A packed day of summer fun and entertainment has been announced with the launch of a brand new festival for south Warwickshire.
An all-day line-up of live musicians will take centre stage in Napton on the Hill all performing their own music for the Cidery’s Hillside Jamm event, near the Cidery, on July 29th.
As well as Napton Cidery’s range of ciders, the event will feature stalls selling a variety of festival goods and mementoes plus the chance to buy from some of the best food and drink producers in the area, including Purity in Alcester; Windmill Hill Brewers in Leamington; Tacos El Pap in Southam and Red Bangers and Water Buffalo Ice cream – made from locally-reared water buffalo – both from Napton.
It will also be an opportunity to sample the Cidery’s new limited-edition 2022 Vintage Perry Cider.
Visitors can buy festival merchandise – including T-shirts – and enjoy fun-themed stalls as well as a host of family activities to keep the youngsters entertained, including magicians and face painters.
Co-owner of the Cidery, Jolyon Olivier, said he hopes Hillside Jamm can become a permanent fixture on the local calendar. “It should be a great fun day out. The festival has got something for everyone and is family-friendly, with plenty going on with local music, food, entertainment and traders.”
Central to Napton’s growing popularity among customers is its strong sustainability ethos, from harvesting through to packaging. All of its apples come from traditional unsprayed orchards, organic and biodiverse growers, so no unnatural chemicals are introduced into the ecosystem. The cider is also naturally fermented using only wild yeasts and packaged in recyclable materials and all ingredients sourced as locally as possible.
In keeping with this ethos, the festival is also banning single-use plastics and all visitors will receive a branded reusable cup to use throughout the day. The event is also donating one pound from every ticket sold to the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
Jolyon added: “It is important that, as a business, we move with the times and we care about our planet. We want to go into a field and then leave it the way we found it. There’s only so much planet and we all have to do our bit for it. One of the requirements for businesses to attend the festival is that their packaging is compostable. This is our way of giving back to nature what we’ve taken from fruit.”
Headliners for the musical line-up include the award-winning husband and wife duo When Rivers Meet, supported throughout the day by local and UK bands, including Loveday, from Leamington; Clemency Duo, from Leamington; The Hatstand Band from Rugby; The Folly Brothers from Napton and The Collective, fronted by the Cidery’s own taproom host Nick Geden.
The festival runs between 11am and 11pm but camping is also available overnight on Friday and Saturday for £20per pitch. Early bird admission tickets at £32 for adults and £16 for 15-17-year-olds are available now for a limited time. Under 15s go free.
Donna Hook, of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are delighted to attend the festival and are pleased to see the work Napton Cidery have done to promote sustainability at their event. The Trust will be available at the event for people to find out more about how they can support wildlife in their area and make a difference to their environment.”
The taproom also hosts regular quiz nights, live music, stand-up comedy and cider tasting tours.
To book for Hillside Jamm and see Napton Cidery’s upcoming events calendar visit here
