Green Gathering 2012 Review

From the 2nd to 5th August we attended a festival that is new to us, but one that is known to many.

The Big Green Gathering was formed in 1994 and held in Somerset until its forced closure in 2009. It can now be found in Chepstow under new management and without the 'Big'.

  

The location certainly has enough room to grow, but at present the licence is for a festival of upto 4999 people. It remains to be seen if it will continue to grow to the size of the original Big Green Gatherings, but we wish it all the success.

The spacious grounds around the now largely ruined Piercefield House can be seen in the photo below.

Workshops involving most types of traditional craft have and will always be of interest to us and this festival allowed me to join a simple spoon carving workshop. I am not overly impressed with my first attempt and doubt the spoon will see any use, but I plan on improving in the future. Other workshops that interested me were metalwork and stonework, slowly slowly I hope to have a bash at these traditional skills.

The new regular site of Piercefield Park in Chepstow, Monmouthshire is a really beautiful part of the world with plenty of acres to grow and interesting walks. Nature is all around with rather mixed woodland, ruined buildings and caves nearby. Situated along the Wye river and valley it is acclaimed as an area of outstanding natural beauty.

For more information about Green Gathering, please follow the link to their website.

www.greengathering.co.uk

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

WOMAD 2012 Review

WOMAD festival needs no introduction as it's internationally well-known for its extensive selection of world music. This year was its 30th anniversary and the fourth year for Sorazora to exhibit at their current location near Malmesbury, Wiltshire. This year the dates were 27th-29th July.

Located by the Charlie Gillet stage, we were able to enjoy each days' line up on that stage whilst explaining the ins and outs of organic fibre production and natural dye techniques. This year's weather must have been imported along with some of the international artists as the sun shone continuously.

We'd love to say a big thank you to Kasia, who came to see us again, pictured below wearing our hempwool cardigan. We look forward to meeting again at another festival in the near future and hope the sun shines wherever you go.

Pictured below is one of the musicians from Japan's Marewrew & Oki who entertained us all with traditional Ainu songs. The man who grabbed our attention the most was Blick Bassy from Cameroon who blended jazz fusion with tasteful elements of his homeland's music.

 Terem Quartet from St Petersburg, Russia played an enjoyable blend of folk and classical at breakneck speed without a duff note. They were not only extremely talented musicians, but also highly entertaining to watch.

For more information about this annual festival held in Wiltshire, please follow the link below.

womad.co.uk

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Larmer Tree Review 2012

It was our second time to join the Larmer Tree festival held in the Larmer Tree Gardens near Salisbury from 11th to 15th July.

 Established in 1990, the festival has a wide range of musical experiences spread over 6 stages. It has workshops, street theatre, comedy club, global shopping village and a carnival procession.

  All the entertainment you could desire is provided, the weather is sadly out of the organisers' hands. The attendance was lower than the previous year and this must have been mostly due to the weather.

 Rain and cold were pretty much a constant from start to finish with mud making its appearance from the second day. To date, it was the muddiest experience we have had and hopefully one that won't be topped.

 For much more information about this annual event, please visit their website through the following link:

www.larmerfestival.co.uk

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Paddle Round The Pier 2012 review

Hove Lawn on Brighton beach front was again the setting for this year's PTRP. Held over the rather wet weekend of 7th and 8th July, the attendance was rather low.

 We'd like to say a big thank you to all who ventured down to the beach in such British weather. Although the attendance was clearly down from previous years, a large sum was raised for RNLI, Winston's Wish and Surf Aid.

If you would like to learn more about this annual event, please follow the link below to Paddle's website:

www.paddleroundthepier.com

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Website Issues.

Please accept our apologies to all that have tried to access our website over the last weekend. Unfortunately, there were some issues with the server in the states and our website was offline until just recently.

We apologise for this inconvenience and apreciate your understanding. Our website is now up and running.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Paddle Round The Pier

This coming weekend (7th and 8th July) will see Sorazora's first outing to Paddle Round The Pier in Brighton.

The event, which has been running since 1996 and last year raised £30,000 for charity, returns to Hove Lawns and the neighbouring beach. It is run by volunteers with the aim of raising as much as possible for the RNLI, Winston's Wish and Surf Aid.

For more details regarding all the family fun, live music, hundreds of stalls and most importantly the mass sponsored paddle on the Sunday, please visit the following link:

www.paddleroundthepier.com

You may have noticed that Charlbury Riverside Festival has been removed from our events schedule. Sadly, the event was postponed due to warnings of adverse weather conditions and is now set to take place on the same weekend as WOMAD Festival. Unfortunately, Sorazora will not be able to make the Riverside's new dates as we will be set up near the Charlie Gillet stage for another year of new musical experiences at WOMAD. We wish Charbury all the success and hope the weather shines down on them (as well as Malmesbury!!)

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Maverick Festival 2012

Once again held at Easton Farm Park in Suffolk, last weekend saw the fifth year of the Maverick Festival.

Easton Farm Park is itself an enjoyable place to visit with all the animals you'd expect to meet, but from Friday 29 to Sun 1st July it was taken over by Maverick for the best in roots music from both sides of the Atlantic.

Blessed with fine weather for its entire duration, it is safe to say that enjoyment was had by all that attended. Maverick is very much a family festival with several stages located throughout the farm.

The highlight of the weekend's line-up of bands for me was definitely Rich Hall's Hoedown Party on the Saturday night. His unique blend of stand-up comedy and country music filled the packed barn with laughter.

A wide range of food stalls catered to most tastes ranging from hog roasts to sweet crepes and the bar seemed to be constantly busy. This is definitely a festival we at Sorazora recommend for anyone looking for roots music and good old family entertainment down on the farm.

 Sorazora was lucky enough to be pitched in the same location as last year with a great view of the main stage. The beautiful weather made it possible for people to sit on the grass and relax, unlike many events we attend each year in the UK.

Well done to the organisers for another year of smiles!

For more information about Maverick Festival or Easton Farm Park, please visit their respective websites through the following links:

http://www.maverickfestival.co.uk

http://www.eastonfarmpark.co.uk

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/