First family festival to be hosted by glamping, cafe and events space in Northampton next month

A glamping, cafe and events space in Northampton, located at a former dairy farm in Kettering Road, is set to host its first family festival next month.

Elliotts’ Rectory Farm, a family-run business working to diversify their farm, will be hosting the Come & Be Festival from June 23 to 25 and tickets are already on sale.

Co-owners Sarah Elliott-Hart and Hannah Lumley have been working hard to continue expanding what they have to offer.

This comes after they converted a vintage caravan into an on-site coffee shop called Brew – which soared to popularity during the pandemic as it gave visitors a socially safe space to meet and get their barista coffee and cake fix.

Since then, the team has been committed to running community-based events and remain “passionate about supporting local businesses and talent”.

It was this work that contributed to Elliotts’ Rectory Farm being named ‘Local Food Hero’ at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards last year.

This summer, the venue is putting on its first festival to showcase the talent the county has to offer.

After two years of their ‘Busking in the Barn’ event, customers called for more and the team listened.

The Come & Be Festival will be held at Elliotts’ Rectory Farm from June 23 to 25, and the team is pleased to upgrade its offering to a mini family festival.

There are camping tickets available, but these are limited as the cattle will still need somewhere to graze.

The co-owners are hoping to provide a “chilled out and friendly vibe” and welcome anyone, no matter who they are, to ‘come and be’.

The three days promise quality time with friends and family in a quirky, rural space, while having the opportunity to switch off, listen to some great music, and enjoy the food and drink on offer.

Their two bail-trailer stages will be put to good use, with one playing electric and upbeat music – including band covers guaranteed to get you on your feet.

The other will host some familiar and favourite faces, plus special guests with a more mellow, acoustic vibe.

Hannah said: “We are so excited to be putting on our first festival. Glastonbury started somewhere – and we hope our bail-trailer stage can compete with theirs.

“We want this to be a truly chilled out, friendly affair.”

“Some of my favourite memories are from being at gigs and festivals, and meeting like-minded people while having a good dance and laugh,” added Sarah. “That’s what we want our festival to be about.

“It’s important to us to support local talent and we hope that by creating this festival, we can elevate some of the spectacular acts on our doorstep.”

The weekend will begin on Friday (June 23) with a social evening of chilli and nachos.

Saturday’s music headliner is Maddox Jones, tipped as one-to-watch by BBC Introducing.

Saturday night (June 24) will finish with an unplugged ‘jukebox’ session around the fire pits with toasted marshmallows.

Across the weekend there will be a massage stand, craft stalls and activities for all the family.

To keep you fuelled, there will be food trucks, the Brew Caravan Cafe and the ERF bar, stocked with locally-made drinks.

For more information and to secure your tickets now, click here.