Open NavShopOpen Search

Forums > Events, Performances and Gatherings > PLAY Festival 2007 25th - 29th July 2007

Login/Join to Participate
Page: ......
DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom

Posted:
Hello everyone and welcome to PLAY FESTIVAL 2007!!



Please forgive me for the lack of info, I have no computer to use and it'll be a few weeks more until I'm able to update it more often. I'll come back and put more up as and when I can.



Hopefully most of this info you'll have gotten from our newsletter, if not sign up to it on the website now! www.playfestival.co.uk



We had a wonderful 5 days last year and can only say that 2007 will be even better!



Thanks to everyone who came last year and who gave us feedback on what they thought of the festival, we've taken all comments on board and hope we can make the festival one that you'll enjoy even more than the last.



The dates for this years festival will be Wednesday 25th - Sunday 29th July and we will be at the same venue, Fordhall Farm in Market Drayton, Shropshire. The tickets will be £35 in advance and £40 on the door, that will include most workshops, 4 nights camping, the shows and other entertainments during the festival



We have lots planned for this years festival, more areas to play in with the emphasis on getting everyone involved, we will have a proper go at the world record after last years attempt didn't go so well (although it does look awesome on video!!!) and of course the usual abundance of workshops to keep you all busy in the day.

We'll have two stages this year, the main stage/tent and and nice little caberet tent, a solar powered cinema, a PROPER bar & food tent and a few more folks selling the stuff you want to buy (even if you don't realise it yet! heheh)



New for this year will be the PLAY HOP Amateur Performance of the year. It's a little competition we've come up with that can be entered by anyone for any type of performance. No more than 4 minutes long with a cash prize for the winner and the chance to feature on the next PLAY DVD. As you might guess from the title the event is sponsored by HomeofPoi.com (who have proudly given us the prizes for our games over the last two years). More details will follow soon...



The DVD of last years festival will be out at some point, probably exactly at the time we plan it to come out wink Focusing more on spreading knowledge to learn the arts than the last DVD and we're sure it'll knock your socks off!



If you want to contact us about anything please email us at one of the following addresses:



info@playfestival.co.uk



comments@playfestival.co.uk



volunteers@playfestival.co.uk



traders@playfestival.co.uk



If anyone wants specific footage from last years festival please wait until after the DVD is out, Strugz & co are busy enough editing the full thing to start making cuts for people! Thanks smile



As my internet access is sporadic at best till my pc is up and running, I might not be able to reply to email straight away, if you want to talk to me about anything call me on 07814 018091 and if you don't get an answer LEAVE A VOICEMAIL!



Keep checking the website for the latest information and we'll send out newsletters as often as we can.





hugs & smiles



Dunc hug

Let's relight this forum ubblove

E_V_I_LMosh-mosh-mosh-mosh.
346 posts
Location: Midlands

Posted:
Personally I thought the grub was pricey - £4.50 for a veggie breakfast thing which I'd normally probably only pay a couple of quid for - seemed a tad excessive and more like Glasto prices to me.

Loved the couple of workshops I went too, but once I was on site I got into Uber-shy mode (I know, 6'+ of me, shy FFS!) and didn't really say much to anyone unless I was introduced. On reflection I think that was my biggest mistake - I didn't talk to people; the few I recognised I didn't wander over too and just introduce myself!

Loved the shows, especially the Saturday night stuff (ESPECIALLY Joe Driscoll. You HAVE to get him again, the dome tent was amazing afterwards!) and the compares were excellent through-out.

And although I know it's probably an intellectual thing about cliff-hangers ... but I still wanna know what happens at 24 Death Drive!!!!

Xbox360 Live ID - Sacred Apollyon

"Enemies you threaten make armies. Enemies you destroy make graves."

"Here is a test to see if your mission on earth is finished: If your alive it isn't."

UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales

Posted:
They all got bored, went home, and had bacon sandwiches and tea for dinner.
The end.

wink
TastesLikePurpleGOLD Member
addict
498 posts
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom

Posted:
Thanks Yakumo! wink

Thoughts arrive like butterflies...

bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere

Posted:
my goodness it was good.

i'm going to borrow a thing from jugglingdb and do a HLGB (high low goal bane) thing cause otherwise i'd just ramble on about how brilliant it was...

there's only supposed to be one of each, but i'm too full of it ( ) to keep myself down to that...

