Hi Forest Fest fans. Here’s lots of info based on all your recently asked questions.
Forest Fest is a boutique festival which will be staged in the quaint County Laois village of Emo from Friday July 22 to Sunday July 24. Numbers will be strictly limited.
Emo is about ten minutes off Exit 15 on the M7.
There is a combination of ticket options available for Forest Fest including for each day, weekend, Festival Club, and with day and weekend camping options.
Forest Fest is family friendly. The best way we could achieve this was to make it easy for families so all children under 12 go free.
Unfortunately, we cannot cater for young teenagers at Forest Fest and all ticket holders must be over 18.
Forest Fest is an inclusive event. It is accessible and wheelchair accessible. There will be priority set-down, parking, camping, and priority viewing areas for wheelchair users and provision for verified carers.
The camping numbers will be limited. There will be basic services in the camping areas but there will not be electrical hook up (EHU). There will be freshwater points, toilets, and waste disposal.
Only those with or accompanied by a camping ticket holder are allowed in the campsite area.
Strictly no barbecues of any sort or type, including disposable BBQs allowed in the campsites or camping areas. We don’t want to be killjoys; this is a health and safety requirement.
Sorry, no dogs allowed at the festival or in the campsite. The campsite will open from 4pm on the Friday.
We have a great security team for everyone’s safety at Forest Fest. They are there to help and support you, to advise, guide and ensure your safety.
There will be a full food court service, including vegetarian and vegan options available at the festival, along with an interesting selection of diverse artisan and street food stalls. Yum, yum!
We’ll also have ice cream for the kids.
There will be a full bar facility available on the festival site all weekend.
Along with a full bar we will also have a Wine & Prosecco service at Forest Fest and an interesting Craft Beer offering… watch this space.
We will publish a festival site map with all the details you require, well in advance of the festival, to make it easy for you to find your way around.
Car parking is free at Forest Fest.
There will be a shuttle bus service (for a small charge) serving Forest Fest from all adjacent towns and hotels to make it easy for you to get to the festival and get home safely.
We will be publishing stage times and running order well in advance of the festival.
Gates will open at 5pm on Friday evening and the festival runs until midnight. Live concerts from 12 noon to 12 midnight on both Saturday & Sunday.
The Waterboys bring the Forest Fest concerts to a close on Sunday night.
The festival site is located at the pitches and grounds in the middle of the village, surrounded by the forest canopy backing onto the Emo Court estate. (The festival is not taking place at Emo Court. They are our next-door neighbours). Emo Court is managed by the OPW and is open to the public. Feel free to enjoy a lovely walk on the grounds. It’s fabulous.
The Festival Club is located a short distance (about 500m) away from the main festival campus at Batonis and The Courtyard. It will have food service, cocktails, live bands, and a late bar. Numbers are limited and access only to Festival Club ticket holders.
We would like all our fans and friends to respect the Emo village community, Emo Court and all our neighbours over the course of the weekend by being respectful and leave no trace, rubbish, litter, tents, sleeping bags or other such belongings.
Forest Fest will help you Leave No Trace and we plan to provide high quality reusable (not disposable) drinking glasses. These can be reused and retained as a lovely souvenir of your time at Forest Fest. They are very handy, long lasting, safe, reusable and dishwasher friendly. Our motto refill, not landfill. All proceeds from this eco-initiative will be donated directly to local charities.
There will be two main stages at Forest Fest where the bands will perform alternately, to avoid overlap, and so that you can get to see all your favourite acts, without having to choose or miss out.
There will be lots of children’s entertainment too with a dedicated space for children. Watch out for details of our children’s programme. It’s really cool. Cooler than ice cream.
There will be a third stage area with lots of surprises.
Details of all the above, stage names, stage times, fringe festival, arts programme, and children’s entertainment along with a detailed site map will be made freely in the coming weeks.
Tickets continue to be on sale for Forest Fest. Everyone is raving about the line-up and the set-up and it’s going to be the gig of the summer. It will be a sell-out success.
Some people have purchased day tickets and wish to upgrade to weekend tickets. You can upgrade your tickets on our Eventbrite ticketing system yourself. It’s an easy step-by-step process.
If you are experiencing any difficulty or require further info, don’t hesitate to contact us through the contact page on our website www.forestfest.ie
If there’s anything else feel free to give us a shout and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
All the best from Forest Fest and thanks so much for your interest.
See you in July for the soundtrack of the summer…
PS Forest Fest is solidly booked for bands for this year’s festival. There are going to be over 40 bands and acts on stage throughout the weekend.
Bands who wish to be considered to play at Forest Fest for next year can submit their details through the designated portal on our website please.
Similarly, for all vendors wishing to be involved at Forest Fest, there’s a section on our website to do so and that’s the best way to proceed. Many thanks from the Forest Fest team… have a great weekend!
The Forest Fest Day-by-Day Line-Up
Forest Fest opens on Friday, July 22nd featuring Strings n’ Things, Greenshine, Hamsandwich, Hermitage Green, Harvest, Power of Dreams, Jack L and The 4 of Us.
Taking to the stage on the Saturday, July 23rd are The Stunning marking their 30th anniversary tour. Also, on the Saturday bill are Something Happens, Mundy, Paddy Casey, The Riptide Movement, Lisa Lambe, Cathy Davey, Inni-K, Thumper, Strand, Strength in Numbers, Carpark Sci-Fi, AIS, Three Underneath, The Barley Mob, Manden Express, Vendetta Love and Ares Redemption.
The final day of the festival, Sunday July 24th stars The Waterboys, King Kong Company, Damien Dempsey, The Lost Messiahs, Soda Blonde, Hothouse Flowers, Stockton’s Wing, Pogueology, Walk the Line, The Barley Mob, Eileen Gogan, The Pearly Whites, Big Spoon, Paper Planes, Dopamine and Flublah.
Complete performer profiles, tickets and lots more info on www.forestfest.ie
SEE ALSO – A blooming great day promised at Laois Garden Festival on Sunday, June 12
