Last weekend’s Secret Garden Party had a few usual suspect guests absent from the festival. Brands were nowhere to be seen, and if they were there, they were virtually invisible to the human eye.
The brand-less festival let a few hundred artists emerge for attention, and allowed the mass of quirky creative ideas shine through. Instead of tribute banners to lager, you’d find Action Camps inviting guests to make their own superhero costume, listen to an experimental musician or watch a performance.
I peeked at one tent, a retail outlet for cigarettes, one of the more unpopular destinations, who was forbidden to showcase any branding, and was so minimal that you didn’t even realize that the venue was selling cigarettes at all. I thought 02 or Orange may have been secretly sponsoring the mobile charging stations, but it turns out that these were also independents, staffed by volunteers who were running the gadget-charging facilities on solar power.
Nope, no brands in sight.
Did I miss them? Hell no!
With Glastonbury becoming a parade of brands and many attendants getting irritated by the brands-in-your-face that some festivals has become, the UK’s summer festival lovers are seeking out new places to enjoy a goodtime without the brands. Want proof? Check the ticket sales that for the first year in a long time did not sell-out for Glastonbury immediately, and consider the number of artists that decided to tour The Secret Garden Party, Bestival, Latitude and The Big Chill – instead of Glastonbury. The Independent is calling some of the smaller festivals examples of “Poshstock”.
Granted, smaller size (Secret Garden Party had about 7K attendants to Glastonbury’s 200K +) means the organizers don’t need as much sponsorship as Glastonbury requires to manage the masses. The Secret Garden party does trump its horn about its brand-less status, and, as a guest artist performing at SGP, my own suggestion to get a sponsor for our bit of the festival – an all-female revue of The Wind in the Willows, was not accepted, with good reason. Still, the festival has to be funded somehow, and here is a breakdown of how they split profits from ticket and drink sales:
Music and Performance: 19% Sound, Stages and Lights: 10% Decoration and Sculpture: 6% Event Staff: 17% Facilities: 23% Mangement Team: 10% Event Running Fees: 11% Marketing: 4%
What’s the secret to success? Seems this formula is working for Secret Garden Party, and the other secret to success is having private land to party on semi-legally. The secret location is at Abbots Ripton Hall, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and the property belongs to wealthy land holders of the ancestral family of 4th Baron de Ramsey, specifically John Ailwyn Fellowes, who's son Freddie Fellowes, is one of the Head Gardeners who makes the festival possible.
Here’s ten quick peeks at what I did enjoy at the beautifully brand-less Secret Garden Party:
oOOo Dancing in the sunset on top of the lake at the Pagoda venue to the tunes of up-and-coming DJ Marshall Hackett, who was dressed up like a cuddly cat. Top favourite were his re-mixes of 70s classics like Funky Town. Listen to Marshall’s set here.
oOOo Skanking to the brassy funky soulful beats of The Fontanas , and having a fireside chat with lead singer Gavin Skeggs and finding out that he is also in a band called The Tarantinos, inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s films.
oOOo Getting a huge kick out of the performance antics and musical skills of The Ratfinks who delivered big sound and big fun.
oOOo Watching the pyro-technical extravaganza of the Pirate Ship getting blown-up, a very Burning Man-esque moment.
oOOo Checking out the legendary Grace Jones.
oOOo Hanging out in the tree house of the Where The Wild Things Are venue.
oOOo Making a cape at the Superhero Action Camp, making a carnival hat at another Action Camp and listening to Green political talks at the Green Action Camp.
oOOo Not spending endless amounts of time waiting in queues for food, drink and loos.
oOOo Bumping into many friends, something that is less likely to happen at Glastonbury, where everyone gets lost in the crowd.
oOOo Unwinding in the Lost Horizons sauna.
And…performing in my company Hai Media Group’s all-female revue of The Wind in the Willows – we were a hit! The cast and crew presented adventures of the lovable Toad, Ratty, Mole, Badger and supporting Weasels and Rabbits, festival style, including inviting the audience to feast on a banquet at our make believe Toad Hall. Here’s some quick peeks from our show:
*Photos courtesy of photographer Jim Hanner
Still grooving on the Secret Garden Party,
yay, it was a cool festival wasn't it? Soo much better than Glasto. Lovely to meet you there. You can check my post on Secret Garden Party on my blog:
travelswithmyteenager.blogspot.com
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Can't help feeling that writing about Secret Garden on here kind of ruins the whole point of something as lovely and wonderful as SGP!! Its meant to get away from anything to do with corporate nonsense, lets not analyse it on here of all places!!!
Lisa Devaney
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Member since: 14 Jun 2008
Last login: 22 Dec 2008
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