Lakefest began as a music and cider festival that took place on April 9, 2011 in Croft Farm Waterpark located just outside Tewkesbury. The event drew about 1,500 attendees who consumed 8,500 pints of cider. The line-up of the first festival included bands such as The Wurzels, The Rowing Crows, and The Stages of Dan. The program also featured Classic West Country games. The 2011 event was essentially a cider festival accompanied by live music.
The first event wasn’t a full-fledged music festival, but it was definitely a great success. The positive feedback spurred the organizers to start planning a music festival named Lakefest. The first Lakefest was held on May 18–19, 2012. Its expanded music program featured several popular bands and artists including EMF, 3 Daft Monkeys, Reef, Toploader, Dodgy, The Wonderstuff, Roving Crows, Chesney Hawkes, and Levellers (the founders of another popular music festival named Beautiful Days).
The next year, Lakefest occurred over three days in August. In 2016, it was moved from Tewkesbury to another venue, the Eastnor Deer Park Campsite near Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire. Most festival-goers prefer to camp at the site, either in tents or in live-in vehicles. The festival is family-friendly.
Lakefest is a multi-genre music festival that encompasses different genres and styles, from rock and pop to electronic dance music. Alongside live concerts, Lakefest offers a plethora of entertaining activities for children and grown-ups alike, such as craft activities and workshops, storytelling, yoga, and more.
Photo: lakefest.co.uk
