With TV and dancing stars AJ & Curtis Pritchard as the festival’s official roving reporters, the weekend will be brimming with family-focused activities, headliner music acts and cars aplenty – all while raising money for UK children’s charities.
This year, CarFest is on a mission to raise over £2 million, topping up the £20 million raised to date. Over the past ten years, the festival has supported many charities, including BBC Children in Need, Comic Relief, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, My Black Dog, Rainbow Trust, Starlight Children’s Foundation and Teenage Cancer Trust, as well as other local charities and hospices.
Taking to the main stage are huge headliner acts including Steps, Seasick Steve, Natalie Imbruglia, Rag ’n’ Bone Man, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Faithless Soundsystem, James Blunt, Paloma Faith, Judge Jules, Bob Marley Revival, Rick Parfitt Jnr, Tom Odell, Bjorn Again, Gok Wan and more.
With CarFest South taking place from 26-28 August at Laverstoke Park Farm, visitors can expect a full-throttle festival weekend. The seven new festivals in one offer families an unlimited choice of activities, workshops, experiences and performances to enjoy – there really is something for everyone.
Already a family favourite, the StarFest Stage is back, and it’s had a growth spurt turning into its very own festival within CarFest. Festival-goers can delight in one of the largest gatherings of the greatest stars from TV, film, music, literature, sports and comedy. It offers the unique chance to get up close and personal with the likes of Paula Radcliffe, Ben Richards, Giovanna Fletcher, Cassidy Janson, Shaparak Khorsandi amongst other famous names and faces. As day turns to night, the StarFest Stage will transform into Club CarFest, where some of the country’s leading DJs will take to the decks to keep festival-goers dancing the night away. This year, CarFest is also hosting its own Author’s Stage, hosted by Costa Coffee, where guest authors will chat about their latest publications and answer burning questions!
Pull up a chair and tuck in! FoodFest is the place to be for festival foodies. Household name TV chefs and bakers will take to the Kitchen Stage with Napoleon Grills to demonstrate their skills and share top tips to take home. New for 2022, The Great British Cook Out with Napoleon Grills (a celebration of everything from BBQs to grills and fire pits) will be hosted by Sam and Shauna of BBC’s Big Cook Out fame. Elsewhere, CarFesters can enjoy a pint at the ‘local’ BarFest Arms with Timothy Taylor’s whilst listening to the latest up-and-coming artists at the Wigwam Stage, cultivate their culinary skills at the food skills workshops, learn about tipples from expert sommeliers or browse the endless range of artisanal traders at Britain’s Best Farmers Market.
A brand new addition to CarFest, SpaFest is all about putting wellness first to prioritise a healthy mind, body and spirit. Featuring an impressive line-up of the country’s leading well-being celebrities and experts, visitors can head to the SpaFest Stage or The Inspiration Hub for inspiring talks from the likes of Andrea McLean, Dr Megan Rossi and Dale Pinnock. The Studio will invite festival-goers to get their bodies moving mindfully with scheduled yoga, stretching and meditation, which they can follow up with a visit to the Vegan Village for a curated selection of plant-based outlets, producers and experts. The SpaFest Marketplace will also be a hotspot for picking up some of the finest fitness products to keep visitors on their wellness journeys long after they head home.
For kids big and small, CarFest now has a dedicated area celebrating the best bits of being a kid. The main stage, Pudsey’s Spot, is a must-see for parents and children alike, where some of the biggest presenters from CBBC and CBeebies like Evie Pickerill, Nigel Clarke and Isabella Signs will take to the stage. Favourite characters like Andy and the Odd Socks, YolanDa’s Band Jam, Hey Duggee, Bluey and many more will be brought to life with music, dancing, games and lots of guaranteed laughs. With plenty to keep little ones entertained (including the world’s biggest bouncy castle) and relaxing spaces for parents, KidsFest is a must.
Not for the faint-hearted, AdventureFest is the chance for visitors to discover talents and skills while enjoying the great outdoors. This year will see the return of BugFest and the brand new SpiderFest and BeeFest, featuring an exotic display of creatures straight out of BBC Planet Earth and Deadly Sixty, like giant bird-eating spiders! CarFesters can brush up on their bushcraft skills at the CarFest Forest School, head to Upskill Alley to uncover a hidden talent or make their artistic mark at the art, pottery or painting workshops. Thrill-seekers can put themselves to the test by caving, rock climbing, trampolining or braving the zip wire above the festival.
A chance to step back in time, RetroFest is what it says on the tin. The Nostalgia Stage will take festival-goers from the 40s to the 80s with live bands and dance workshops where they can learn to Jive and Charleston amongst other iconic moves of the past decades. RetroFest will also feature old-school games and quizzes to take people back to their childhoods, plus a back-to-school sports day, the Vintage Retail Village and a collection of vintage vehicles and heroes brought to life with fascinating characters and famous faces.
This year, the cars at CarFest will honour hero drivers, brands and cars with the Kwik Fit-Michelin Track and Paddock featuring over 120 cars from the past, present and future. Three daily themed shows will take to the track showing off the best of modern motorsport, track stars and old-school heroes to the weird and wonderfully eccentric vehicles recognisable from the silver screen. Sporting Bears will also provide festival-goers with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take one of their dream cars for a spin around the track!
Over at the cinch Paddock, visitors can browse cinch’s impressive range of cars to suit every need, from the school run to business meetings and from Teslas to Minis. They can even try before they buy, and take any car on a test run. There will also be prizes to be won, fun for the whole family and the chance to kick back and recharge. For every car sold at CarFest, cinch will donate £50 to the festival’s supported charities.
Creator Chris Evans said: “Every year, we want to make CarFest bigger and better! After celebrating our 10th anniversary last year, we were determined to take it up a gear for 2022 and so have created seven festivals in one with something for everyone, PLUS a line-up that will take our CarFesters on a musical journey through the decades. Our mission, as always, is to raise as much money as possible for UK children’s charities, and I’m confident we’ll smash our £2 million target for this year.”
AJ Pritchard and Curtis Pritchard added: “We had so much fun hosting CarFest last year and cannot wait to do it all again. With all the new additions like SpaFest, AdventureFest, The Author’s Stage, The Great British Cook Out and, of course, the incredible music line-up over on the Main Stage, everyone is in for a treat!”
Related: photos of CarFest South 2022
