Oranges are not the only fruit: The Limetree Festival

Fed up with commercial, corporate-sponsored, over-hyped, over priced, over-subscribed festivals? You are? Then read on; hidden away on a quiet farm in North Yorkshire, Limetree festival is the antithesis of all of these things; it’s small, not-for-profit, independently run and just big enough to pack in all manner of attractions without giving you a stitch getting from one side to the other.

A captive and captivated audience

Limetree festival was started four years ago with the aim of incorporating all the best elements of festivals and billed as a “return to how festivals used to be”. Held each year on Lime Tree Farm in Grewelthorpe near Ripon, the festival site is an area of outstanding natural beauty and features rolling hills, meadows, a stone circle and an iron-age round house. The site itself is a nature reserve and conservation area and has inspired the low-impact ethos of the festival, with the aim to “leave only footprints”. In conjunction with Lodge Environmental, festival organisers are doing their utmost to keep the impact on the surrounding area to the very minimum with recycling bags available to all and no bottled water being sold onsite this year, minimising waste. All drinking water will be provided by the natural spring on the farm with reusable flasks supplied by Tapwater.org

The beautiful festival site is a real feature of Limetree

The festival will feature five stages featuring a variety of acts encompassing; world music, folk, dance, hip-hop, jazz, dub-step and everything in-between. Headliners include a dj set from Zero7, Portishead’s Andy Smith, Fox North Coalition and Wilful Missing but away from the main stage, there’s plenty to keep you interested; Captain Hotknives will be appearing at Limetree for the fourth year running, bringing his hilariously dry take on West-Yorkshire life (life in general, really) to the Jason Rae stage, set to be a popular draw. There’s also the Dub Fairy (aka Katie Hamilton-Farey) weaving her magic armed with only her voice, a bass guitar and a loop pedal, definitely worth a look (and a listen).

Fun is not limited to the stage

There is much going on aside from the music too, with children’s activities for all ages, storytelling, stand-up comedy, workshops,  dance classes and massage, among many, many other things to keep you variously; listening, laughing, dancing, making, relaxing (all the good verbs you can think of)…depending on how the mood takes you.

In sum, Limetree festival looks set to achieve its mission statement. They may share the same weekend as Leeds festival but that’s about all they do share!

Find out more and book tickets here

images courtesy of Richard Walker photography