'Another festival falls' - sadness as ticket sales fail to reach targets

THE organisers of the new Homestead Festival have cancelled the July event due to lack of ticket sales.

- NANCY CONNOLLY

The festival of music, food and comedy, which was due to take place at Fernhill Farm in Compton Martin from Friday, July 18 to Monday, July 21, has been axed and there is shock and sadness among supporters and friends.

It has been a difficult time for independent festivals with many casualties since the pandemic.

A statement on Homestead’s Facebook page announced the cancellation last week. It said: “It’s with great sadness that we must cancel our plans for Homestead 2025.

“Ticket sales haven't hit the targets that we needed to be able to deliver the event that we promised you all.

“To everyone with tickets, firstly thank you for believing in what we are trying to do and most importantly we are genuinely sorry to let you down.”

The news was greeted with sadness among festival supporters.

Rachel Benton, from New Zealand, commented on the post: “We were rooting for you all the way over in New Zealand!