Highs

The whole thing
the weather (considering how it could have been)
the amazing, amazing volunteers....
the comment somewhere above from nigel saying it was the best convention show for ages most pleased.
the lovely people. i honestly didn't meet one person i didn't like, or didn't have time for over the whole time.
the toilets.
the little dome (aaaaw)
sebastian (bastl)s routine. i think it rates up there as one of the best routines i've ever seen.
joe driscoll.
early morning cuddles (you know who you are)(and so does everyone else )
selling out.
ice cream
loads more, but i'd get really, really boring...

Lows

my bad back
lack of spinning due to the above, and to work.... (i managed a total of 20 minutes in 7 days on site )
the panic before main show time when we had only 5 acts... which became 6, then 7, then 8
the paraffin panic (there's someone on here we owe paraffin money to, for selling him water )
er. the back, again.
the litter picking - it was ok, but the last few bits were done by only three of us - one with a bad back, one with a sight condition, and one who is terminally tall - and it was heartbreaking seeing the amount of rubbish that could have been recycled in the vast mound of bins i'll hold my (and our) collective hand up and say it was our fault for not making it much easier for you guys, but the number of cans in amongst food waste was nasty
saying goodbye to my lady for what feels like forever.

Goals

Have a good festival - check
watch peoples faces when they saw bastl spin - check, and my god was it worth it
maybe do my slowly budding po routine in renegade - total non-check, due to back, again, and to extreme tiredness
not work the whole entire festival - non-check again. tiny bits of chill, but not much.
do the JAM poi routine in an interesting manner - non-check. damn. sorry laura.
keep dunc calm - big fat check.
look good with a radio - even fatter ( ) check.

Bane
Sound. sound, sound, sound and more sound. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.
(bane deleted due to not wanting to be nasty)
the generator bloke getting stuck when he oculd have so easily not

biggrin

i can't beleive it was so good you guys have made me the happiest bunny in the UK (apart from most alpha male bunnies, who are obviously VERY happy)

thank you so much to everyone who worked so hard

Tom, Mike, Ros, Jake, Andy, chris, ALL the Fens, who cleaned the little dome of [censored] on tuesday afternoon (dedication to the cause), all the people who were there early and who i have forgotten already , Steve, all the gate staff, sim, michi, mech (i suppose wink ) all the tent people (especially polarity), peachi n sindy, Kev, the food peeps, the people i managed to persuade into PHAPPY aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllll the performers - more than i can remember...
and i'll stop there, and say: 'if i've forgotten you, it's no personal, but my mind is mush after glade and PLAY melted into each other if you were working, then thank you very, very much. we love you '

Durbs: so much performance, so little time.... well done, and result on workshoppage too. biggrin

strugz: skin up, wherever you are, and come back soon.... wink

and dunc
thanks for everything hug

and finally, cause i know she missed a lot of it - george well done for putting up with your 3 children and i look forward to personally escorting you round the festival site next year

roll on 2008

Holistic Spinner (I hope)

PinkNigelPinker than thou
336 posts
Location: A little pink world all my own..

Posted:
 Written by: Mynci



Nigel, if you search social chat the thread is called
"what would you look like on southpark"



Thank you very many, I've made a more HoP me, but so far I've managed to change my play site avatar and gotten frustrated trying to change this one.. Ah well..

 Written by: UnderControlOrFailure


Im sure we can find some pink wool just for you




I'm afraid I shall be making my own, there's a vast amount of fun-fur in my house that can be pressed into service, plus I can make them water/fuel-proof. Not that I'm dissing those covers, they're the ones on Gayle's fans, aren't they? Very nice..
And not that I'm avoiding buying from hyperloop hoops either, having got into hoops at play I'll be buying one/some just as soon as I know I'll be home when they're likely to be delivered..

 Written by: bluecat


the paraffin panic (there's someone on here we owe paraffin money to, for selling him water )




Could've been worse, you could've sold him the contents of the paraffin container I had on site...
(they're very useful in the middle of a rainy night...)

(And doesn't the rec.juggling thing have a "crush" part in it?)

A wise man once said: "You have two ears and one mouth, therefore you should shut the censored up and listen" (though, to be fair, he might not've put it _quite_ like that..)

bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere

Posted:
ubblol

we certainly could have. it would have been... er.... fun to dip your wicks into.

crush?

well, it can only be..er... 3 people.

Ros ubblove
bastl eek
and the best volunteer in history: michi.

Holistic Spinner (I hope)

_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

Posted:
Glad you all had a great time...

smile

Lisa, Andy Haus and I were on Tara... doing protesting stuff.

But I was thinking of you all and sending some good energy from the hill.

