| Music Festival Name: | Festinho |
| Location: | Bedfordshire, UK |
| Years Active: | 2005-2010 |
| Dates: | last weekend in August (3 days) |
| Genre: | Folk, rock, hip hop, reggae, indie rock, electronica, blues, techno, house, electronic, jazz, acoustic music, pop |
Festinho was a small, three-day music and arts festival, last held at Hinwick House, Hinwick, Bedfordshire during the August Bank Holiday weekend of 2010.[1]
Very much inspired by early Big Chill Festivals and picnics in the English countryside, Festinho is driven by a hard-working team of volunteers,[2] many of whom have in various configurations and incarnations been putting on events, DJing, VJing, and festivalling together for years. Many of the performers give their time for free so that as much money as possible goes straight to the ABC Trust.
Festinho continued with its tried and tested formula of two live music stages, two DJ areas, a comedy and cabaret space, a healing zone (The Sanctuary), a children's areas hosted by Angel Gardens, capoeira demonstrations, a cinema space, a children's carnival and several bars and food and merchandise stalls. However, the 2010 event did not take place during the first week of September; instead, it moved forward to the last weekend in August. this is notable because this is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, and afforded Festinho the opportunity to provide entertainment until much later than usual on Sunday evening. Another key difference from previous years was the decision to open the campsite on Thursday evening instead of Friday afternoon. This allowed an expanded programme of music that started during Friday afternoon instead of Friday evening. The event was attended by over 3,200 people.
All profits from the event go to the ABC Trust, a UK-based charity that supports community art projects in Brazil geared towards developing skills and interests amongst less privileged children. Action for Brazil's Children Trust (ABC) is dedicated to helping the most vulnerable children and young people of Brazil. Every day, Brazilian children are forced to face the violence, hunger and isolation of life on the streets.
Recent figures estimate that over 7 million children live a life on the streets in some way. For many, this means occasional school, petty trading, begging and prostitution, only returning to their homes in the evening. Others have no home at all and must face the dangers of sleeping on the streets; they find themselves increasingly excluded from their own communities with no way back.
ABC Trust supports a variety of locally-run projects across Brazil, from counselling to medical care to film editing workshops, which give these children a second chance - helping them to transform their lives, and giving them hope for their futures. Over 3000 children and their families are reached every day through projects made possible by ABC supporters' donations.
ABC Trust is a UK-based organisation set up by Jimena Page, as founding trustee, and Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page, as founding patron. They have since been joined by a board of trustees and a group of patrons who lend a hand whenever possible.
As an evolving creature, Festinho is different every year and thanks to a determined team, talented artists, and most of all a truly fantastic crowd, gets better and better. It's still very small compared to most festivals, and future plans are for Festinho to stay intimate, small and with a distinctly Brazilian flavour.
Previous bands and DJs that have appeared at Festinho include: Ugly Duckling, The Blockheads, British Sea Power, Crazy P, Max Cooper, Belleruche, The Bays, Eliza Carthy, Jim Moray, The Correspondents, The Leisure Society, Nancy Wallace, Gilles Peterson, Cosmo, Jon Hopkins, The Kleptones, Mixmaster Morris, Hint, Flevans, Andy Votel, Cut La Roc, Hexstatic and Jon Kennedy.
In 2008 and 2009, Festinho was held at Kentwell Hall, a moated, mellow redbrick Tudor mansion in Long Melford, Suffolk.In 2007, Yarnton, Oxfordshire hosted the Festinho festival.