Monday 14 July 2014

Springfield Sanctuary Festival 29-31 August 2014



Only seven weeks to go until we welcome everyone to the Springfield Sanctuary Celebration from 1pm on Friday 29 August until 4pm on Sunday 31 August.

The festival is open to everyone who would like to come and share the weekend with us. Although the majority of talks are around using herbs, we are delighted to welcome the former Birmingham poet laureate and broadcaster, Charlie Jordan, who will lead a creative writing workshop on Friday afternoon from 1pm-5pm.

The theme is "Inspiration from Nature" so herby people can be inspired by a herbal ally and others can commune with the 400 year old oak trees, the babbling spring, the incredible view or talk to next door's Jacob sheep or the busy bees. Bring a packed lunch with you and there will be homemade drinks and cake available throughout the afternoon.

On Friday night there will be a shared evening meal (Please bring something to share in a suitable cooking pot and bring along a portable burner although we will have some to heat things up on.) followed by an open mic where authors can share what has inspired them during the workshop and/or bring along something they wrote earlier or a song or a tune to play on a musical instrument.

There's usually an acoustic jam at the end of each night's open mic. Please bring an instrument or something to beat time on.

Sky Symphony Kite Team, will be performing twice on Saturday and Sunday. When they're not performing, they are more than happy to teach people how to fly single line or stunt kites and if they ask nicely, Roy may even let them play with his four-line Revolution

Adele Rodriquez from Stow-on-the-Wold is now keeping bees at the Sanctuary and is going to talk about bees and has offered to show the beehives. There will also be herb walks to identify plants growing in the two fields and the herb beds around the Sanctuary. We've just had a wildflower meadow survey undertaken by  Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust so I'm hoping there will be feedback from that at the festival.

Over Saturday and Sunday there will be talks about various aspects of herbs including female contraception through the ages, male fertility, bitters, herbs for children and pelvic massage. There will be opportunities to pick herbs and make your own medicines during practical workshop sessions.

We run a single session programme with plenty of down time so people have a chance to make friends, try out some herbal crafts, browse the craft stalls or generally chill out.

On Saturday night we have another shared meal to which we ask people to contribute. We provide tea and cake throughout the festival so everyone who attends is asked to bring cake with them. After the meal there will be another open mic, so bring your party piece/instrument/voice etc.

Camping is available in the field next to the main marquee so feel free to bring your tent, campervan or caravan. We offer a pickup from Kingham station for anyone coming by train. (You need to let us know your arrival time.)

The festival is funded by donations to cover the costs of hiring marquees, toilets etc. We suggest a donation of £50 per adult if you are staying for the whole weekend and £25 if you visit for one day. Children under sixteen are free.

We look forward to seeing you at the Sanctuary soon!

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