FRIDAY 13TH – SUNDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2024
GREAT COXWELL by FARINGDON, OXFORDSHIRE SN7 7LZ
The Festival
The Great Barn Festival is relaxed and family friendly. A celebration of music, theatre, art, and nature in an ancient rural setting. Atmospheric and magnificent, simple, wild and set amidst beautiful countryside, the festival offers a warm welcome, laid back atmosphere and the perfect way to conjure up those halcyon days of late summer.
Hosted over three days, each evening we focus on music, folk in many forms, indie rock and some real barn storming big band sounds. We close Friday and Saturday night with separately ticketed headline acts, full of stories of their careers and songs you will know alongside new work just released. This year we continue to host our classical concerts in St Giles Church, a short walk from the barn and a little more suited to fine instruments with strings – moving the grand piano, though a spectacle in itself, was playing havoc with the tuning!
Saturday is our real all out family day. It is easy to fill every moment with the performance, activities and attractions included in your gate pass ticket no matter your age, it is all listed in the Gate Pass Menu. We have a couple of extra Separately Ticketed Performances, staged in the Great Barn itself, that you can opt to buy an additional ticket for. This way we keep the festival flexible and affordable – a bit of a pick and mix. We can put some really excellent theatre behind those huge barn doors for those who wish while the festival continues outside.
On Sunday we are excited to be working with Family Ceilidh Oxford. So we can be sure finance is no barrier to joining in at the festival we have made tickets to this part of the event free or should you wish, by kind donation which will support the event and help secure it’s future with a minimum 50% of donations helping great local charities who also improve the quality of life and local society often through creativity and the arts. This feel good little festival just gets better and will continue to do so all year round! If you would like to come on Sunday morning please reserve your ticket under Separately Ticketed Performances.
Likewise, the outdoor performance from The Three Inch Fools on Sunday afternoon is Separately Ticketed. The grounds will close to all but ticket holders for the play from 1pm following the ceilidh so we can build a stage! After the play, we will open up again for evening Gate Pass ticket holders and some new faces to the Great Barn on the music stages as well as local talent and our current holder of the most encores record will draw us to a close.
Look at our Gate Pass Menu to see what is included on each day – it is a lot so there is a good deal of scrolling to be done. If you are interested in our headline acts and Separately Ticketed Performances you will find them listed chronologically. It is simple to book online through the Eventbright link but if you are purchasing for more than one day or more than one Separately Ticketed Performance, if you are putting together a group, have any additional access requirement or just want to have a little extra help navigating the options please do get in contact with the Box Office. We are always happy to try and make you feel at home.
Our Venue
Set in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside, the Great Barn was built over 700 years ago. It was a favourite of William Morris who would regularly bring his guests to wonder at its structure. Morris called it ‘unapproachable in its dignity’.
For further details on this most unusual festival venue please visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/great-coxwell-barn
Proudly supported using public funding by the Arts Council England
We are pleased to be a members of both the Family Standard Arts and the Age Standard Arts. These logos demonstrate the companies commitment to providing family-friendly and age-friendly Arts events.
They prove our commitment to providing activities that all family members can enjoy together. That we are welcoming to families, with helpful staff, good facilities and considered pricing.
Our Charities
We are in the lucky position to support and be supported by a number of charities at the Festival. From helping in the car park to running crafts in the children’s tent, donating their time and effort to the greater good, our Festival Friends are who add the spirit and help make it all possible. If you see any of these charities about the site shaking their buckets, please give generously. All are very worthy local causes. If you would like to volunteer to be part of our team get in touch – there are lots of perks!
The Pump House Project
The Pump House Project is a Faringdon based community centre whose aim is to provide a variety of low cost activities for all ages and abilities in Faringdon and the surrounding villages.
Botley Bridges
Botley Bridges, are a registered charitable company based in Botley on the outskirts of Oxford and serving the surrounding area including Cumnor, North Hinksey and West Oxford.
They provide services for children up to the age of 11 and their families at the site of the former Elm’s Road Children’s Centre.
https://www.botleybridges.org/
Armaleggan Morris will be dancing to support Botley Bridges on Saturday the 23rd at 1.15pm
Root & Branch
An independent charity providing activities that promote recovery for people who experience mental health difficulties.
Located on an organic farm in the beautiful Vale of the White Horse, we offer a wide range of interesting activities such as gardening, blacksmithing, woodworking, crafts, artwork, pottery, ceramics and cookery. This helps people to regain their self-esteem and hence lead a fuller life including returning to work or education.
www.rootandbranch.info
No5 Young People
A Reading based charity who provide life changing counselling and mental health services to young people. Their vision is for a world that does not stigmatise young people’s mental health and accepts it is a normal part of human development. They are supporting a better mental health future for young people through tailored counselling, workshops and group therapy sessions.
www.no5.org.uk
Newbury Soup Kitchen
The Newbury Soup Kitchen is a voluntary organisation providing help and support to the Newbury homeless, rough sleeper community and those less fortunate than others. The primary operation is a friendly drop-in centre each and every Thursday for vulnerable adults who perhaps have mental health issues or are just lonely. We welcome all comers with hot food for the evening, a friendly face and a welcome opportunity to chat
www.newburysoupkitchen.org.uk
Supported by FINK Street Food who will be serving up gorgeous Middle Eastern food with a mission.
C.O.G.S. is a FREE 1-2-1 counselling service for 12-25 year olds serving Faringdon and the surrounding area.
The phone lines are open every week from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm daily. Outside of these times please leave a voice mail option will apply and calls will be returned in office hours.
Please call 07938 566557 if you feel that you, or someone you know needs help and support. Making that initial call may be hard but we hope will be a positive step towards your mental wellbeing.
The service is available to you if you live in Faringdon or surrounding area.
Carers Community VoWH
A supportive community that’s here for you. Friendship, support, signposting and community for unpaid adult carers of other adults. This sociable group will be with us during the festival, look out for their talking tables, stop, have a chat and find out how they are making a difference to help challenging situations.
Our Story
The Great Barn Festival was established in 2018 by Boxed Up Events with the support of the National Trust. In 2019, we took on the festival independently, but continued to have a close relationship with the National Trust and participated in wildlife studies and the effect of the arts and festivals on their habitat. The Festival continues to bring life, colour, laughter, music and theatre to this magnificent 13th Century Barn, a much loved local landmark, now with assistance from The National Lottery Arts Council England grants scheme, the goodwill of our neighbours in Great Coxwell and a growing family of artists and supporters who give their time and energy to make this a very special community event.
Boxed Up Events
Boxed Up Events is an Oxfordshire based company, initially, the kitchen table project of two determined mums with a strong background in marketing, PR and events management. We firmly believe our creativity, enthusiasm and experience help us make truly memorable events very achievable on every budget.
www.boxedupevents.co.uk
National Trust
The National Trust is a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The trust describes itself as “a charity that works to preserve and protect historic places and spaces—for ever, for everyone
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-coxwell-barn
Blog
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