Work is well underway on site at Bellurgan Park, Co. Louth, for Vantastival, which will take place over the May bank holiday weekend, 4th - 6th May.  With a new location this year, the festival crew are making the most of the natural materials at Bellurgan Park and are busy working on Vanhalla, a feature stage built from timber in the form of a Viking Longhouse, sponsored by DoneDeal.ie.  The DoneDeal Stage will host a variety of acts over the weekend, including local hero Jinx Lennon and rising stars Ghost Estates and The Dirty Valentines, while doubling up as a venue for late night shenanigans after the music on the Main Stage has come to an end. Musicmaker Dublin will present a more chilled out line up of folk and electro in the Paddy Mirage marquee, a custom built timber-framed replica of Newgrange, with Dublin trio Swords and roots outfit I Draw Slow amongst those scheduled.

The Open Mic Stage this year is set into a natural amphitheatre in the landscape of the festival arena and is just one of the added attractions of Vantastival.  The Scrapheap Challenge is one of the most popular features, this year involving the renovation of a 1982 VW T25 campervan over the course of the weekend. The campervan will be raffled off on the Sunday night with a percentage of the proceeds going to the Barretstown children’s charity. Hundreds of colourful VW campervans on site create a spectacular backdrop to complement the chilled out vibe of this event, but you don’t have to have a campervan to enjoy the festival and all it has to offer. 

The line up at Vantastival 2012 includes God is an Astronaut, Cathy Davey, The Original Rudeboys, Ham Sandwich, Frankie Gavin & DeDannan, Le Galaxie and RSAG, as well as a huge number of up-and-coming unsigned acts. Tickets are on sale now from Lastminute.com, Ticketgroup.ie and Xtra-vision stores nationwide and cost €89 for three nights camping with no charge for bringing a campervan. Tent campers are welcome and day tickets are also available at €40. Children under 14 go free and 14-17 year olds accompanied by an adult cost €30 for the whole weekend.  Vantastival is a BYOB event, which adds to its value for money.

See www.vantastival.com for more details.