Could this be the start of a return to festivals?
Festivals and outdoor concerts could be making a return sooner than expected as a series of live gigs called At The Manor are set to be hosted at Palmerstown House Estate in Kildare across July and August.
Guests will have their own pod of four to six people with their own picnic table, where ticket-holders can have a few pints, dance and enjoy the festival with their friends – while remaining in their socially distanced pods, of course.
However, guests who wish to attend will have to purchase a whole pod as there are no single tickets for sale.
So far two weekends have been announced, with one event running from 23-24 July, and another running from 30 July to 1 August.
There are three levels of tickets available – bronze (4-person pods) silver (6-person pods), and gold (6-person pods closest to the stage) – ranging in price from €120 to €240 for a pod of six.
Some of the acts that have been announced so far include The Swing Cats, Spring Break, Smash Hits 90s, and The Joshua Tree.
The festival has also recruited Michelin-star chef Derry Clarke to present his gourmet BBQ Smoke House and Swing Grill Menu with a complete range of meats, seafood, vegan options, and sharing platters.
The organisers added that pods will include the picnic table with bench seating, as well as the allocated space around it which they plan to have open as personal dance floors for each group.
“However, we must bear in mind if we receive instructions from the Government closer to the time that guests must be seated, we will have to react to this,” festival organisers said.
“Let’s hope not, otherwise we will be learning lots of chair dances.”
More dates and themes are set to be announced soon, as well as further details of the line-ups.
You can purchase tickets here if you’re considering gathering your pals for a socially distanced bop in the sun this summer.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
