I’ve often wondered what Glastonbury would be like if they got rid of all the commercial stuff that goes on at the Pyramid & Other Stages & “Babylon” and downsized to a comfortably sized little festival where the Greenfields ethics are at the fore, the cider flows, the music is diverse and the punters party til dawn & beyond. Well now I know!

Sunrise Celebration is a brand new festival held near Yeovil over the 5 days leading up to the Summer Solstice. The festival itself was held on a huge site with an enormous expanse of meadow and its central “Sacred Hearth” Fire Zone surrounded by 12 other zones. Most of these were recognisable Greenfield areas such as Avalon Rising, Sacred Sanctuary, Permaculture & Healing Areas.

The main Sunrise Stage looked very much like the stage used in the Glade at Glastonbury in 2005 and there were numerous other stages dotted around the site in various marquees & bars. ID Spiral were in attendance with their transparent dome, UV sculptures & 24 hour ambient tunes. There were 2 good size bars. Bar Solar had a small stage, as did the fantastic Bimble Inn, which was held in an oversized Tipi. Cider was also available from various points around the site

Food was predominantly vegetarian but all reasonably priced and excellent quality. There was plenty of space for camping and campervans in adjoining fields. Toilets were of the compost variety and although they could have been more plentiful they didn’t become too unpleasant until the final day.

The only downside really was the fact that the festival didn’t sell out its ticket allocation and as a result some of the bands didn’t get paid & a few cancelled their performances. In fact rumour has it that crew outnumbered paying punters. I only hope that the financial deficit wasn’t too great to prevent this event happening again in future years because I am sure that word of mouth will bring more people flocking to what really is an otherwise excellently organised festival.

I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea who some of the performers in some of these pictures are so if anybody can help me out please leave a message. Thanks!