This celebration of the Green Man season of renewal is a unique 4-day festival hidden away in the Brecon Beacons’ Black Mountains in Wales.

The winner of two UK Festival Awards – the Grass Roots Festival prize in 2012 and Medium Sized Festival prize in 2010 – Green Man’s 2014 line up has 1500 performers in ten entertainment areas, plus an under-12s area and separate teen zone.

There is film, comedy, art, culture, as well as music plus all-night bonfires and dramatic Green Man parades, this is a tribal celebration for all the family

With a decade under its belt, previous headline acts at this independent festival have included Spritualized, Robert Plant and Bon Iver.

Musical Maestros This year’s highlights include The Waterboys, Beirut, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bill Callahan, Caribou, First Aid Kit, Daughter, The War On Drugs, Anna Calvi, and lots more.

Featured Fun Babbling Tongues is a magical area, tucked away from the main festival within a glade of ancient trees with a 200-year-old flint stone wall, one where the spoken word reigns with thought-provoking discussions, inspiring prose, and observations that create laugh-out-loud moments, life-changing epiphanies, or emphatic recognition. Talking Shop hosts the literature stage, which attracts leading poets, authors, musicians, and journalists. Expect to see talented artists and raconteurs such as Caitlin Moran, John Cooper Clarke, John Cale, Julian Cope, Simon Armitage, Howard Marks, and James Yorkston filling the tent. Last Laugh is the comedy tent hosting over 40 of the finest stand-up comedians in the business.

The Zones  Mountain’s Foot; Far Out; Einstein’s Garden; Nature Nurture; Babbling Tongues; The Courtyard; Fortune Falls; Little Folk; Walled Garden; Cinema Tent; Chai Wallahs; Last Laugh; Talking Shop

Kid Stuff

  • The magical children’s area is called Little Folk, and is bursting with family fun for tiniest toddlers to 12-year-olds, including interactive puppet shows, crafts, games, and stop-motion animation workshops.
  • The Little Folk weekend highlight is the huge parade across the entire Green Man Festival – flamboyant and funky fancy-dress recommended.
  • “Somewhere” offers a multi-media adventure zone for older children and teens with everything from free running to filmmaking with the much revered Newport Film School, big screen gaming, photography, and printmaking, playing music with Porthcawl Rock Club. In the past, artists including Ben Howard and Jarvis Cocker have given talks about music and the music industry.
  • Somewhere also offers ping pong, indoor cricket, and our own Green Man outdoor football arena.
  • Einstein’s Garden is a brain-boggling fusion of science, art, and nature for all ages: it’s the perfect place to cultivate your curiosity and indulge creative passions with workshops, installations, walks, talks, and performances exploring science and nature through live entertainment, arts, craft, and design.
  • Einstein’s Garden also hosts Green Man favourites The Solar Stage and the hydrogen fuel-cell powered Omni Tent.

Chill Out Time Indulge yourself with a wide range of treatments and workshops available from 8am to 8pm daily in the Nature Nurture area. Here you will find a wood-fired sauna and open-air hot tub, or you can watch the festival unfold from the floodlit treehouse.

Dining Tables With fresh ingredients locally sourced from Welsh suppliers, Green Man is just as much a food festival as a music festival with 65 per cent of the food stalls coming from within a 55-mile radius of the site. Foodie treats includes renowned Welsh grub from the Welsh Venison Centre, Greta’s Wholefoodies, and the Cwmdu Community Stall. A wide array of international food is also available: from Moroccan to Mexican, and everything in between. Green Man is also the only UK event that runs its own cider and ale festival with a staggering 99 real ales, ciders, and perries sourced from 22 different Welsh brewers and independent producers.

Happy Campers There are separate areas for general camping, live-in vehicles, disabled camping and family camping. The designated family camping area is just a stone’s throw from all the action, with clean toilets, hot showers and fresh water taps for washing hands, faces and teeth. There are also Hotel Bell Tents that have been furnished with inflatable mattresses, hand loomed rugs, coir door mats, and a tea light candle chandelier. There is also the option of ready-erected tents at Tangerine Fields.

THE PRICE TAG
Full Weekend Settler’s Pass Adult (17+), £159 | 13–17 year-olds, £85 | 5–12 year-olds, £5 | Under-4s, Free

Photography Credit: Luke Taylor (Green Man fields), Catherine Farmer (Bubbles and Storyteller); Polly Thomas (Elephant Parade)

See more family friendly Festivals in the UK for 2014