Festivals By Month / October
Seven festivals happening in October 2019
Local
We love the 70s
Oct 4-7, price: £120 w/e, www.bigweekends.com
is needed now More than ever
You know the drill. This year’s pension boosters include the Three Degrees, Slade, Boney M, and the Real Thing.
Circus City
Oct 10-29, price: various, www.bristolcircuscity.com
Expect a broad old range of events to be held right across the city.
Simple Things
Oct 19-20, Price: £19.50-£25, www.simplethings.co.uk
Expect an immaculate selection of all manner of leftfield delights, with separate tickets for day and night line ups. Last time out featured the likes of Slowdive, Optimo, Octavian, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, James Holden and the Animal Spirits, Kamaal Williams, Helena Hauff, DJ Stingray, and Jane Fitz.
UK
London Film Festival
Oct 9-20, price: various, www.bfi.org
Expect to find a programme of circa 400 films, watched by around 200,000 people.
Bath Children’s Literature Festival
Sept 27-Oct 6, price: various, www.bathfestivals.com
Big as it gets when it comes to celebrating all things kidlit – in Europe at least – as the fest returns for a 29th outing. Expect a similar quality to 2018, namely: David Walliams, Philip Pullman, Lucy Worsley, Lauren Child, Tom Fletcher, Cressida Cowell, Harry Hill, Terry Deary, Nadiya Hussain, etc.
Cheltenham Literature Festival
Oct 4-13, price: various, www.cheltenhamfestivals.com
As with all the Cheltenham stable of festivals, you’ll find a splendid amount for young folk and families here, among a gathering of 1,000+ writers, actors, politicians, poets, sports folks and opinion formers. Last year attracted the diverse likes of Sir David Attenborough, Graham Norton, Kate Atkinson, Darcey Bussell, Rose Tremain, Prue Leith, Caitlin Moran, Sally Field, Eric Idle, Phillip Pullman, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo, Shane Warne, and Kevin Keegan.
Bath Film Festival
Oct 31-Nov 10, price: free, www.bathfestivals.co.uk
Brilliant, genuinely influential festival – five years ago it introduced the F-Rating, denoting films giving fairer roles to women onscreen and off, a certification subsequently adopted across the globe. Expect premieres, workshops, live musical accompaniment, etc.
2018, by way of a marker, saw the screening of 22 previews, 10 feature docs, eight LGBT films and 36 shorts; 64% of films were F-Rated, with 55% directed by women, and 17 Triple F-Rated, ie directed by, written by and starring women.
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