STOP PRESS! Latest programme details for the weekend at East Neuk Festival – download it here:
Cambo Weekend brochure PDF
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I speak for the whole ENF team when I say that we love presenting our events all over the East Neuk, trying new places and locations each year. But we have, for quite a while, felt the challenge of creating a true ’Festival’ atmosphere. It’s not like having an event in one place: Pittenweem and Edinburgh both have it in their favour that everything happens within walking distance, and the very air smells of festival. Our events are spread out over a 100 square mile area. That’s quite a different challenge. So, we thought, could we have the best of both worlds. Keep our events spread far and wide, but also plan a special BIG DAY in just one place? A kind of festival centre that we can fill with all kinds of music, literature, ideas, walks, family events and activities, food. Somewhere you can just drop in to enjoy the free entertainment, food and festive atmosphere, or come specially for a specific event. Come for an hour and end up staying all afternoon. If you know ENF you’ll know that our basic response to most things is: try it and see!
Last year we hugely enjoyed working with the Cambo Estate on our potato barn concert. Everyone there was so enthusiastic and helpful, and – even in the face of driving rain, mud, challenging parking and plummeting temperatures – it was a huge success: the most talked about event of the festival. So when we took this new idea to Sir Peter and Lady Erskine we were delighted that they embraced it whole-heartedly.
The big day is the Saturday of the ENF (6 July). What can you expect? Well, Cambo, with its historic house, huge garden, park, woodland and beach, is a magical place to start with. That has been impressed on me more than ever this past year as we have visited the estate over and over again for planning.
Into this magic place we have poured an amazing European premiere of a very special piece of music for the Garden; major nature writers, artists and thinkers talk on aspects of nature and birdlife. Story telling in the magical stables; crafts and family activities, food, drink… from 11am til 6pm there will always be something going on – and you can take time out just to walk the grounds, the beach and the woodland. You can find all the ticketed events listed on our website and we’ll be announcing more details in the run up to July – follow us on facebook and check in here regularly for full details.
And after it’s all over we would love to know what you thought about it. Who doesn’t say that? But we really mean it: if it works this year, and everyone agrees… we could do it twice next year. Or three times…
