DETAILS of this year's Village Green festival in Chalkwell Park have been revealed. 

Arts group Metal are holding a press briefing this morning where details of the 2014 event will be revealed.

Admission to this year's Village Green festival will not be free as in previous years, tickets will be sold from 9.30am today. 

Kids 0-10 will go free, teens 11-17 £5, adults £10.

25,000 people will be allowed into the site for the event on Saturday, July 12. 

Bands announced include: The Hosts, Dan le Sac v Scroobius Pip, Man like Me, The Slackers, Eddie Reader (of Fairground attraction), Youth Club, Goldmaster Allstars, Philadelphia Boys Choir.

The headline act has not been announced and Metal says "much of the programme is still in negotiation"

The event will run from 11am - 10pm. Last entry 8.30pm.

First 500 free for advantage card holders and there are early bird group discounts.

In a press release, Metal say: "Metal are delighted to announce that they will be hosting the well-loved arts and music festival, Village Green, for its 6th consecutive year in Chalkwell Park on Saturday 12 July 2014 from 11am until 10pm. 

"Alongside a fantastic line up of artists and musicians for 2014, we would like to announce a few key changes to the event this year, designed to enable a long term future for one of the most popular dates on Southend’s cultural calendar."

The group's press release states:

Tickets

The introduction of a nominal ticket charge will help to safeguard Village Green following several years of successive budget cuts to the arts – with more to come in the future.

Metal has provided free entry to this fantastic community event for a number of years.  We have given careful thought to the level of ticket prices.  Our main aim has been to maintain the diverse family audience who have supported Village Green over the years, whilst ensuring the viability of the ever-growing event.  We are delighted that all children of 10 and under will remain FREE and 11–17 year olds will pay just £5.  Adult tickets will be £10.  Group discounts are available as well as an exclusive offer of 500 free tickets for Category C Southend Advantage Card members on a first come, first served basis.

No profit will be made from Village Green. All the ticket prices represent a contribution to the running costs (rather than covering all costs completely).  The event remains heavily subsidised through the fund raising efforts of the team at Metal which is a UK registered arts charity.

Audience Numbers

Metal has put a number of new measures in place to ensure that audience numbers within the park remain at a comfortable level for festival-goers.  Extra areas within the park have been brought into Metal’s licenced areas, so 2014 will see a larger spread of fantastic programme across more of the park. This new event licence has been subject to rigorous checks from local agencies and authorities around the capacity of Chalkwell Park as the most suitable venue for the event.

Rapid Scan Ticket Entry

We have entered into a new partnership with the professional ticket agency, Skiddle, who will work with us to ensure a smooth and speedy entry system to Village Green on the day – leaving audience members to enjoy, uninterrupted, as much of the 10 hours of programmed art, music and culture as possible.  This service is covered by a £1 booking fee at the point of purchasing a ticket.

How to buy tickets

Tickets go on sale today (Tuesday 25 February) and are available online 24hours through www.metalculture.com  or by telephone from the Skiddle Ticket Sales hotline on 0844 844 2920 (open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm;  Sat 10am-5pm; Closed Sunday)

Southend Advantage Card Members (Category C) – FREE tickets can be collected from the Civic Centre in Victoria Avenue.  Proof of current and valid membership will be required.

 

Watch a video of last year's Village Green festival here: