The extravagant Beat Carnival will return to this year’s Glasgowbury with a trailer load of props and activities to get your creative juices flowing.
Following the success of last year’s partnership which saw The Beat add some much welcome colour and props to a sell-out festival capacity, the Belfast artists will return with even more entertainment on mind.
This year, the colourful carnival troupe will introduce:
- ‘Pimp My Booty‘ stall to spice up your wellie footwear,
- 10th anniversary Graffiti Towers for festival-goers to leave their mark and good wishes while helping to decorate the site,
- Site decorations,
- Flag making,
- Sign scribbling,
- Walk about puppet shows,
- Dance classes,
- And the customary carnival parade complete with thundering samba drums!
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Carnival artist Damian Mills believes that festivals and carnival goings-on should be celebrated on the one level and is excited to be working in partnership with the the festival again.
“Carnivals and festivals go hand in hand,” he enthuses. “We bring a sense of the absurd and colour to festivals, our skills as artists are never so well appreciated than in a festival. People are up for relaxing and going with the creative flow.”
Asked about returning to Glasgowbury after the group’s initial success in 2009, Damian said,
“The Beat are really excited to be working again with Glasgowbury. We had a lot of fun last year and we are glad to be a part of a music festival that has its heart in the right place.
“The music will be fab and we are looking forward to brightening up the place even more with our carnival programme.”
Festival organiser Paddy Glasgow says working with The Beat ties together too like-minded art-forms.
“Glasgowbury is all about respecting the artists involved regardless of who they are, what time they play, or what style they play in and we’re really excited to be able to include The Beat in that mix again,” he said.
“Working alongside The Beat adds an extra dimension to the festival and allows people to get wacky and creative which is what Glasgowbury is all about. I can’t wait to see what exciting new features they’ll bring to this year’s festival.”
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Glasgowbury and The Beat are funded and supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Glasgowbury also receives funding from DCAL.
