the brink of revolution… Our ever ambitious theatrical and circus teams have been devising some incredible new mega shows and have secured additional funding from the Arts Council to bring these world class circus extravaganzas to life in the Bassline Plaza and the Jolly Dodger. All festival attendees (Boomtown citizens) are invited to become their inner character and be a part of the site wide immersive experience. Catch up on the previous Chapters here. And here’s a little insight into how an aerial battle plays out at the Bassline Circus.
BoomTown, Chapter 8 is fast approaching and tickets are limited:
www.eventbrite.com/e/boomtown-fair-2016-chapter-8-tickets-19012091678
Matterley Estate, Winchester, Chapter 8: Thursday 11 – Sunday 14 August 2016
