Head down to the river for Charlbury's feast of music

The free to enter festival will feature 40 bands over two days across two stages and have the theme of the circus.

This year’s Main Stage welcomes back four Riverside favourites: Oxford music mainstays Zurich, The Standard, Knights of Mentis and The Mighty Redox.

Other acts to look out for are US country punk band Speedbuggy USA and popular popsters Candy Says. As in previous years, Rapture record store in Witney and Oxford’s Truck Store will run the Second Stage, and there are a variety of acts performing on the Fringe Stage.

Also returning is a dedicated Kids’ Zone where youngsters can try their hand at a range of circus-inspired activities, festival goers can find out more about traditional crafts and meet local artists in the Green Field site.

No festival would be complete without a beer tent and the Riverside bar will serving Hook Norton craft beers.

The popular Pimm’s and Tins tent returns along with the Riverside Gin and Fizz lounge and the Pre-School Tea and Cakes tent.

There is also a wide assortment of stalls selling traditional festival food.

The Festival would not exist, and certainly would not be free, without the huge band of local volunteers who make it happen.

Charlbury Primary School and the Charlbury Beer Festival help with equipment, Charlbury’s Pre-school provides teas, and the local recycling group ensures that 99 percent of Riverside’s waste doesn’t go to landfill.

West Oxfordshire District Council has given Riverside Festival an Inclusive Award in recognition of its work to ensure the festival is open and welcoming to people of all abilities whether they be volunteers working at the festival, performers or, most importantly, the audience.

The festival, at The Mill Field, Dyers Hill, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, springs into life on Saturday, July 28 from 12pm and runs until 10pm.

On Sunday, July 29 music gets underway at 11am with the festival closing around 8pm.

For more information visit www.riversidefestival.charlbury.com.