DECEMBER 2013
2013 has been a crazy busy year for us!
Time to grab a cup of tea or a pint of real ale, of course...
This newsletter is a bit epic... I wanted to summarise everything we've done this year, include some old info that you may have missed, include some new info that hasn't yet been shared anywhere else, and pop some photos in for your perusal... It turned into a bit of a beast, so I hope you're sitting comfortably!
Missy x
At the start of 2013 we filmed our Kickstarter video, and our daughter Rosie filmed her Pong tribute video (see below).
We ran our Kickstarter campaign for 30 days, asking for £30,000 and recieving more than double that amount!
We used the Kickstarter money to put deposits down on the bigger bands in the lineup, and made many more bookings... we currently have over 130 bands booked, contracted and confirmed to play Alt-Fest 2014!
We know a lot of you are waiting on the metal bands, and we're frustrated that it's taking so long to get them confirmed and announced! We have some great ones on the table, they're considering our offers, but a lot of the time bands can't fit us in to their 'routing' - their touring plans. But we have a whole metal stage and several slots on the main stage ready and waiting, so the metal IS coming, it's just taking it's sweet time about it!
We have also just booked our MASSIVE headline act, who for our first year is just jaw-droppingly awesome! We will be announcing who the act is on Christmas day! What a fantastic Christmas present, we can't wait to hear your reactions :)
Several of the bands booked are super exciting...
Arch Enemy are playing a UK festival exclusive - so they won't play any other festival in the UK next year, just us!
Arch Enemy are playing a UK festival exclusive - so they won't play any other festival in the UK next year, just us!
Peter Hook and The Light will perform seminal Joy Division album 'Unknown Pleasures' in its entirety as part of his set. In keeping with the ethos of Alt-Fest, Hook has agreed to open the remainder up to Alt-Fest fans who will be able to decide which tracks he'll play for the rest of his set. Fans will be able to vote from a selection of Joy Division tracks online via facebook.com/AlternativeFest, with the top six making Hook's final playlist.
Hook commented: "Having played some 200 gigs with The Light now, I've found that the fans all have their own particular favourite tracks which they want to hear live. It's a great idea to throw some of the set list over to the people at Alt-Fest to see what they most want to hear us play. It will be interesting to see what they come back with".
It will be Eisbrecher's first ever UK appearance, and that's exclusive to us in 2014!
Fields of the Nephilim are also a UK festival exclusive!
SITE MAP
We visited our site, the Boughton Estate in Northamptonshire, for a wander in the woods. We finalised our ideas for the site layout, using clearings in the woods, and some great fields that will allow the carparks to be very close to the campsites... no mile long walks for you! We'll share our site map with you all at the start of the new year, for your input and suggestions.
STAGE TIMES
We also had a sound test done at the site - this was to ensure we comply with the site's license and also to see if we'd be upsetting the neighbors! We're very happy with the levels we can play music at, and we're thrilled to be able to have bands playing later than is usual for a festival!
The plan for stage closing times is:
- Main stage close at 11pm
- Metal and S.O.P.H.I.E stages and The Steampunk Experience close at midnightGoth stage close at 1am
- Industrial and Electronica stage close at 2am
- Clubland close at 3am
This means that if you want to see headliners on more than one stage, you should be able to go from one to the next and catch some of each.
We are intending that the arena opens at 10am and the stages open at 12 midday, although it's possible that that may change! You will be the first to find out via our newsletter.
WEBSITE
What else have we been up to? We have been working with Black Monday to create a fantastic website, it's fluid and responsive, which means that it re-sizes and re-configures itself depending on the device you're viewing it on... try re-sizing your browser!
We're also working on a new shop for the website, which will sell our new....
MERCHANDISE
We will have mugs, badge packs, posters, tote bags, t-shirts, hoodies, beanies, t-shirt dresses...
GLAMPING
We'll also be selling glamping luxury options in our shop... Bell tents, tipis, and luxury yurts with the option of including bedding too. Prices will start at £300 for a bell tent for up to 4 people! Check the out here!
We've also teamed up with Tangerine Fields, who will be supplying pre-erected tents (no sniggering!)
There are 4 tent size options to fit between 1-8 people, plus add-ons like sleeping bags and air beds.
Prices start at £60 for a 1-2 man tent. Check that out HERE.
TICKET SHOP
The ticket shop will stay the same, separate from the new merch/glamping shop. All of our tickets are sold through Clubtickets, who are really nice chaps. We know we've had lots of errors and glitches with the ticket shop, and we're really sorry if that affected you. It's not how we like to do business, as we're BIG on customer satisfaction. The problems were fixed as soon as we found them, and were a product of a brand new ticket shop having been built especially for us. We also asked Clubtickets to do lots of things they've never done before, such as group buy schemes (Group Buy Scheme) and deposit schemes (Payment Plan), and all the add-ons such as camping and car parking.
