Dream out Louth: the first of the summer music festivals

The leaves are barely back on the trees and there is still a lingering chill in the air, but it is the May bank holiday weekend and already the first outdoor music festival of the summer is under way.

Vantastival has an arresting setting down an isolated laneway with the backdrop of Tippings Hill wood just north of Dundalk.

This is the fourth year of a festival which takes place in Bellurgan Park on the first available weekend of a crowded summer music calendar.

It started off as a festival just for camper vans, but there is now a substantial camping area and it has grown year on year.

This year’s Vantastival nearly did not happen. Louth County Council objected earlier this year and suggested that the festival needed to get planning permission even though the capacity is under 5,000 which means it ought to have qualified for an exemption.

The notice from An Bord Pleanála only came through last week, much to the relief of the organisers.

“We were terrified when the envelope came in the door,” said director Benny Taaffe. “If we messed this up, we would have been pariahs with the other festivals.

“If it had not come back in our favour, it would have had repercussions for lots of other small festivals,” said fellow organiser Louise Tangney.

The council objected on the basis that it did not qualify as a “local event” because it was advertised nationally, but the internet has made the distinction largely redundant.

The organisers have put together an impressive bill of 74 acts with headliners And So I Watch You From Afar and Damien Dempsey. There are also satellite stages for local acts.

Wooden heart
The main stage is a tent, but there are a couple of pretty stages made with local wood for the smaller acts.

One called VanHalla was erected last year and is a replica of a Viking long hall. Cleverly, it is roofed on three sides in case it rains, a perennial certainty at Irish festivals.

Though there is a bar, festival goers can bring their own booze anywhere on site, which cuts down on costs.

Those who have been to the Electric Picnic will recognise the vibe, albeit on a much smaller scale. There are flags everywhere and art installations but most importantly there are children.

Service station company Applegreen has come on board, something of a coup for the organisers, and supplied funding for a children's play area which will feature children's yoga this morning, a nature walk inspired by the Táin , storytelling, face painting, puppet shows and the usual arts and crafts.

Brian Ahern from Cavan, who has been coming to the festival for three years with his wife and four children, described it as “absolutely brilliant”.

“The top headline acts are amazing. You can get out of your caravan at 11am, have your breakfast and go and see a band at 12pm that you’ve never heard of before, but the next time you see them they are headlining the Olympia.”

A full weekend ticket costs €89, but day passes can be bought for €40 and an overnight camping pass for Sunday costs €50. Don’t bring credit cards as there is not a credit card machine.