Towersey is in Oxforshire and is near Thame, about 15 miles east of Oxford. 
Directions

• A Full Season ticket covers all Festival events (space permitting), from the Welcome Ceilidh on Thursday evening to midnight on Monday (except Festival Dance House on Thursday).
The cost of camping is per person and must be booked at the same time as your ticket.  Remember to specify which camp site you want to be on.  Please see accommodation section for details.

• A Day Season ticket covers all events on a specified day (space permitting).

• An Event ticket covers entry into evening shows in Festival Dance House.  It also includes entry into the Festival Showground and Late Night Dance on the day of the event.

• A Showground pass covers entry into the Showground until 6pm.  Showground passes can only be purchased on the day at the Festival gate.

For further information about ticket prices and to book your tickets please click here

You can:
1) Book online.  (There is no booking fee for this service)
2) Call the Box Office on 01629 827016 (there is a £4 booking fee per booking)

Ticket information and to book tickets

The Festival camp sites are only available to Full Season ticket holders.  All you need to do is buy a 5 night camping permit (per person) when you book your Full Season ticket.  Sorry, the camp sites aren’t big enough for us to allow Day Season or Event ticket holders to camp.

Over the years we have developed our camp sites to suit the needs of you, our campers. 
Read the camp site descriptions

Dogs are NOT permitted ANYWHERE on the Showground site*.  No dogs will be allowed into the Festival Dance House Marquee or outside area.  There is NO provision for dogs to be left unattended on the Festival Sites.  They are permitted on Camp Sites 1, 2 and 3 if kept on a lead at all times.  They may be admitted to other Festival venues at the discretion of the volunteer stewards.  Any dog deemed to be a nuisance will be removed from the Festival site, along with its owner.  * Dogs to assist people with disabilities will be admitted to all venues, including the Showground.   

Camper's dogs have always been welcome at Towersey. Well behaved and well looked after they have rarely presented a problem. But the buzzing atmosphere that a packed Showground creates is clearly not the place for a dog. However well behaved, the sheer number of people, constant noise and heat (on a good day!) make dogs very nervous and we have to ask you not to bring your dog onto the Showground this year.

Clearly, if you are passing through to a Concert on Ceilidh or heading back to your tent on Site 1, then you will have to cross the Showground and you may have your dog pulling you along. This is fine of course but please don't hang around or go to the Bar, Craft Fair or other Showground attraction along the way.

So, dogs are welcome as part of your family group. We just ask that you let them enjoy the Festival too and don't bring them to potentially uncomfortable, crowded areas like the Showground.

If you are visiting Towersey for the day please leave your dog at home.

We try to make the Festival as accommodating as possible to all people with disabilities.  We give access details for each venue and there are showers and toilets with wheelchair access on the main Festival sites.  There is a drop off point by Gate 1 for people with disabilities.  There are a limited number of car parking spaces next to Gate 1 for drivers with disabilities but if the driver is able-bodied please use the Drop off point and move your vehicle to the Festival car park.

We have a special section of camping on Site 2, available for people with disabilities and those with mobility difficulties.  It is close to the entrance to Site 2/3, close to showers, with steps and level access toilet facilities (see also Showers).  Car parking is available adjacent to tents and caravans on Site 2/3.  There is an electric hook up available for motorised chairs etc, please book in advance through the Festival Office.

For more information please contact the Festival Office.

Details of individual venues

If you would like to go to concerts, ceilidhs, dances & workshops then you could buy a Day Season ticket, which covers all events on a specified day (space permitting).  Or you could buy Festival Dance House Event tickets for one of the evening shows in Festival Dance House, which also covers entry into the Showground during the day and the Late Night Dance after the events.  Or you could turn up on the day, and visit the Showground (pay on the gate) and spend the day enjoying shows on the Arena, street entertainment on the Showground, browse the International Trade Market and Craft and Music Fairs, grab a bite to eat and drink and soak up the great Festival atmosphere.

See ticket information and prices

Yes, the Showground is the hub of the Festival and a great place to come and sample a whole world of family entertainment over the August bank holiday weekend.  Situated in the heart of the Showground are three performance stages which host family spectaculars and dance displays, comedy and clowning. 

Plus an International Trade Market, a Craft & Music Fair selling everything from clothes to toys, jewellery to herbs, instruments to handmade pottery and even an energising massage!  It is the place to pick up a unique gift or a great bargain.

There is also a licensed bar and a whole range of hot and cold food and drink to suit almost every taste.

For Season ticket holders, the Children’s Festival offers a jam-packed programmed of activities and events for the younger members of your family.

Children’s Festival

For Showground visitors there is a great programme of family entertainment every day including dance displays, processions, street entertainment, face painting, comedy, puppet shows and lots more.  The Showground is a very safe family space for children.

What's on on the Showground

Details of the main Festival events will be posted on this website as they are confirmed.  If you cannot find the information you are looking for please contact the Festival office and we will be happy to help. 

The full programme and lots more information is in the Festival’s Souvenir Programme (£4), which is published in mid-July.

Children’s Season ticket holders will be given a copy of the Children’s Festival programme when they collect their ticket from the Festival Box Office.  The programme is jam-packed with activities and events that are on throughout the whole Festival.  A replacement copy costs £1.

For Showground visitors, details of shows and entertainment on the Showground will be posted on the website in mid-July.  Watch out for big ‘Today on the Showground’ boards when you arrive on the Festival site for a detailed programme of the day events’ for you to enjoy.

The full programme will not be available online.

Yes, there is a big free car park, courtesy of farmer David White, which is available to all visitors and only a short walk from the main Festival site.  There is a drop off point by Gate 1 for people with disabilities.   There are a limited number of car parking spaces next to Gate 1 for drivers with disabilities but if the driver is able-bodied please use the drop off point and move your vehicle to the main Festival car park.

Directions

All three camp sites have toilets, showers and water points close by.  See the Water, washing facilities & toilets section for more details.  There is also a camp site shop for all those camping essentials.

With a great selection of meat and vegetarian dishes from potato wedges to burgers, crepes to spicy Mexican, ice cream, doughnuts, full English Breakfasts and more, no-one should go hungry.  We have sit down cafes, take away food stalls and licensed bars in all main venues serving a wide range of real ales.  The Festival Bar on Site 1 stocks all your favourite tipples as well as hosting informal concerts and sessions.  Site 2 boasts a food court, which caters for both campers and day visitors, from breakfast to late night snacks.

The Festival attracts around 3,000 Season ticket holders for the whole weekend plus approximately another 2,000 visitors to the Showground every day.  The Festival sites are within easy walking distance of each other and the other Festival venues in the village.  Towersey prides itself on being one of the most relaxed, family-friendly festivals of its kind.  In fact we know of several families who started coming to the Festival when they were young and who are now bringing their own children and in some cases their grandchildren!  Whilst the Festival has developed over the years it has retained the small village Festival feel that our customers know and love.

If you are 18 years old or over and are available to work approximately 20 hours over 4 0r 5 days then you might like to volunteer as a Festival steward.  You could join in with all sorts of things from administration and ticket checking to traffic control and venue management.  The closing date for applications is 29 May 2009.

Volunteer steward information and application form

For Season ticket holders, the Shooting Roots youth project is the part of the Festival for everyone between 12-25 years old.  There is a great programme of music, song, dance & theatre workshops and performances.

More information on Shooting Roots