Introducing Big Church Day Out: big festival fun in the country

Liftshare recently started working with West Sussex music festival Big Church Day Out, and we thought we’d taken a closer look at why you need to check the event out, as well as its great charitable and green efforts.

The festival is running May 23-24 at Wiston House, and you can find tickets via the official website here, along with artist information, line-ups and more.

It’s certainly a big one, as the whole weekend is packed with incredible Christian music acts, such as MOBO Award winner Guvna B, Grammy Award-winners Switchfoot, and the multi-talented group that is LZ7 – to name just a few artists!

The sheers scale and popularity of Big Church Day Out is very impressive, considering the inaugural event took place in May 2009. That said, even though it was in its first year the organisers managed to attract over 15,000 people, and that number now exceeds over 20,000 each year without fail.

While it’s a festival based around Christian music, there’s no exclusivity in terms of who can attend, and each year the event draws in people from all over the UK and beyond. There’s music, worship, and much more on offer including – we hear – some pretty delicious cream teas for those looking for some classic British fare while they unwind.

Liftshare is a fan of all festivals, but we have a particular soft spot for those that give great consideration to their own impact on the environment and the world at large. Big Church Day Out really knocks this area out of the park, as it’s hugely donor-funded, and works in partnership with the anti-poverty Christian charity Tearfund.

Together with Big Church Day Out and others, Tearfund helps raise money for poor communities in Africa and South America among other regions, while tackling various issues faced by people within those collectives, such as conflict, natural disaster and disease. It’s a great cause supported by the festival and its patrons.

It doesn’t stop there however, as Big Church Day Out also offers a rent-a-tent service to help curb the amount of tents left abandoned on the event grounds, which is a common green issue faced by many festivals. We’re absolutely behind this idea as well.

We encourage anyone looking for a new festival to attend, or nearby West Sussex to give this one a look, and if you do decide to go be sure to travel there with other fans via Liftshare. It’s the greener, cheaper, and social way to travel.

Image credit: Arun Joseph