29/07/2026
Burghfest 2026 – A few important changes...
Every year I seem to end up writing one of these longer posts, and every year I say I'll keep it shorter... but again, its going to be a long one.
The reason is simple. Burghfest is changing this year, quite significantly in some respects.
This is also our final Burghfest, so we wanted to make sure we finished by putting on the event we always wanted Burghfest to be.
Before we start announcing bands, beers, food, entertainment and everything else over the coming weeks, I wanted to explain what is changing, why we're changing it, and hopefully answer the questions that I know many of you will have.
If you only read the first part of this post, here are the headlines.
🎡 Unlimited children's fairground rides are back for 12 and under.
🎟️ Under 18s will now require a ticket and must be accompanied by a responsible adult (over 25).
🎠 Children's ride wristbands will be strictly limited for each session to make sure everyone who buys one gets to enjoy the fair rather than spending half the day in a queue.
🍺 Advance ticket sales are going to be much more important this year.
Now, the reasons behind all of that...
When we first started Burghfest back in 2016, the vision was actually very simple. A community beer festival with great live music, a family atmosphere, local food, a few rides for the children and hopefully enough money left over at the end to support local charities and community groups.
Like many events, it has evolved over the years as we've learnt lessons, listened to feedback and tried new ideas.
Some of those changes have been fantastic. Some haven't worked quite as well as we'd hoped. Some happened simply because cost profiles changed, expectations changed and we tried to keep making Burghfest ‘better’ every year.
Last year, after we'd finished packing away and sat down to review everything, we asked ourselves a difficult question.
"If we were starting Burghfest today, would we organise it exactly like this?"
The honest answer was... probably not.
So this year we've gone back to first principles:
- We've looked at what people have told us they enjoy most.
- We've looked at the things that caused the biggest headaches.
- We've looked at the finances.
Most importantly,
- We've looked at how we make this year viable and enjoyable whilst still raising money for charity.
One of the biggest pieces of feedback over the last few years has been the fairground.
Many of you will remember when we used to have unlimited rides. Families loved it.
So we're bringing unlimited rides back for those 12 and under.
However, unlimited only works if the numbers are controlled.
We could simply sell as many wristbands as possible, but then nobody wins. Children spend their day queuing instead of riding and families quite rightly feel disappointed.
Instead, we'll be strictly limiting the number of ride wristbands available for each session. That means if you buy one, you should actually get the benefit of unlimited rides rather than unlimited queuing.
Another change you'll notice is that under 18s now require an event ticket.
We will not be having the bigger ‘adult’ rides this year at all.
This isn't about trying to charge children for the sake of it.
It's about helping us manage capacity properly, making sure everyone on site is accounted for, and making Burghfest a safer and more enjoyable event for families and everyone else attending.
We know not everyone will agree with every decision we've made this year, and that's OK. We don’t pretend to get everything right.
What I can promise is that every change has been discussed at length by the volunteer committee with one question in mind...
"Will this make Burghfest better?"
The other thing I wanted to mention is advance ticket sales.
Burghfest isn't run by a commercial events company.
There isn't a big promoter writing cheques months in advance.
Everything we do is funded by sponsorship, volunteers giving up their time and the support of the community.
The earlier people buy tickets, the earlier we can confidently commit to additional entertainment, attractions and infrastructure.
In simple terms, the more support we receive before the event, the more we can invest back into making Burghfest even better for our final year.
I also know that recent events elsewhere have understandably made some people nervous about buying tickets in advance.
It's worth mentioning that Burghfest tickets are sold through TicketSource.
TicketSource securely holds the money until after the event has taken place. We don't receive those funds before the event, so if Burghfest were ever cancelled for any reason, TicketSource would automatically refund ticket holders. Hopefully that gives everyone a little confidence when booking early.
This year the lack of advance ticket sales for Box Kart had a huge impact on the profitability of the event. Last year, despite record revenue, we only just broke-even at Burghfest.
We can’t continue with hope as a strategy, so we really need people to commit, and buy in advance, Every decision we make in the weeks before Burghfest is based on confidence. More beer. More Volunteers. More entertainment. More toilets. More children's entertainment. We can only commit to those things once we know people are coming. Plus, the tickets are far cheaper online, and importantly there is the option of discounted drink tokens, ride passes and the limited edition Burghfest Glasses.
Now for the exciting bit...
Over the coming weeks we'll start announcing bands, breweries, food vendors, children's entertainment, the fairground, competitions and everything else we've been working on over the last few months.
Personally, I think this is the most exciting Burghfest we've planned for several years.
- Not because it's the biggest.
- Not because it's the most expensive.
But because I genuinely think we're getting back to what Burghfest was always meant to be. A community festival, run by local volunteers, for local people, showcasing the best local breweries.
Hopefully we'll see lots of familiar faces in September.
As always, thank you for your support. Without it, none of this would happen.
P.S. If you've got a question after reading all of that, ask it below. Chances are if you're wondering, someone else is too. We'll do our best to answer everyone.
