Vantastival 2011 – Festival fever starts in Dunany
The weather forecast looks good and everyone is in a summery mood as the summer festival seasons kicks off this weekend. For music fans of all ages and campervan enthusiasts from around the country, all roads lead to Dunany Estate in Co. Louth for the second annual Vantastival festival, one of Ireland’s newest and most original independent festivals. A music festival with a first-rate line up and a celebration of campervan culture, Vantastival is a family-friendly event and has something for everyone, with the €85 weekend tickets and bring your own booze policy making it one of the more affordable options for the May bank holiday weekend. Day tickets are also available at €40, while children under 14 go free and teenagers cost just €30 for the full weekend.
Sponsored by Louth County Council, Vantastival will bring an impressive array of acts to the beautiful surroundings of Dunany, including Duke Special, Alabama 3 Acoustic, Whipping Boy, The Frank and Walters, Wallis Bird, Jamie Lawson and The Cast of Cheers all on the bill. Festivities will start on Friday 29 April with the gates opening at 2pm, and the music will continue all weekend with over 70 acts due to perform. Additional features at Vantastival 2011 include the Gramophone Disco, a host of children’s activities, a cinema run by the Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival and an open mic stage, as well as food and craft stalls, quirky art installations and dance and drumming workshops. Cully and Sully will be on hand to judge the ‘Campervan Cook-off’, while the ‘Scrapheap Challenge’ will see an old van converted into a campervan to be raffled on the Main Stage after Whipping Boy on Sunday night.
Vantastival is just an hour’s drive from Dublin and Belfast, ten minutes from the M1 motorway. See www.vantastival.com for more details.