We know it would have been simpler to have a combined price, but decided that would be unfair to anyone wishing to stay off site in a hotel, or people arriving by public transport or Big Green Coach... We've made the tickets as cheap as possible, then if you want to camp, each person pays £20 which goes to cover the cost of running the campsites (clean loos and useful security!). If you want to bring a car, you buy a car park ticket (£10 in advance which pays for our traffic management team, and you can come and go in it as you like).
There is a postage fee of £3.50 on every order (an oversight, for 2015 this will be included in the price) but there are NO extra booking fees lumped onto your order as you go through the checkout! We included this in the ticket prices when we worked them out. No nasty surprises there!
FOOD & DRINK
We've had several food traders book their places already
We're happy to have DeliKate (panini, baguettes, sandwiches and salad, plus hot evening meals with gluten free and dairy free options), Shakey's Diner (jumbo gourmet hot dogs, burgers, potato wedges, milk shakes, fruit smoothies, pancakes), and Let's Wok (Chinese appetisers, noodle dishes, curries and sides).
There are plenty more coming, and we'll make sure we have vegan, vegetarian and more free-from options included.
We'll be working with Creative Bars, who will provide all of the bars at Alt-Fest. We've devised a really great list of drinks for you, including:
- 30 real ales (inc Nobby's Brewery) and 4 real ciders
- Canned and draught lagers and ciders
- Wine
- Soft drinks including juices and fruit shoots
- A nice selection of shots and spirits
- Absinthe
- Jagermeister
- Cocktails, mocktails, Champers and Pimms!
The full list with prices will be available on our website before the festival.
WORKSHOPS
We also have something really special to share:
In the Children's Area, there will be a place called the Kindred Cafe, and in this magical place you will be able to take part in workshops for free.
The workshops will include clay pendant making, painting pebble pets, lantern painting, huge bubble wands with eco friendly bubble mix making, sugar scrubs and recycled wood art and decoupage.
Both adults and children can sign up for the workshops, they will run at intervals all day long, for about half an hour each.
The cafe also serves very reasonably priced food (homemade cake from £1, filled rolls £3 etc) and has a relaxing space to recharge and nourish with good food for your bodies and creative activities for your souls by providing a fun space to connect with others.
In the spirit of Alt-Fest, we invited Kindred Cafe to have a spot at the festival for free, in exchange for their running the workshops for free. We benefit by being able to give our customers (that's you) the chance to take part in a workshop for free. They benefit by being able to trade at Alt-Fest at no cost, so although their profit is low, they get to keep it all. Everybody wins because no-one is being greedy, and that's just what we like!
We are currently working on booking some other bits and bobs for the Children's area, more workshops for grown ups and we hope to have more things to do for free too!
ART AND THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
We've also been working on the rest of the festival experience, aside from the bands. Bonnie (of Bonnie Makes Pictures) is our Art Director, and she's been making plans for the festival to be an immersive experience.
Bonnie says...
On the not too distant horizon lies a new type of festival, one fully engrossing the visitor, encompassing multimedia experiences the likes of which alternative festivals in the UK have never seen before. It is a land of loud dark music, theatre, performance, and ART.
ART on the walls. ART on the stage. ART on the ground. ART in rooms ART in boxes ART on people ART in your face ART in your mind!
Providing the word “art” is still holding meaning for you by this point, Alt-Fest would like to invite you to help us realise our vision. Join us far down the rabbit hole as we create experiences to delight the senses of our treasured festival goers.
E-TEAM/STREET TEAM
And a word from Mark, who runs the Alt-Fest eteam :
The eteam has been very well-received by Alt-Festers! Giving everyone an equal opportunity to win some incredible prizes, ranging from free tickets to backstage passes, by earning points from completing specific challenges.
Our members have enjoyed tasks such as simply sharing a few lines of text about Alt-Fest, to actively going out into the street with flyers and posters to spread the word!
We have been extremely pleased to see the enthusiasm our members have put in behind the tasks, and are constantly looking for new challenges and prizes to keep everyone entertained!
Like the sound of it? Our current major prize is the aforementioned backstage passes, which will also enable the lucky winner to meet the bands and view the main stage from a special VIP area! Join our teamer community to take part! https://www.fanteamz.co/alt-fest
So that's where we're at. If you have questions, comments, suggestions or any other feedback, please do mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or post on our Facebook page or in our forums.
Dom and I wish you a very Happy Christmas, and we'll see you in 2014!
Missy x
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