PANDAFEST 2023 HAS BEEN CANCELLED. BUT THE FESTIVAL, IT IS HOPED, RETURNS TO LANIVET, NEAR BODMIN, IN JULY 2024. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
This is old copy. This page will be updated when we hear news from PandaFest 2024…
Are you going to PandaFest 2023? Did you go to any of the previous PandaFests, in fact? Well, you may have done but this celebration of local food, local drink and (mostly) local bands and music acts has only been going for a few years so the chances are that you may have missed it. So far. But fret ye not, PandaFest 2023 is at Lanivet, near Bodmin, on 7 and 8 July and, rest assured, it’s well on its way to becoming one of Cornwall’s must-experience annual festivals.
Firstly, let’s clear up the name. Lanivet is famous for growing loads of bamboo for the pandas up at London Zoo and there are panda-themed motifs all over the village. So the organisers chose the unique name as both a nod to the village’s heritage and as a statement of its grassroots (or should we say bamboo-roots?) nature. Secondly, what’s on at PandaFest 2023? Well, in short, some of Cornwall’s best food and drink traders will give you taste sensations over two days while some of the best bands in the region get you working those calories off.
PandaFest 2022 was a barnstormer, with the likes of Tinchy Stryder, James Haskell, Mark Hill, William The Conquerer, Beans on Toast and The Countrymen on the bill. Some of the other awesome acts that have played the fest over past years include Mad Dog McRae, Wille and the Bandits, The Velvet Hands from St Austell and ‘audacious young Cornish band’ The Rezner. Camping is, of course, also the order of the weekend or just pull up a campervan or five and then prepare for the fun to begin. Eat like a pig, drink like a fish, party like an animal and then chill out like, well, like a panda while listening to those sweet, sweet live acts!