First ever Caravan of Love Festival deemed a huge success

The Four of Us on stage at the Caravan of Love Festival on Saturday night

The first ever Caravan of Love Festival held in Gyles Quay over the weekend has been declared a complete success by organisers Niall Ferguson and Stewart Agnew.

The first festival goers began arriving in the peninsula on Thursday evening and despite the torrential rain on Friday night an excited audience were in their seats in plenty of time for top class performances by Stewart Agnew and James Humston while headliner Damien Dempsey raised the roof with a strong performance that had everyone on their feet and singing.

Day two had a family fun element with a Pelican Play Zone for children while music lovers were in the Caravan of Love Marquee for afternoon performances by The Stormers, We the Oceanographers, Paul Bailey Band, Mother Made Us and The Sensations.

Saturday night’s audience were queuing at the door while soundchecks were going on inside Ferguson’s Bar and were not to be disappointed by excellent performances from Cian Connolly and Finnian.

The Four of Us gave an amazing performance and the audience were once again on their feet, dancing and singing along with Brendan Murphy declaring from the stage ‘What an amazing night – What an amazing setting!’

Mundy who had only returned from the US the previous night was, by his own admission, sleep deprived, not that anyone would have known by the amazing set he performed. Of course ‘Galway Girl’ was a huge success as was ‘July’ which moved into Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on Fire’.

The Festival wound down on Sunday afternoon with more performances in the Marquee, this time from Pete & Tara Johnson and Zoe Conway & John McIntyre.

Both Niall Ferguson & Stewart Agnew are more than happy that they invested months of time and effort to create a festival that celebrated not only national music but supported local musicians and enterprise.

Niall said: “This was our first festival here at Ferguson’s Bar and we’re delighted with how things have gone. It’s not just been down to us, we enlisted the help of a number of local businesses and the people in the area have been very supportive, so it has been a very positive experience for the area.

Stewart was also happy. He said: “It’s been a great opportunity to have our own local talent play on the same stage with legendary names such as Damien Dempsey, The Four of Us and Mundy. It was also fantastic to hear our top musicians tell us how much they enjoyed the Festival.”

The Caravan of Love organisers had a number of thanks:

• Diageo
• Stephen Hand, Stage & Lighting
• All Ferguson bar staff, security etc
• Anthony & Anne Ferguson
• Claire Ferguson
• All performers, both in the Bar and the Marquee
• Local residents for supporting a local initiative
• Photospeed.ie & Carroll’s Bookshop
• Ferguson’s Bar Facebook friends
• Pelican Promotions
• Local press including LMFM, Argus, Dundalk FM and Talk of the Town
• And a final huge ‘THANK YOU’ to the audience for supporting Caravan of Love.

Countdown is on to Caravan of Love

There are only days left to the first Caravan of Love Festival in Gyles Quay and the feedback has been so positive that organisers Niall Ferguson and Stewart Agnew have extended the three day festival to include family fun events on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Now in addition to the music festival with headliners Damien Dempsey on Friday night and Mundy plus The 4 of Us on Saturday night, there will also be live music on Saturday and Sunday afternoons with a Pelican Play Zone for children.

Niall and Stewart explained the positive response to Caravan of Love 2015.

“There had been a great reaction to the live music but people were also asking if there’d be anything for children, so we have added that onto the afternoon events,” Niall said.

Stewart, meanwhile, said he can’t wait until the start of the Festival.

“We can’t wait to get things going. Adding the family fun events does add to the organisation of the Festival but it will be so much better. Roll on Friday!”

Caravan of Love Tickets are priced as follows:

Friday €20; Saturday €35; Sunday free; Weekend ticket €55

Tickets are available from Fergusons Bar; Gyles Quay 042  9376660; Photospeed, Long Walk Shopping Centre, Dundalk 042 9355667 and Carroll’s Book Shop, Park St, Dundalk 042 9334359. For touring enquiries contact 042 9376262.

For further updates for Caravan of Love 2015 follow Ferguson’s Bar on Facebook and Twitter.

Please note no children will be permitted into the main festival line ups taking place each night inside Fergusons Bar.

Two weeks to go until Caravan of Love Festival

There’s just over two weeks to go until Caravan of Love 2015, takes place from September 11-13^th at Ferguson’s Bar, Gyles Quay.

The Festival is encouraging an end of season tourism boost in the Peninsula with Ferguson’s confirming that the Glamping Pods – new to Gyles’ Quay this year – are now fully booked for the duration of the Festival.

