Port Elliot Lit Fest

20th to 22nd July 2007

Here are some of the latest additions and highlights of this year’s Lit Fest:

Pearl Lowe and her partner, Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, will perform songs on the Cabaret Stage; St John’s Fergus Henderson will get to grips with a local pig: Guerrilla gardener, Richard Reynolds; Middle East correspondent Charles Glass’s anti-America rant; a n exhibition of Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s wondrous cloud photographs; Barbara Hulanicki drawing live fashion illustration of dressed-up punters and working with the ‘SinBiba’ team on seven deadly, sinful performances; a séance in the quarry with The Last Tuesday Society; Alexander Masters and Andrew Smith’s rocket tattoo parlour; The Stand-Up Poetry Club daily on the Ha!Ha! stage; Anna Sui and Anita Pallenberg; tours of the House’s hidden antique gems with art expert James Miller; Craig Taylor’s One million tiny plays about Britain on benches around the grounds; plus special direct trains from Paddington to St Germans station, beautifully decorated for the occasion and just 300 yards from the site.

Also: historian and author William Dalrymple ; Londonstani author, Gautam Malkani ;  The Dulwich Ukulele Club , with special guests; writer and broadcaster Rosie Boycott about life on her small holding; Petersham Nurseries’ Skye Gyngell, The Connaught’s Angela Hartnett and the chefs from Fifteen Cornwall; and London's legendary Gaz ‘Rockin’ Blues’ Mayall’s all-new, late-night Cabaret Tent. This year will also see the first ever John Betjeman Memorial Slam Poetry Competition, with a substantial cash prize.

Plus: Hanif Kureishi will read his short story banned by the BBC; Man Booker nominees Hisham Matar and M J Hyland ; the legendary Port Eliot Literary Pub Quiz with Marcel Theroux ; cult surfing writer Andy Martin ; Mick Brown on the comeback of Brian Wilson and the destruction of Phil Spector; The Erotic Review’s Rowan Pelling decadent cabaret; The Port Eliot Historical Society, led by novelist Hari Kunzru ; Zina Saro-Wiwa and her band Copperqueen ; Ekow Eshun ; Luke Wright and Aisle 16 ; Canadian travel writer, Charles Montgomery; poet Brian Patten; celebrated record producer Joe Boyd; Kamila Shamsie; The B Club in The Boathouse; Simon Munnery; stand-up magician Danny Buckler; Clare Allan; and Helen Oyeyemi.

This year the festival has expanded its children’s attractions even further. Artists Deborah Curtis and Gavin Turk will host The House of Fairy Tales, 56 hours of magic, surreal dreams and handmade theatre brought to you by a team of playful elves. C hildren are entertained by their own creativity in the form of workshops, puppet making, painting and much more. Plus in another area of the site, there are workshops for teens on slam poetry, DJing, calligraphy, how to avoid an ASBO, and more.

The fame of our celebrated film tent, curated by writer James Flint and producer Penny Nagle, now stretches beyond the confines of the festival itself. We’re welcoming partners old and new, including Shooting People, Cornwall Film, Britdocs, PoetryFilm and Vertigo magazine. Kevin Allen and Patrick McCabe will be talking about their experiences in the movie business; Rosie Boycott will be introducing Molly Dineen’s film about the plight of dairy farming; and Friends of the Earth will be hosting a screening of An Inconvenient Truth. Pawel Pawlikowski will host a director’s masterclass, and there will be more screen-writing tips from Amit Gupta and Rowan Joffe. Straight 8 films and 4docs will also be holding film-making workshops, and the Cinem@tic festival will be here to show us the best films coming out of Birmingham and teach us how to edit. All this hands-on activity is not without purpose: this year the film tent is holding a competition for the best short film shot and edited during the festival – so bring your DV camera or your video mobile and show us how it’s done! Also, pj’s and sleeping bags at the ready for Cinema Sleepover from midnight on Saturday and Wurlitza accompany silent movies with live music on Sunday.

Now in its fifth year, the Lit Fest continues to produce events that you wouldn’t expect to see at any other literary festival or in the garden of a stately home. Five stages show everything from the new work of the nation’s best authors to energised performance poetry and unseen films from internationally renowned film makers. Many create new, site-specific work. Once again set designer extraordinaire, Michael Howells will be working his magic on the stages and in the House. 

Visitors can pitch their tents in hundreds of acres of 18 th-century Repton-landscaped parkland in the grounds of Port Eliot, an ancient and magical stately home in one of the most beautiful places in England. Those less inclined to camp can hire decorated yurts or teepees. And there will be a substantial number of Posh Wash showers. 

Food has always been a feature of the festival and this year there will be a huge variety of good quality food stalls and cooking demonstrations, including an open air seafood restaurant, cream teas in the Orangerie, the amazing mushroom risotto stall from Borough Market and local Cornish pasties. Two bars will serve everything from real ale to cocktails

The fifth Port Eliot Lit Fest will be held at Port Eliot, St Germans, Saltash, Cornwall from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 July 2007. For further details please visit www.porteliotlitfest.com.

Gates open at 11am on Friday and the festival finishes late on Sunday night. Nearest train stations are St Germans (special direct trains for the festival on the afternoon of Friday 20 July, please see www.southwesttrains.co.uk for details or change at Plymouth) or direct to Liskeard and take a taxi (9 miles) to the site. Unlimited free parking will be available in the park.

Ticket Information

Weekend adult camping: £90.00
Weekend child (5-12) camping: £35.00
Family 2 adults +3 kids: £225.00
Saturday day ticket: £26.00
Sunday day ticket: £20.00

Children under 4 free and reduced price day tickets for 5-12s.

There is a handling charge of £4 per transaction.

Port Eliot Estate
St. Germans
PL12 5ND

Tel: 01503 232783

www.porteliotlitfest.com