CULTURE

Glastonbury’s next big challenge

It is appropriate that for Culture Or Trash’s first article from a new series, we talk about the biggest festival news since Culture Or Trash began.

Glastonbury‘s got a bun in the oven.

It’s got a big name, The Glastonbury Festival team present the Variety Bazaar, and after 47 years of Glastonbury, it’s got even bigger shoes to fill. But wait…

Glastonbury’s staying. Festival god Michael Eavis says the mothership isn’t going anywhere (least of all Worthy Farm). The festival powerhouse is just having its fallow year in 2018 and a replacement knees-up will be called Variety Bazaar, somewhere other than Worthy Farm. The mind boggles…

Culture Or Trash wonder whether Variety Bazaar will imitate the Grand Bazaars of Istanbul?

Their mozaic tiles, kebab meats that frivolously turn on spits and Turkish tea traders that weave the crowds, past groups of men tearing Greek pita so well kneaded it takes an extra second to tear.

Wrong. Culture Or Trash forgot to say that Eavis said on the radio last week that the Grand Bazaar, it has transpired, will be somewhere “towards the Midlands”.

You can still register for Glastonbury 2017, just in time for the ticket resale in the spring

TRASH

Dance in a Victorian pleasure park with free rollercoasters

For fans of festivals with tickets you can actually get hold of, go to Dreamland Margate this May for Margate Wonderland. Here’s why;

1. You’ll have heard that Margate’s burgeoning creative scene is rather proud of itself, and that the quality of life down there for said creatives is (approx) 1,657,304 times better than it is in London, because rent’s cheap. Spend some time perusing the independent shops and markets for a sublime beachside mix of old and new. (Fish ‘n’ chips in heavy, cholesteroly batter still an option too).

2. Margate’s Dreamland, recently reopened with no entry fee (you pay per ride), still retains its original Victorian fixtures and fittings. Black and white photos on the wall of ye olde, pre-hip Margate narrate the tale and in the main rollerskating arcade (now, stage), you get a real sense of the building’s iconic past.

3. London’s sold out Hackney Wonderland festival takes over the arcade on Sunday May 28th.

It means live rock in a unique environment, and there’s still time for the beach (it’s the bank holiday). Bands playing include The Kills, Broken Hands and Electric Child House.

We’ve saved the best ’til last: you get to ride all the attractions for free with a festival ticket. The UK’s original pleasure park gets a modern dose of soul.

Tickets for Margate Wonderland are on sale now