Best wishes, and hope to see you next year
xx

Getting to the other side smile

YakumoSILVER Member
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Posted:
I'd re-bagged and cleared the skip on Saturday morning, and that was bad enough, I really baulked at the thought of what you guys were going to have to go through at the end, the skip situation looked insane (where on earth did that exhaust system appear from!!?), but there was no way I could stay longer, I had to get spanner home, and move out of the house I'd been staying in the last year frown

I feel bad now I didn't pick up more before leaving on Sunday, after I did one round in the morning I crashed for a while, seeing the renegade through to the end wasn't a good idea for driving the next day.. I hadn't known you were going to be SO short handed at the very end or I'd have got off my ass some more. As a few people had asked if I was staying Sunday night, I figured they were going to be, definitely something to keep better tabs on for next year.

I had a go at 2bag's back, and fixed Ninja Dave's pretty well when he was rehearsing, wish I'd have known you were having problems I'd have volunteered to at least have a look, haven't actually got any qualifications yet, but people keep saying nice things, and I have applied for them now smile

grouphug

Blinded by Hyperlights, please donate generously grin

DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom

Posted:
Wow so much to reply to so I'll just para phrase a bit

Toilets - Sorry but there will only ever be one toilet block at PLAY. If walking two minutes further is such an inconvenience bring your own wink Also it was supposed to be right by the main playing area, as you probably noticed from our map we had to swap the whole layout when we arrived due to the weather, which mean the toilets could only be guaranteed to be serviced if near the entrance, so it was a choice of servicing or a minutes worth of inconvenience, it's wasn't too hard a choice! I hope everyone thought they were nice and clean, we worked hard to keep them as nice as possible.

Fire - There was a camp fire from Thursday onwards, but the weather put pay to much of that, including the fire spinning as well. We have plans to develop the layout a little further bring everything closer together while spreading the stages to prepare for more small changes things next year smile For those who couldn't find it, that's cuz it was tucked out of the way down the valley a little.

Workshops - Glad you thought they were ace, yes a little staff dominated maybe but as Durbs says you get what's offered. We don't provide any ourselves they're all donated by the lovely ticket holders and performers who attend, but with over 100 workshops in 3 days I'd say most things were well covered....with the exception of the wiggling workshop! Damn Durbs why didn't Gayle get pulled into doing that?! It's the best workshop ever biggrin lol

Café/Meat - Don't know if anyone heard but we had to find different caterers with two weeks notice, I was happy they brough what they did and although a little pricey they did serve some real tasty food, and their beer was great too biggrin Due to our late cancelation it meant we had to split the meat away from the main caterers, I personally ate from the BBQ stand everyday and thought it was lovely, and at least it was all local (inc Fordhall Farms own meat) which is much better than imported Morrisons rubbish.
With regard to price, if you had any idea how much it takes to set up outdoor catering for 500 people you'd understand the prices. The odd 50p does make a big difference to a businesses sustainability.

Rubbish - Sorry about the lack of points, we (erm...ok I) made a big mistake and ordered the wrong bins etc. When I phoned to complain they very kindly told me I had exactly what I ordered....arse, no wonder the quote was so cheap! But, it's all been taken care of now and 24 cubic metres of rubbish has been taken, sorted, and is on it's way to it's appropriate home (ie recycling or tip). I'd like to thank whoever left their broken Gazebo's as the two canvases are now working as covers for our geo domes smile Oh and I have a new body bag, wasn't expecting that one but it got put to good use smile I have a nice collection of bamboo paraffin lantern holders now too
One improvement on rubbish (apart from the obvious) for next year would be for folks to save their left over food. Not you scraps off your plates but the packets, containers, boxes etc of stuff that hasn't been opened. We have a lot of travellers at PLAY who would benefit from that food and anything left over would be donated to the local homeless shelter. Much better than just goin into the bin smile For those who did donate food thank you very much indeed hug


Site Lighting Sorry but last minute changes to the layout meant we couldn't provide all the lighting that we wanted from our genny's, it will be far better illuminated next year (hopefully without the need to run nasty generators either)


Comments - Please folks if you have serious comments to make please send them to feedback2007@playfestival.co.uk, things get lost easily in here (600 new posts from just before play!!!) and they'll be saved, tagged and reviewed in our email account. Even if it means posting and them copy pasting into an email because if you seriously want them reviewing they need to be sent appropriately, thanks! hug

 Written by: Bluecat


and finally, cause i know she missed a lot of it - george well done for putting up with your 3 children and i look forward to personally escorting you round the festival site next year

cheeky monkey :spoank: hug

Clare - We really missed you sooooo much hug

Main tent size We already have a larger tent booked as the main tent for next year smile

Poo Damn poo!! But if you saw just how much we picked up before you all got there you'd realise very little was left! lol

[B] MORE SHOWS?[/B]
 Written by: SOMEONE

Something a bit more "official" on the Wednesday night would probably be good. Nice weather would probably lend itself to a show round a campfire or something (warning - ex scout alert). [/QUOTE]

What two renegades, two fire shows, PHAPPY and the main show spread over four nights isn't enough?! eek

 Written by: pinknigel

Oh no, I have another comment.. I'm old and jaded and cynical, and I've seen many many circussy shows, and I'm hard to impress. The main show on Saturday was the best juggly convention show I've seen in a very long time, no filler acts and plenty of variety, spot on folks!!...