The Caravan of Love line up for Friday and Saturday includes Damien Dempsey, Mundy, The Four of Us, Stewart Agnew, Finnian, James Humston, Cian Connolly, The Oceanographers, The Paul Bailey Band and The Stormers.

The Festival will wind down on Sunday with a traditional session featuring Zoe Conway & John McIntyre.

Caravan of Love 2015 organisers are very happy with the response to the Festival.

“We’re happy to say that our new Glamping Pods are fully booked for Caravan of Love,” explained Niall Ferguson,“but we can still help those with other touring enquiries. We’re also aware that some people have booked into local hotels and we’re very happy that the Festival is creating an end of season tourism boost not just for us but for others in the area.”

Stewart Agnew explained that the festival organisers are very conscious that some festival goers will not want to take their cars and so plans are afoot to offer transport between Dundalk and Gyles Quay at a very reasonable price.

“This means people can relax and enjoy the day and be sure they have their lift home after each night. If anyone else coming to the Festival has a query re transport they can make contact via the Fergusons Bar Facebook Page”.

Caravan of Love Tickets are priced as follows:

Friday €20; Saturday €35; Sunday free; Weekend ticket €55

Tickets are available from Fergusons Bar; Gyles Quay 042  9376660; Photospeed, Long Walk Shopping Centre, Dundalk 042 9355667 and Carroll’s Book Shop, Park St, Dundalk 042 9334359. For touring enquiries contact 042 9376262.

For further updates for Caravan of Love 2015 follow Ferguson’s Bar on Facebook and Twitter.

Five weeks to go until Caravan of Love festival at Gyles’ Quay

There’s only five weeks to go until Caravan of Love 2015, Ireland’s newest music festival, taking place from September 11-13^th at Ferguson’s Bar, Gyles Quay.

The line up to date has been confirmed as follows:

• Friday: Damien Dempsey supported by Stewart Agnew and Finnian
• Saturday: Mundy, The Four of Us supported by David Keenan plus more acts to be announced
• Sunday: Traditional Sunday session with Zoe Conway & John McIntyre, The Crawley Family plus more acts to be announced.

Response to the festival has been extremely positive, according to promoters Niall Ferguson and Stewart Agnew.

“The local reaction to the Festival has been excellent and we’ve been lucky enough to receive the support and sponsorship from Diageo,” said Niall.

“We have been having a very busy summer season at the bar and caravan park in Gyles Quay and there is great excitement building up to Caravan of Love 2015.

Agnew is equally upbeat.

“All our early bird tickets sold out really quickly, and the feedback we have been receiving is excellent. It is going to be a brilliant weekend of live entertainment,” he said.

“We also hope to arrange transport from Dundalk en route to and from Gyles Quay for those wanting to leave the car at home.”

Caravan of Love Tickets are priced as follows:

Friday €20; Saturday €35; Sunday free; Weekend ticket €55

Limited spaces are available for camping and glamping.

Tickets are available from Ferguson’s Bar; Gyles Quay 042 9376660; Photospeed, Long Walk Shopping Centre, Dundalk 042 9355667 and Carroll’s Book Shop, Park Street, Dundalk 042 9334359.

Caravan of Love line-up revealed

The line up for Ireland’s newest music festival, Caravan of Love 2015 was announced at a special launch reception in Ferguson’s Bar & Caravan Park, Gyles Quay on Friday night.

The 4 of Us turned up at the launch event to support concert promoters Niall Ferguson and Stewart Agnew and gave the audience just a taste of what is to come this September.

Caravan of Love 2015 will run from Friday 11^th to Sunday 13^th September. Headline acts will perform in the Ferguson’s Bar venue on the Friday and Saturday with outdoor performances on the Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The weekend event is supported by Diageo.

The line up for the main performances are as follows:

• Friday September 11^th: Damien Dempsey, Duke Special, Zoe Conway & John McIntyre.
• Saturday September 12^th: Mundy, The 4 Of Us, Stewart Agnew

Also performing over the weekend will be Finnian, David Keenan, The Oceanographers and Pete Johnson, with many more acts to be announced.

Speaking at the launch, Niall Ferguson and Stewart Agnew spoke on the potential they see for the Caravan of Love Festival.

“Ferguson’s Caravan Park has been a part of Gyles Quay for many years now and we are currently working on expanding our facilities with modern glamping pods to cater to a new generation of camping enthusiasts,” explained Niall.

“Caravan of Love 2015 is another way in which we are expanding our offering. We have asked our regular customers for their opinions on this and they are fully behind us. In fact they can’t wait for their very own end of summer festival. Working with Stewart we have put together a fantastic line up for our first year and with the generous support of Diageo, we hope that it is the start of a successful event for Gyles Quay.”

