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In A Field Of Their Own: The Park
10th June 2011
For our latest Q&A with the organisers of Glastonbury’s various fields, areas and venues, we caught up with Nick Dewey and Emily Eavis, the husband and wife team who run The Park.
1. How would you describe your area of the Festival to someone who hasn’t visited it before?
A hillside haven of fun!
2. Have you made any changes/additions for this year?
It seems to grow a little bit every year and we strive to make it better so there will be all sorts of interesting new things to look out for. Check out the Crow’s Nest up the top of the hill which is kind of like the last outpost, right in the far south-westerly tip of the Festival site, where you’ll find all sorts of spontaneous music and camp-fire action.
3. Which of your acts are you most excited about in 2011?
Mmm tricky to single out any individual acts as we’re very excited about the whole lot of them, but special mention must go to the Master Musicians of Joujouka who are coming all the way over from Morocco to live and play their ancient trance music and perform rituals all weekend in their tipi up near the Rabbit Hole. Now there is a meeting of minds…
4. Do you have any good food recommendations in and around your area?
There’s good food from all round the world in The Park so we’d recommend trying a bit of everything and seeing where you end up. Like a culinary Mr Benn.
5. How/when did you first get involved with the Festival?
I have been here for a while, but Nick and I started The Park together in 2007, which was in at the deep end with a solid five days of rain and a lot of hard work but also some great memories. Africa Express took over the park stage for 7 hours on the Saturday with one of the greatest sets we have seen. Unforgettable. We all get involved in music bookings all year, but Nick’s the main booker for the Pyramid Stage and oversees the Other Stage, John Peel and West Holts too. He has been known to pursue things that me and my dad tell him are impossible aims.. like Neil Young for example, who we had been trying to get for a long time, as well as Bruce Springsteen.
6. What’s the best thing about running an area at Glastonbury?
The year long creative imaginings, working on ideas and looking for special elements, stuff you’ve never seen before. And then building the whole thing with a brilliant crew of artists and craftsmen, it’s wonderful to be a part of it
7. And what’s the worst?
"I need extra passes…" There’s never enough!
8. Is there anything outside your area at this year’s Festival that you’re particularly looking forward to?
As always just taking some time out to explore and wander through the far-flung corners of the Festival. This year we may be spending more time in the midwives tent in the Green Fields.
9. What’s the best performance you’ve ever seen at Glastonbury?
Again, impossible to single one out but Stevie Wonder last year was about as good as it gets. Pure magic all the way
10. Finally, what’s your top Glastonbury tip for people coming to the Festival for the first time?
Don’t plan too much. There’s so much going on across the whole Festival that if you’re spending too much time looking in the programme you might miss it!