Wow, thanks Nige smile hug

Right that's enough for now, gotta run.

Oh but p.s. THANKS MATTHEW hug

Let's relight this forum ubblove

UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales

Posted:
"Something a bit more "official" on the Wednesday night would probably be good. " - You see, I'd disagree with this.

I reckon that the first day should just be there to let people chill out, get used to being on site (get their bearings etc) and meet everyone, rather than having things organized to go to like workshops or shows.
That is just my opinion though, and many may disagree. shrug

Just a note on the campfire: The problem with having one campfire, is that a stupid amount of wood would be needed, if even as little as 100 people were sitting round it. Which leads me onto another question;

Did Play offset the carbon emissions from all the paraffin burnt? ubblol wink

Dunc- Who is Matthew? He sure sounds like a handsome sort of chap wink
mechBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom

Posted:
 Written by: Dunc



Oh but p.s. THANKS MATTHEW hug



dude, you are welcome, but next year, on stage, withthe mic might be better wink

need to talk to you soon...

Step (el-nombrie)

rin_666SILVER Member
enthusiast
223 posts
Location: cambridge, United Kingdom

Posted:
 Written by: Poiboy




the "I licked you you're mine" game we played was hilarious, emma owns about 64 people (including dunc, who's worth 50 points), you should all start playing it. just go around licking people the next festival you're at, and licking might become the new pegging tongue





that game was so much fun...although somewhat disturbing as an introduction to the group :P I own monkey bwahahahahahaha!
TastesLikePurpleGOLD Member
addict
498 posts
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom

Posted:
 Written by: UnderControlOrFailure


"Something a bit more "official" on the Wednesday night would probably be good. " - You see, I'd disagree with this.

I reckon that the first day should just be there to let people chill out, get used to being on site (get their bearings etc) and meet everyone, rather than having things organized to go to like workshops or shows.
That is just my opinion though, and many may disagree. shrug





i agree - much more fun and relaxing just to chill on the first night biggrin

Thoughts arrive like butterflies...

IgirisujinSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,666 posts
Location: Preston, United Kingdom

Posted:
OMG the toilets, i got so scared on sunday! I had gone to drop the kids off at school early sunday morning when halfway through I heard a loud vehicle pullng up close by, I thought...

'oh the hop bus has arrived early, thats nice.'

...then I realised

'thats not the hop bus, why is the engine still running, it sounds very loud, ad much bigger than a mini bus'

...so then I thought

'hold on thats a truck, pulling up next to the porta loos. Porta loos are portable... OH NO! What if they are being taken away, what if the guy dosent check them first...what if im picked up by a big forklift truck thing and hauled off still inside!'

All I could think of was that eppisode of jackass when the guy gets in the porta-loo and its tipped up with him inside

I swear I thought something like that was gonna happen.

Chief adviser to the Pharaoh, in one very snazzy mutli-coloured coat

'Time goes by so slowly for those who wait...' - Whatever Happend To Baby Madonna?

NephrenKanewbie
20 posts

Posted:
with you on that one, i came up alone, was good having wednesday just to chill and meet people.

 Written by: bluecat



the paraffin panic (there's someone on here we owe paraffin money to, for selling him water )




don't worry about that, wasn;t anyone fault, i'm just glad it got sorted for the fireshow, was one fo the best bits by far. well done to meg with the full flame staff and no gloves, brave girl!
SeyeSILVER Member
Geek
1,261 posts
Location: Manchester, UK

Posted:
 Written by: bluecat

Bane
Sound. sound, sound, sound and more sound. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.



All the makeshift fixes over the weekend were a bit of a nightmare.

If the play team want to speak to me well in advance of next years festival I can sort this out for next time. smile
bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere

Posted:
we certainly shall be smile
thanks for all the help over the week.

