livereport UNITED KINGDOM Where the wild things are
Dave Robinson talks to Wilderness event director Dave McAlmont on the second outing of the award-winning festival
MAMA GROUP’SWilderness Festival won a ‘Best New Festival’ award in 2011, and it’s easy to see why. Held at the beginning of August, it’s a cleverly boutique mix of music, gastronomy, arts and crafts, theatre and debate, all set around the trees, groves and lakes of Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire. Like all good
festivals, there are DJs and dancing till the early hours; but the involvement of the Secret Cinema and Secret Garden Party crews meant there was a Bugsy Malone take over of part of the site on the Friday night (including a mass outdoor screening of the film) and a masked ball on the Saturday. Chic, yes; eclectic, yes; and with only 14,000 revellers in attendance, it’s a lot more manageable than some festivals I could mention. Oh, and then there’s the early evening attempt to break the record for mass skinny-dipping, of course. “It’s a brilliant spot to have a
DJs, dancing and a Secret Cinema made up the 2012 event
festival – we are blessed with a fantastic park,” Wilderness event director and head of