FESTIVALS
THE ECLECTIC Secret Garden Party
Festivals are often a space where you can let your hair down, throw on an outfit usually tucked away at the back of the wardrobe and unleash your party persona. One Cambridgeshire festival taking this the extra mile this year is the Secret Garden Party – themed ‘A New Hope’ and embracing all things science fiction, futurism and space age, for a weird and wonderful entry to this festival’s history. “The theme is based around our dreams for the Garden Party and its future,” says Freddie Fellowes,
otherwise known as the ‘Head Gardener’. “The programme was quite easy this year; we managed to get our favourite artists out of the pool of touring acts for this summer. What’s amazing is how many amazing artists are touring this time and it’s rare that we get our first choices for not just headline slots, but also all the supporting slots, too. We’re all unbelievably happy with who is playing and how it flows.” Tickets are always coveted to this shindig, which this year will welcome Underworld, Peaches and De La Soul to
its magnificent Abbots Ripton grounds. In 2003, the festival was conceived as a reaction to the festivals of that time and their lack of inclusivity, says Freddie, fuelled by the rave scene but reaching for something more motley. What has emerged is a kaleidoscopic four days of fun. “We’ve gone from using a horsebox as our production office to having a production area larger than our first festival!” says Freddie. “But through all of that, it’s amazing how many of the same faces that were involved in the early years are still with us.”
20 - 23 July
38 APRIL 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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