Local singer/songwriter Agnew is enthusiastic about Caravan of Love 2015.

“I’ve seen how ideal Ferguson’s Bar is as a live venue. Add to that the location, the end of summer atmosphere and the high calibre of performers and it’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up the chance to be involved in.

“Aside from the main nightly gigs the outdoor performance is also an ideal opportunity for local musicians to take to the stage and hopefully we get to see them in years to come as headliners!”

Tickets for Caravan of Love 2015 are on sale now from Ferguson’s Bar & Caravan Park, Gyles Quay; Valentines, Carlingford; Photospeed, Long Walk SC, Dundalk and Carrolls Bookshop, Park St, Dundalk.

Day tickets are priced at €35 per day with Weekend tickets €65

For further information on Caravan of Love contact Ferguson’s Bar at 042 9376660.

Damien Dempsey, Mundy and Duke Special to headline new Caravan of Love music festival in Dundalk

Damien Dempsey, Mundy and Duke Special have been announced as the headliners for the Caravan of Love music festival in Gyles’ Quay from Friday September 11^th to Sunday September 13^th.

Also set to feature at the event at Ferguson’s Bar and Caravan Park are Newry act The 4 Of Us and a wide range of local performers including Stewart Agnew, Zoe Conway and John McIntyre, Finnian, David Keenan, The Oceanographers and Pete Johnson.

Tickets, priced €35 for a day ticket or €65 for a weekend ticket, will be available from Ferguson’s Bar, Valentine’s in Carlingford, Photospeed in the Longwalk Shopping Centre and Carroll’s Book Shop in Park Street.

The official launch of the festival will take place this Friday night in Ferguson’s Bar at 8pm.

Diageo are the main sponsors with further details available by calling 087 6440384 or 087 6140961.

Vantastival entry deadline this Sunday

The organisers of the Vantastival festival have extended the deadline for accepting applications from all original acts and trade groups for the 2014 event.

Applications were due to be in by last Sunday but have been extended until this Sunday, January 12th with full details available here.

All you need is to provide short information on your act and at least three tracks to be considered.

Last year’s Vantastival took place in Bellurgan Park and featured the likes of Damien Dempsey, And So I Watch You From Afar, Jerry Fish, Altan, Mark Geary, The Trampz and many more.

Vantastival now accepting applications for 2014 festival

The organisers of the Vantastival festival are now accepting applications from all original acts and trade groups for the 2014 event.

All you need is to provide short information on your act and at least three tracks to be considered.

Applications close on Sunday January 5^th with full details available here.

Last year’s Vantastival took place in Bellurgan Park and featured the likes of Damien Dempsey, And So I Watch You From Afar, Jerry Fish, Altan, Mark Geary, The Trampz and many more.

 

 

Fantastic Vantastival!

Paul and Emer O’Brien with their sons Edward, Michael, Vincent and Calvin and nephew Adam Carroll after setting up camp in their restored 1973 VW Microbus at the Vantastival music festival in Bellurgan Park on Friday. Picture: Alan Betson

The Vantastival music festival proved a huge success at Bellurgan Park, just outside Dundalk, at the weekend with thousands travelling for the event.

Amongst the acts to perform over the course of the three days included Damien Dempsey, Altan and Jerry Fish.

High Wind Films have put together two superb highlight reel videos from Friday and Saturday, which are worth checking out below…

Source: High Wind Films

Vantastival 1. Louth County Council 0.

The Vantastival music and camper van festival takes place in Bellurgan Park next weekend and while an influx of music fans might be welcomed by the town’s business community, Louth County Council appeared to have a bit more of a problem with it.

Over a year ago, the local authority had ruled that the festival constituted development and therefore required full planning permission in order to proceed at Bellurgan Park. Vantastival appealed this to An Bord Pleanála, who have ruled in favour of the festival.

Basically, the council felt that as the festival was marketed nationally, it could not be considered local and therefore did not qualify to be held under current planning laws.

However, Vantastival organisers successfully argued that all events advertised on the web could be deemed as marketed to a national and global audience and An Bord Pleanála upheld their view.

The council’s original decision, especially in the year of The Gathering, is puzzling and yet again throws up concerns over the actions of the planning department after a number of question decisions regarding high-profile developments in recent years.

The festival, which will be held over the May Bank Holiday weekend, will feature the likes of Damien Dempsey, And So I Watch You From Afar, Jerry Fish, Altan, RSAG, Mark Geary, Nanu Nanu and many more.

A three day camping ticket is €89 with day tickets €40.

Source: Vantastival vs Louth County Council (The Irish Times)