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Irish comedy-rap duo Rubberbandits <\/strong>are scheduled to take their cult status to the main stage alongside acclaimed Derry-born singer-songwriter Ryan Vail<\/strong>\u2019s new live AV show, which has been well-received at this year\u2019s SXSW in Austin, Texas. Fan-favourites King Kong Company<\/strong> will also make a welcome return to headline the main stage.<\/p>\n Other additions to the bill will include Electric Swing Circus, <\/strong>a unique blend of 20s swing and modern electro, Golden Age-channeling MCs Too Many T\u2019s<\/strong>, endearing, festival-worthy folk from Beans on Toast<\/strong> and the contagious humour of Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer<\/strong>. The festival maintains its strong links with music communities abroad by welcoming new Dublin noisemakers Farah Elle<\/strong> and Damola<\/strong>, and Glasgow pop-rockers Single By Sunday<\/strong>. Disco masters Le Galaxie<\/strong> as well as local-favourites Malojian<\/strong> and Reading & Leed\u2019s regulars R51 <\/strong>will also bring their explosive sound back to the packed-out \u2018festival for all\u2019 at Sunflowerfest.<\/p>\n A local hub for all genres of music, the festival\u2019s dedicated \u2018ElectroMoot\u2019 venue for dance and electronica will see a headline set from OR:LA<\/strong> alongside JIKA JIKA!<\/strong>, Ponyhawke <\/strong>and Bri\u00e9n <\/strong>at the controls with many more to be announced. To the delight of Sunflowerfest vegerans, the famous \u2018Silent Disco\u2019 will also make a welcomed return.<\/p>\n Speaking on the origins of the festival Sunflowerfest organiser, Vanessa Magowan described how the festival was borne out of their own sons\u2019 musical pursuits at young ages.\u00a0 The husband and wife duo have developed the festival to be a family-friendly force in the local music and arts community.\u00a0 \u201cSunflowerfest began as a small-scale fundraiser to help our son raise money for a school project,\u201d said Vanessa.\u00a0 \u201cOver the years, the festival continued to grow until we made the decision to open to a wider public and host it on our picturesque farm in Hillsborough.\u201d<\/p>\n An exciting new partnership will also be launched at this year\u2019s festival with local-favourite eatery Boojum joining forces to feed hungry festival-goers, families and artists.\u00a0 Additionally, following the success of last year\u2019s Year of Food and Drink venue, Sunflowerfest plans to this year bring a huge range of treats, cooking demonstrations and tastings showcasing the best in Northern Irish food and drink.<\/p>\n An emphasis on \u2018world-building\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Previous years of the hugely successful festival have seen the enchanting natural beauty of Tubby\u2019s Farm transformed into a steampunk haven and an ancient Viking settlement, among other unique themes. This year\u2019s theme of A Parallel Universe places a focus on futurism. Organisers and designers are collaborating to create a festival experience that will guide the Sunflowerfest-faithful through space and time, a unique combination of art and science. Speaking on what can be expected at this year\u2019s festival, festival organiser Michael Magowan described how their world-building ambitions are \u2018rooted\u2019 in positive community engagement. \u201cSince 2002, over 7000 native trees including beech, birch, ash, alder, willow, hazel, and oak have been planted on-site,\u201d said Michael. \u201cThe festival\u2019s electronic music venue \u2018The Moot\u2019 and the festivals picturesque Pond Stage were crafted 5-years ago from a lorry load of renewable pine logs from the forest at Jonesborough, near Castlewellan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe strive to foster a sense of community and connection both during the festival and at Tubby’s Farm generally. While visiting the festival, people from all walks of life can enjoy yoga, meditation, interactive\u00a0and educational workshops as well as inspirational talks from individuals who share creative and environmental interests. We\u2019re proud to share our home in the countryside \u2013 a collective, beautiful, piece of heaven on earth. We are just the caretakers for the generations to come.<\/p>\n Sunflowerfest is built on principles of permaculture and sustainability, and each year an army of volunteers is assembled to ensure that the farm is prepared for the thousands of expected guests as well as looking after the land during the festival weekend.<\/p>\n Tickets for Sunflowerfest start at just \u00a374.95 (includes 2 children, aged 15 and under) and \u00a364.95 for students \u2013 now available online at www.sunflowerfest.co.uk<\/a>. Additional bands, artists, and activities will be announced via Sunflowerfest\u2019s website, Facebook<\/a>, and Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A committed and excited fan base of festival-goers are on their toes this week as Northern Ireland\u2019s only 3-day festival of music and art makes its first official lineup announcement. Sunflowerfest: A Parallel Universe will run from 28th \u2013 30th July 2017 on Tubby\u2019s Farm, Hillsborough. Irish comedy-rap duo Rubberbandits are scheduled to take their … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13749"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13752,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13749\/revisions\/13752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}