Kelvedon Community Festival, one of the region’s largest free community events, returns on July 13th (12pm – 7pm) and this year the event will be marking 20 years of bringing live music to Essex.
Held every July on Kelvedon Recreation Ground, Kelvedon Community Festival, or K-Fest as it is fondly known, attracts crowds of up to 4000 people each year and this year will see over 20 acts perform live throughout the day, as well as children’s entertainment and the all important beer tent. This year acts include Rekovered, The Jellycats, Funk2K, Stretch Soul Gang and Sophie Nash.
The festival has been held annually since 1999 when it was a series of performances staged at different venues around Kelvedon. In 2000 the festival moved to Kelvedon Rec and now along with the main stage there is also the Pink Shed Stage, hosting acoustic acts and up-and-coming new talent. In 2015 the festival added a Silent Disco Tent to its line up which sees DJs from the area perform a whole range of music to a very diverse audience throughout the day. The entire event is run by volunteers who not only run the festival on the day but who also fundraise throughout the year to ensure the festival can continue to run.
Kelvedon Community Festival is free to attend, but does costs upwards of £27,000 to run each year, with costs expected to increase year on year. The organising team have launched a Just Giving page when people to donate to help cover costs, and they will be collecting donations on the day. To donate visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kelvedon-festival
To mark the 20th anniversary the Festival has started the process of becoming a completely green and eco friendly event. For the first time this year drinks will be served in reusable plastic glasses that guests can take home with them after the event, doing away with the need for single use cups. Food stands and retailers have been asked to cut back on their use of single use plastics, and items such as non-biodegradable glitter have been banned. It is hoped that these small changes will eventually lead to the Festival becoming single-use plastic free and as environmentally friendly as possible.
One of the founder members of the Kelvedon Community Festival, Jan Stobart says:
“When the Kelvedon Community Festival was formed back in 1999 we had no idea it would grow to be as large and as popular as it is now. It really is one of the highlights of the year for people living in and around Kelvedon, attracting thousands of visitors from across the area.
“Our volunteer team have worked incredibly hard to put on this year’s event, and we are delighted to have such great acts lined up for our 20th anniversary celebrations, not only on our main stage but also on the Pink Stage and in our Silent Disco Tent. We’re also working hard to become an eco-friendly event so our impact on the environment is as minimal as possible.
“Although this event is free for people to attend, it does cost thousands of pound to put on each year so we are asking visitors to dig deep this year and donate as much as possible to ensure the future of the festival for years to come.”
