Dorset Festivals

The Larmer Tree Festival is one that has grown over the years. Originally a day of jazz and blues and a 200 strong audience it has since expanded into a five day festival for 5,000 people. For the last 13 years, weekend tickets have sold out months in advance, however, numbers are still strictly limited to protect the intimate atmosphere cherished by its devotees. Today, the Larmer Tree Festival has a glowing reputation and one now firmly established on the festival circuit. The festival consists of largely acoustic folk and world music, but also roots, blues, jazz, Americana and reggae. Acts already confirmed for 2008 include Jools Holland & his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Located on a beautiful site in splendid Victorian pleasure gardens with a free campsite next door, free showers and well serviced toilets, there are also numerous workshops for adults and children, therapy sessions and street theatre.

The historic Old Harbour area of Weymouth has beheld the Spanish Armada, Black Death and the Civil War. Today, the amazing atmosphere of Waterfront Weymouth is now home to the Dorset Seafood Festival, a charity event whose main beneficiary is the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. The Festival will include a Seafood Village with a menu covering a wide range of seafood dishes such as crab, lobster, scallops, mussels, oysters, mackerel, cod, gurnard and many other Dorset-caught species. The emphasis will be on sustainable fish stocks and enabling visitors to try species they may not have encountered before. Many of the restaurants around the harbour will feature festival menus with some offering a chance to sample their signature dishes from stalls on the harbour-side. As well as its relationship with the sea the festival will celebrate the area's rich maritime heritage featuring a range of high profile events including the Henri-Lloyd Weymouth Regatta, Marine-Ex Trade Show, J24 National Sailing Championship, Moth World Sailing Championship, GIG Racing and the Weymouth Maritime Modelling Festival.

In August, the fifth Endorse-it in-Dorset Music Festival takes place near the village of Sixpenny Handley in the splendid setting of Cranborne Chase. Originally a birthday party in a barn, the event inspired members of the band Pronghorn to take things into their own hands and establish a festival, bringing local and international music to their home county. Rather than relying on corporate sponsorship, the team use local businesses to make the event profitable to the surrounding community. The Festival has expanded over the years, pulling in visitors and artists from around the world, growing from a one day event with an audience of 750, to a three day festival of 5000 spectators. There are 3 well-stocked bars offering a full range of drinks including real ales, cocktails, spirits, lagers, ciders and soft drinks, as well as a wide selection of food stalls selling foods from all corners of the world. Camping at the festival is built into the ticket price.

Nothe Fort with its panoramic views of the Dorset coast consists of 3 levels built in the shape of a horseshoe, with 26 vaulted rooms built with gun ports to house huge cannons. Below the gun floor is a maze of passages and tunnels, above are the ramparts with sites for more modern guns and observation posts. The entrance tunnel leads into the courtyard. Nothe Fort is registered as a museum by the Museum Archives and Libraries Council, with many of its items relating to Coastal Defence. The Fort contains displays and models recounting everyday life of its Victorian and WWII soldiers. Three audio visual experiences have recently been added showing the history surrounding the building of the fort, how its guns were used and how ammunition was moved from the magazines to the guns, thereby giving visitors a clearer explanation of the Fort's place in the history of coastal defence. As Wemouth's No.1 historical attraction, the Fort offers an excellent arena for outdoor events and in August every year a Victorian Military Festival is held when the Forts' Volunteer Artillerymen combine with invited groups to perform drill, fire rifles and cannons creating the atmosphere of a Victorian Fort complete with noise and smoke.