Shirley Proctor and Amanda J Window preview this year's Blue Dot Festival, which merging music, science, art and culture, takes place in Cheshire between Thursday 19th and Sunday 22nd July and includes on its line=up Chemical Brothers, the Flaming Lips and Future Islands.
Blue Dot Festival is a great family-based music festival based in the heart of Cheshire under the Lovell Telescope. Formerly known as Live for Jodrell Bank, this festival site has seen some great artists performing over the years from Elbow to Johnny Marr and the Pixies to this year's line-up of the Chemical Brothers, the Flaming Lips and hailing all the way from Baltimore – Future Islands. This is the only festival that successfully mixes science with music – so there's something for all the family to see or take part in. The name of the festival is from a famous quote by Carl Sagan: “There is perhaps no greater demonstration of the folly of human conceits that this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with each other, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.” Beneath the rather imposing, but very impressive Lovell Telescope are four stages – the Roots Stage, the Orbital Stage, the Nebula Stage and, of course. the main stage the Lovell Stage - and these are just the music stages. Around the site are also stages where you will find authors reading excepts from their books and answering questions from the audience and comedy acts putting on a laugh for all the family. There is so much more than just music at Blue Dot Festival. You can literally surf the galaxy in Mission Control and see the wonders of the universe that surrounds us. You can learn all about astronomy in the Star Pavilion and once the Moon comes out the site comes alive with processions of colourful characters – last year we had huge bubble men floating around the fields. The camping is exceptional – for those who camp - and the facilities are great for all ages and abilities. Definitely a festival not to miss this summer! The full of 2018 line-up includes: The Blue Planet In Concert with Halle Orchestra – A Thursday Night Exclusive. Friday brings us: The Flaming Lips Public Service Broadcasting Roni Size: New Forms Live Bugged Out! Takeover UNKLE Adrian Sherwood Mad Professor and much more... Spectacular Saturday brings us: Future Islands Gary Numan Booka Shade Helena Hauff Ralph Lawson and much more.. Sunday: The Chemical Brothers Little Dragon Slowdive The Orb Lost Horizons and much more... In fact there's so much to do that we'll guarantee – three days is definitely not long enough to fit it all in! Words: Shirley Procter and Amanda J Window Photographs: Amanda J Window www.amandajwindow.com