Summer means festival season but instead of enduring the knee-deep mud and no showers for days Mancs can enjoy the festival vibes from the heart of the city instead this year. Pizza purveyors Nell’s and cocktail connoisseurs Three Little Words present Kampus Fest – a free weekend music celebration at Capital&Centric and HBD’s Kampus garden neighbourhood.
Acting as a Glastonbury substitute this weekend, the weekender will recreate the magic as visitors to the free festival can expect outdoor screens among the lush Kampus gardens broadcasting live sets from Worthy Farm throughout the whole weekend. Taking place from June 23-25, Kampus Fest will kick off on Friday with pizza slices from Nell’s and cocktails from Three Little Words’ canal-side spritz bar, as well as screenings from the first day of music.
On Saturday, visitors can expect all the festival vibes as there will be live music from Manchester’s talented The Untold Orchestra, who will be celebrating 40 years of headliners, with orchestral renditions of classics from Bowie to Jay Z and Diana Ross in between the Glasto sets. They’ll be flanked by tarot reader Aphrodite’s Baby; buzzing market stalls with indie outfitters; and a free face-painting and glitter station to get party-goers in the mood.
A Family Fun Day will take place on Sunday June 25, with Born To Be Wild Child decamping to the Kampus garden to make sure the kids get a slice of the action, with craft tables and festival headband making all set to soundtrack of rock and roll hits. For the parents and punters there’ll be music from the afternoon stages, as well as free prosecco samples from the Delevingne sisters’ brand Della Vite … served direct from their pink vintage car ‘Penelope’. Plus, best festival dress is wholly encouraged during Kampus Fest.
Antonia Lallement, from Nell’s, said: “This is our first Kampus Fest and it’s all about bringing true festival vibes to the heart of Manchester. We’re decking out the Kampus garden to capture the bohemian magic of the UK’s favourite live events and flooding the space with music for the whole weekend.
“Manchester is full of music lovers and we want to give people a fun, city centre alternative to the real thing! We’ll be serving up slices to keep people going throughout the weekend and can’t wait to see people getting involved. Kampus has got to be one of the best outdoor spaces in the city. We felt it only right to put on a big summer block party come rain or shine.”
Abbie Duthie, from Three Little Words, said: “We’ll be serving our signature drinks canal-side for those whose ‘go to’ is summer spritzes and cocktails in the city over warm beer in a field! Kampus will be alive all weekend with great food and drinks, live music and festival vibes taking centre stage.”
Kampus Fest is free to attend from Friday 23 June – Sunday 25 June. The Family Fun Day event on Sunday for youngsters requires reservation, with £2 tickets available to book in advance here.