After months of excitement and preparation,Dumfries and Galloways Youth Beatz Music Festival 2019 is almost here with around 40,000 young people expected to attend.
This year’s event will again be at Park Farm, Dumfries after last year’s festival expansion for the Year of Young People, which saw the festival go from a 1 day event to a 2 day event. The continued expansion is thanks to the ongoing support of Dumfries and Galloway Council, which values the young people living across Dumfries and Galloway and wants to give them a truly memorable experience.
For 2019, there are lots of new and exciting things to do and see at Park Farm, such as the I Am A Raver stage, mini golf, Segways, caving experience, and old favourites such as the Oasis Centre, main stage, the Youth Enquiry Service, and The Toon.
The UK’s largest free youth music festival, Youth Beatz is set to welcome a capacity crowd of 40,000 ticket holders over the weekend of Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June.
Park Farm will host headliners The Vamps, Sigma, Louisa Johnstone, and Professor Green, along with a variety of young up-and-coming performers from Dumfries and Galloway.
Youth Beatz 2019 also sees a return of the hard hitting, immersive and interactive youth learning experience The Toon, which presents ‘Disnae’, an alternative take on some well-known fairy tales. This is an innovative way of dealing with issues that commonly affect young people’s lives, including mental health, drugs, knife crime, and domestic abuse. More than 100 local young volunteers have been working since Easter to put together this award winning educational experience. Tickets for this always go fast so, to be sure of a place, you’ll need to book early at the Toon Box Office on site on Saturday and Sunday.
Throughout both afternoons in the park, there is a massive range of activities for all the family to get involved; Galloway Activity Centre area, inflatables, caving experience, mini golf, hamster zorbing, Segways, kids’ tent, target wrestling, Glasgow Science Centre, Play Talk Read bus, and much more.
There will also be a Youth Information Area where local and national organisations will promote their services for young people. The Council’s Youth Work Service Team also has its Youth Work Area, where you can find out what youth services you can become involved in, and what is on offer across Dumfries and Galloway.
Dance and music performances will be provided throughout the day on the Youth Enquiry Service stage, giving festival goers the opportunity to see some of Dumfries and Galloway’s best up and coming young performers. The Oasis Centre stage will also host performers from across this region and the rest of Scotland.
Programming for the Youth Enquiry Service stage has been carried out by a panel of young people involved in the Oasis Events Team and the Junior Events Team.
The full line ups for each stage are on the Youth Beatz website and on social media platforms.
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Young People’s Champion, Councillor Adam Wilson, said: “I’d like to thank all the staff and volunteers who were involved in the planning and delivery of this event, without whose effort and commitment we couldn’tt have pulled off another successful Youth Beatz. Our Council is proud to have seen Youth Beatz return for a 2 day event as part of our legacy plan for our successful Year of Young People. I look forward to beginning the planning for the next event.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “After its success as part of the Year of Young People in 2018, it’s great to see Youth Beatz return this year with what is set to be a bigger and better event. Scotland is the perfect stage for music festivals and, with its young people at its heart, Youth Beatz is the perfect example of the legacy and impact our themed years can have.”
Now in its 11th year, the award winning youth event is managed through a partnership led by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Young Persons Service in conjunction with the Oasis Events Team. The event is supported by the National Events Programme Fund, managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate. Further support for the event had been secured from Youth Link Scotland, Cashback for Communities, The Robertson Trust, Alcohol and Drugs Partnership and Young Start.
Mark Molloy, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Manager for Young People’s Services said: “Once again this year, we have seen fantastic demand for the tickets for the event and all tickets for the festival are now gone. We would strongly advise people who don’t already have tickets not to turn up on the event days as no further tickets are available. All successful ticket applications have been processed and tickets distributed by the event organisers. We also ask that people arrive early, as there will be no admission to the event after 8pm on both the Saturday and Sunday. No food or drink can be taken into Park Farm and all attendees will be searched upon entry. We encourage people to follow all traffic directions which will be in place across Dumfries.”
Police Scotland has worked in partnership with Youth Beatz planners over many years to ensure the focus of Youth Beatz is on young people being able to attend and enjoy the event in safety. This is a no alcohol event and a robust policing plan is in place to ensure that anybody who tries to enter this area in possession of, or under the influence of, alcohol will be refused entry.
Chief Inspector Stuart Davidson, Local Policing Commander, said: “We would like to remind those attending Youth Beatz that it is an alcohol-free event and that local officers will work closely with event staff to ensure anybody in possession or under the influence of alcohol will not gain entry to the event. We’re again looking forward to another successful weekend. The success of Youth Beatz over the years is very much linked to the first-class planning at a local level with a host of partners in Dumfries and Galloway. This event, which is one of the largest on our calendar is a real community effort. All partners that are involved in the planning and delivery of the event want it to be a success and enjoyable for all and would appreciate the full cooperation of those attending the event. I will be at Youth Beatz overseeing the policing operation and look forward to another successful event.”
For up to date information on year’s event: www.youthbeatz.co.uk or follow us on social media.
For more information visit: www.youthbeatz.co.uk
