Port Eliot Festival 2018

The Port Eliot Festival of creative arts will take place between Thursday 26th and Sunday 29th July 2018 in the grounds of the Earl of St Germans Cornish estate at Port Eliot in Cornwall.

Set in the very same location as the legendary Elephant Fayre, back in the Seventies and Eighties, the festival started up as the Eliot Lit Fest early in the millennium and, in the 14 years of its existence, has grown to offer a rich diversity of arts and entertainment encompassing music, literature, poetry, comedy, film and art.

Line-up

Baxter Dury will headline the Caught by the River stage on the Thursday night. Also appearing across the weekend will be:- Gwenno, Brett Anderson, Brian Patten, Viv Albertine, Hollie McNish, Billy Bragg, Andrew Weatherall & Justin Robertson, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Teleman, Shappi Khorsandi, Jack Stein, Anna Jones, Russell Norman, The Como Mamas, Nabihah Iqbal, Stick in the Wheel, Arthur Smith, Murray Lachlan Young, The Glass Aisle, Helen Pankhurst, and many more.

To see the full list of announced acts, please view the line-up page.

Tickets

buy tickets online >

Tickets are on sale, currently priced as follows:-
adult weekend: £170
young person weekend: £105
child (aged 8-13) weekend: £75
infant (aged 0-7) weekend: free but needs ticket.

Day tickets and campervan passes are also available.

Early entry Thursday

It is expected that once again full weekend ticket holders will be able to arrive from 12 midday on Thursday, giving those festival-goers the chance to discover the most beautiful camping spots, explore the enchanting setting and take in special entertainment laid on in the festival bars dotted around the Estate. The main festival programme will commence at midday on Friday.

Family friendly

Families are especially welcome at the festival and there's a special supervised kids' area featuring performances, crafts, workshops and more.

There's a new area for younger festivalgoers called Pulse offering storytelling, live music, table games, jam sessions for guitarists, bass players, drummers and singers, a well-stocked tuck shop and a series of workshops (including Bangra and African Dance and hip hop and rap sessions). Open until midnight Friday to Sunday. Check the information board when you're onsite to see what's happening and when.

Camping

Festival-goers can pitch their tents in the stunning grounds of the Port Eliot Estate free included in the entry price or hang out in relative luxury by hiring a yurt or teepee.

Caught by The River

Caught by The River, the online haven for music, nature, rambling, gardening, poetry, film, art and angling, will take up its position in the quarry in front of the boathouse looking over the Lynher estuary. Offering music, DJ sets, conversations, readings and archive radio broadcasts.

The Hullabaloo

The Hullabaloo - Port Eliot's 100-year-old Rhododendron Garden will be transformed into a world of games, drama, imagination, music and treasure hunts as Cornwall's captivating Rogue Theatre invites children to take part in tales of fairies, pirates, witches, giants and elves.

Imagine a place where you can dance with trolls, take tea with a giant, make mischief with the pixies and knit dreams with a faerie. Only the wildest of imaginations will open the door to this fantastical other world, The Hullabaloo , nestled in the 100 - year - old Rhododendron Garden, where an international emporium of enchantment is waiting to whisk away children of all ages. Summoned up by the endlessly inventive Rogue Theatre , it’s a family - friendly feast of entertainment, workshops and activities.

Literary Stages

There will be 2 literary stages, Bowling Green and Walled Garden, each with a range of artists, writers and thinkers discussing and performing. 

Idler Academy

Down on the riverbank, the Idler Academy runs the UK’s ultimate free school. Encouraging philosophy, husbandry and merriment, the Academy’s delightfully eclectic approach to learning has two principles at its core: self - improvement and idling in equal measure. From getting up close and personal with the great Greek thinkers to learning about Luddites, mastering the art of doing nothing to understanding the peculiar habits of the sloth, this is learning with a difference.

Flower and Fodder Stage

Home to the chefs, growers, gardeners and food writers coming to Port Eliot. Much of this year’s workshop programme is inspired by the search for good food and drink. Workshop subjects include foraging, mixology, wild cocktail making, learning all about the most powerful food on the planet with the Cornish Seaweed Company, cider and cheese pairing and campfire cooking.

Audience members of all ages are invited to enter all sorts of competitive classes, as well as putting forward their best pasties, cakes, buns, jam tarts and boozy preserves.

Cornish food, drink, produce, treats and delicacies will also be on show.

Food and Drink

The festival has a carefully curated range of food and drink, with a large range of freshly caught seafood, other local and traditional delicacies and international streetfood.

Take a dip

Festivalgoers are invited to leap into the estuary of the river Lynher - a particularly beautiful part of the site - whenever the mood takes them. All ages are welcome to dive in and enjoy themselves at high tide. Last year, hundreds jumped in the river.

More information will be here when available.

Latest Updates