Charlbury Riverside Festival 2013

Saturday 27th to Sunday 28th July 2013
The Mill Field, Dyers Hill, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, OX7 3QG, England MAP
FREE

Daily capacity: 5,000

Last updated: Mon 15th Jul 2013

The Charlbury Riverside Festival is now in its eighteenth year, and the organisers claim that it's the largest FREE festival of its type in Oxfordshire. Charlbury returns on new dates Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July 2013.

Line-up

Saturday

Main Stage: db Band, The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band, Death of HiFi, The Brickwork Lizards, The Epstein, Fucktional Society, The Byronics, The Kites.

Second Stage: Empty White Circles, Flights of Helios, Band of Hope, Bethany Weimers, Sweet William, Huck, Jess Hall, Welcome to Peepworld, The August List.

Sunday

Main Stage: Million Faces, Swindlestock, Tamara & the Martyrs, The Dirty Royals, The Mighty Redox, Samuel Zasada, Ioneye, Flotsam Jets.

Second Stage: We Aeronauts, Dreaming Spires, Deer Chicago, Dallas Don't, Nairobi, Jordon O'Shea, Grudle Bay, Ags Connolly.

Riverside Fringe stage

Last year’s experimental Fringe stage was a big success, so is returning this year with everything from song and dance acts to performance poets and, for the first time, a contortionist.

On site

As well as two stages, a smorgasbord of food stalls on site with a pig roast and stalls selling burgers and baguettes, hot dogs, noodles, curries and crepes, and 45 portaloos!

This year, for the first time, as well as the traditional bar and Pims & Tins tent, there’s a Gin & Tonic Bar and, for the kids, the dedicated Punch and Juicy Juice Bar. Plus the chance to pick up a limited edition Riverside T-shirt, hand printed by local designer John Mackay and a pint of the special Riverside beer, brewed by local craft brewer, Wychwood Brewery.

But despite the work involved and the cost of putting on an event of this size, the festival is still run entirely by volunteers and still free for all to enter. It's a truly family-friendly festival.

Kids play

This year’s children’s activities include sing-along and African drumming sessions, storytelling, cupcake decorating and bunting making. Saltbox will be running music sessions and there are whacky science experiments with Physics in the Field, hip-hop DJing lessonss, Bushcraft survival skills training, outdoor games, a bouncy castle and the Millfield model village which will be created by junior festival goers over the weekend.

Live Lounge returns

Oxbox.TV will be back with the Riverside Live Lounge offering exclusive behind the scenes interviews and the chance to see and hear extra songs performed in a special back stage area.

Restrictions

Like all festivals, festival goers cannot bring bottles and cans into the arena, but the two bars and other refreshment stalls will be selling drinks at very reasonable prices. No camping at the festival, see website for information on nearby camp sites and hotels. No dogs other than assistance dogs.

Recycled rubbish

The Riverside Festival is run entirely by volunteers from the local community and they aim to leave this unspoilt corner of the Cotswold countryside, unspoilt; and keep damage to the environment to the very minimum. Last year’s efforts were nothing less than heroic. Despite the thousands of visitors, after the volunteer’s recycling efforts, there were just ten domestic rubbish bags left to go to landfill.

How to get there

Entrance to the Festival site is down Mill Lane, virtually opposite Charlbury railway station. The station is on the London Paddington to Hereford and Worcester line, 15 minutes from Oxford. On the Saturday there are buses from Oxford, Woodstock, Witney, Chipping Norton and Banbury to the centre of Charlbury, five minutes walk from the Festival.

Accommodation

This event does not offer camping. The area has local hotels and B&Bs and there is the Cotswold View Caravan and Camping Park on the outskirts of Charlbury.