Boomtown fair, dubbed as the ‘UK’s maddest city’ is a relatively new festival, only first setting up in the stunning Matterley bowl estate in Winchester in 2009. Since then it’s grown considerably and its eccentric charm has certainly set itself apart from the rest. For those who are thinking about discovering the insane world of Boomtown, or are first-timers who have already bought a ticket, here are 5 things to look forward to this year’s festival, which starts on Thursday 7th August and finishes on Sunday 10th August:
- The districts: Boomtown fair, as it sounds, is built up like a real town with separate and unique ‘districts’ made up of Trenchtown, Whistlers green, Mayfair Avenue, OldTown, Kidztown and the WildWest in the centre and on the outskirts, Barrio loco, ChinaTown and DownTown. As you can guess, each district has its own celebrated music, shops and bars and festival-goers are encouraged to camp in their preferred part of the town. This leads us on to…
- The dressing up: As each district is so unique from one another, many campers don fancy dress assigned to their district. So for ‘Barrio Locco’, expect crowds dressed in day of the dead carnival outfits, sombreros and fiesta-style costumes. The whole town is generally awash with weird and wonderful outfits and you will often wonder where or how people managed to cram their elaborate costumes into their rucksacks!
- The atmosphere: The atmosphere at Boomtown is like no other. The crowd are extremely friendly and although there’s a huge mix of people, everyone seems to get on extremely well, bonding over one thing they have in common – that they’re there to have an incredible, exciting and extraordinary experience.
- The music: Boomtown offers a wide range of music, from ska, to reggae, to dub, to jungle – basically anything you can dance and let loose to! This year’s line-up includes ska and jazz band The Cat Empire and chart-topping reggae singer Shaggy, both of which are sure to delight the crowds.
- Arcadia: Avid festival-goers may have already seen or heard of Arcadia, but for those who haven’t, to sum it up Arcadia is a giant, fire-breathing, spaceship-like metal spider used as a booth for DJS. You really have to experience it for yourself to see what a mind-blowing performance it gives.
