With a very heavy heart we have accepted that it is not feasible for this year’s Vantastival to go ahead in September. While the lockdown restrictions have been lifting and the Government Roadmap accelerated, there is still no concrete information surrounding the holding of mass gatherings in the autumn. Following consultation with the Gardaí in Drogheda and the relevant government departments, unfortunately at this point we feel the only responsible course of action is to cancel. We know that everyone was very hopeful that Vantastival could be the end-of-lock-down party to beat all, but we have to be realistic and take into consideration the health and safety of our patrons and their families, as well as the local community.

An event like Vantastival involves a huge amount of advance planning and logistics. Each day and week the Covid 19 goalposts are moving and while currently the overall outlook looks positive for September, the absence of guidelines or certainty on numbers makes it impossible for us to plan. We also feel strongly that even if the event were permitted to go ahead, the intimate and friendly nature of Vantastival would suffer greatly with strict social distancing requirements, and we do not want to put on an event lacking in the atmosphere so loved by our patrons.

We are so very appreciative of your support and we hope to return in 2021 with the party we’ve all been craving. All ticket-holders will be contacted by email and offered a full refund. We want to take a moment at this point to say THANK YOU. We couldn’t do what we do without you. Right now our small business, among so many others in our industry, is feeling the effects of this shutdown. We need your support more than ever, so please continue to follow us on social media, stay up to date with all things Vantastival, and keep listening to great Irish music!

Covid 19 Festival Update, June 2020

It has been a strange and worrying few months and it’s great to see some of the Covid19 lockdown restrictions being lifted. Everyone is eager to get out and start doing all the things we love to do over the summer. On 1st May the Government published a 5 step roadmap for the reopening of society, which shut down any hope of large gatherings before 10th August. The majority of summer festivals had already been cancelled prior to this. The Roadmap has now been accelerated due to the success of the lockdown restrictions in controlling spread of the virus, and many people are seeing this as a green light for Vantastival and other events. Unfortunately however, we are far from having the all clear for a September event just yet. There are still no guidelines around the numbers that will be permitted to gather once the final phase of the Roadmap is reached, nor do we know any details about the social distancing requirements for outdoor gatherings. For an event as intimate as Vantastival, and particularly one which has such a large number of children on site, such requirements may not be viable and we need to be realistic about this.

At Vantastival HQ we are working away on production for Vantastival 2020, but in the knowledge that there is a strong possibility that we will have to cancel this year’s event. We are in consultation with various authorities and event industry groups, and hope to have a more definite plan by the end of June. We would ask people to be patient and refrain from purchasing tickets for another few weeks. In the event of cancellation, all ticket buyers will be offered a full refund.

Stay safe everyone, we will be back with more information as soon as possible x

Due to multiple challenges arising from the spread of Coronavirus, we have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone the Vantastival festival, which will now take place 18th – 20th September 2020. All expert opinion indicates the situation is likely to deteriorate over the coming weeks and the response from other jurisdictions has been to introduce widespread restrictions on mass gatherings and movement. It seems inevitable that Ireland will follow suit. We feel at this point that the most responsible course of action in order to safeguard the festival’s future and protect our crew, patrons and the general public is to take the tough but measured decision to postpone until September.

We will work with all our artists to keep as much of the line up as possible the same and fully expect to present a wonderful event in the Autumn.  All tickets purchased will be valid for the new date.

Read more