Holistic Spinner (I hope)

bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere

Posted:
oh, and yakumo? thank you sooo much for the skip-work - it wasn't so bad there for us, thanks to you - i was mostly grumbling about the cigarette butts... the promised ashtray workshop didn't happen, and people dropped loads and loads... but we have a plan for next year... teehee...

hug

Holistic Spinner (I hope)

mechBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,207 posts
Location: "In your ear", United Kingdom

Posted:
i would also like to say how disappointed i was that only one person (Well done to tom shill) turned up for the fire safety workshop.

Step (el-nombrie)

UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales

Posted:
Can there be a smoker humiliation patrol in the tents at all times, armed with water pistols please? biggrin

Obviously, they can only use the water pistols to put out the cigarettes.
Of course they are not allowed to make the person look as if they have wet themselves ubbangel
BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)

Posted:
Oooooooh that sounds like fun! I have the tiniest waterpistol ever, it's out of a Christmas cracker and about 2 inches long, and has an amazing range of about 12 ft. It's like a spy toy, seriously. Noone would see it coming.

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half

duballstarSILVER Member
slack rating - 9.5
2,216 posts
Location: Suburbiton, Yoo-Kay, United Kingdom

Posted:
 Written by: mech


i would also like to say how disappointed i was that only one person (Well done to tom shill) turned up for the fire safety workshop.



Well no-one was spinning any fire.... wink

It is our fantasies that make us real. Without our fantasies we're just a blank monkey' - Terry Pratchett

FractosDirty Fire Project
133 posts
Location: Manchester

Posted:
bounce 100th post! bounce

Oh, and I'm still finding glitter.


ubblol

oOo
You see, you already know circle-theory,
you just don't *know* that you know.

GlåssDIAMOND Member
The Ministry of Manipulation
2,523 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom

Posted:
 Written by: mech


i would also like to say how disappointed i was that only one person (Well done to tom shill) turned up for the fire safety workshop.



100% fire safety tip: To prevent burning yourself. Always play poi and staff using a mix of 80% paraffin 20% water.
ubblol
Ah, sorry, that's not so funny
duballstarSILVER Member
slack rating - 9.5
2,216 posts
Location: Suburbiton, Yoo-Kay, United Kingdom

Posted:
ubblol *Ahem* No it's not... frown ..although quite true.... wink

 Written by: Fractos


I'm still finding glitter.



ditto I've got glitter on just about everything that I own now. The odd piece sparkling back at me every now and again... ubblol

It is our fantasies that make us real. Without our fantasies we're just a blank monkey' - Terry Pratchett

[Nx?]BRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,749 posts
Location: Europe,Scotland,Both

Posted:
hey guys...

taken me a while to get back but im here to make the generic WOWOWOWOWOW THANK YOUUUUUUU! post. :boing: :boing: :boing:

big hugs to special people everywhere, thanks guys, you all made my weekend. :hugbubble:

T wave kiss ubblove

This is a post by tom, all spelling is deleberate
-><- Kallisti

baby_LeeSILVER Member
RUBBISH!!
1,443 posts
Location: Brighton, United Kingdom

Posted:
Just wanted to say a big, big thank you to everyone I met and made my play just as fantastic as last years. Of course none of this could have happened with out the organizers and everyone who helped out. Thank you guys for creating such an amazing time for everyone. Can't make it next year as I will be in Oz so hopefully see you all again the year after.

Colourful but not very bright.

Blu_valley: oh, and thats the only place where you get the ability to multiple-orgasm Baby Lee...the only place in the universe.

MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom

Posted:
slacker Lee wink

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.

_Aime_SILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
4,172 posts
Location: Hastings, United Kingdom

Posted:
The fuzzy memories are starting to be a little less fuzzy now and I'm slowly piecing things togther and remembering lots of little things that are making me smile loads biggrin

Waking up to find Miss Corinthian in my tent.
Waking up to boys is rubbish compared to that beautiful lady rubbing your back in awakeness land ubblove

Who was I talking to about killer cows? Charging cows or something? Cant figure out if that actually happend or if I made it up confused

Who pegged my poi?

Thanks to all who fed me, made me tea and gave me magical things - Jo I think I saw more of your skinning up materials than you did rolleyes
Major kisses to all kiss hug
jo_rhymesSILVER Member
Momma Bear
4,525 posts
Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdom

Posted:
yeah aimee, i was a lazy missy!! i do love you though! and i did make you tea ubblol

thanks again to all the tidy uppers!! hug ubblove kiss

Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

Page: ......

Similar Topics

Using the keywords [play festival 2007 25th 29th july 2007] we found the following existing topics.

  1. Forums > PLAY Festival 2007 25th - 29th July 2007 [2583 replies]

      Show more..

HOP Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more...