If you have any queries that aren’t answered below, drop us a line at enquiries@shambalafestival.org.
If your query is related to ticketing, contact The Ticket Sellers at info@theticketsellers.co.uk
PRACTICAL INFO
Shambino will take place at the beautiful country estate that has been home to Shambala Festival for well over a decade.
CAMPING, DRINKING, EATING, FIRES, FIRST AID, LOST KIDS, KEEPING YOUR STUFF SAFE…
Located in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside, the site is home to stunning lakes, lush flat fields, woodlands and meadows. We keep our location a secret, but directions will be sent to ticket buyers ahead of the event.
We provide fresh drinking water taps around the perimeter of the camp sites and throughout the entertainment areas, good toilets (many compost loos) and access to hot showers. Camping is all reasonably flat.
At Shambala Festival 2019, we had just SIX tents left behind at the end of the festival. We are not the kind of event where you leave your tent – it costs us money and it’s wasteful. Please keep campsites tidy too! We have 24 hour stewarding and security in the campsites, so if you need to ask a question, grab a friendly Oxfam Steward, either at one of the Campsite Hubs or as they pass. Please observe the quietness curfew of midnight for those who need their beauty sleep – there’s plenty to keep you busy until late in the entertainment areas.
Shambino will have a campsite field for tents and a campsite field for camper vans. To camp in the camper van field, you must buy a camper van pass for your camper or caravan.
DRINKS
Got a thirst on? Then visit one of the many bars on site serving the finest ciders, ales, lagers and sumptuous cocktails, designed by our in house ‘mixologist’s’. Whilst you are of course welcome to bring along your own booze, we encourage you to help support our amazing bar suppliers (especially after the catastrophic past 18 months) rather than giving your hard earned cash to multinational supermarkets, by treating yourself to a tipple from the bar. A freshly mixed Chai Wallahs house cocktail is better than a warm can of tent lager anyday!
FOOD
They say “you are what you eat” and we pride ourselves in selecting the best food providers on the festival circuit, providing delicious vegetarian cuisine from around the world all at reasonable prices, with strict ethics around sourcing produce.
Want to know more about why we’ve been meat free since 2016? Check out our FAQ over on the Shambala website.
Note that we allow people to bring their own meat onto site, but we suggest that you either give the meat-free a chance, or get into the spirit of the ethics and choose to bring meat or fish that meets very high standards.
CAMP FIRES
After good behaviour over the last few years, we have been allowed by the estate to have fires in the campsites and camper-van fields. Fires must be:
• Off the ground (i.e. in a fire-wok)
• 2m from any tent and 3m from any vehicle
• Attended at all times and kept well away from gas canisters and cookers
• Campsite Stewards will put out any fires which are not off the ground
Firewood is on sale at Public Info tent. The firewood is sustainably sourced. Please do not scavenge wood from surrounding areas as they form valuable habitats. Please take note of the fire points (fire towers and Camp Hubs).
FIRST AID AND WELFARE
The Medical team welcomes you and your injuries and uncertainties to our Festival Medical Centre (please see map in programme for location). Open 24 hours a day, pop in for any reason however minor it seems.
SEXUAL SAFETY
We are proud to be part of an industry-wide initiative promoting sexual safety at festivals – we believe that everyone should feel (and be) safe at all times, and that any form of uninvited advance (physical or verbal) is absolutely unacceptable. We are already a very strong and conscientious community, with very few reports of such incidents over the years, but we strongly encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed sexual harassment to report it to a steward or security – we will take all reports seriously and take appropriate action. Don’t be a bystander!
LOST KIDS AND ADULTS!
Should you lose them, or they lose you, our professional Lost Kids Team are at hand 24 hours a day and can be found at the Public Info tent. Please report lost kids to any steward or official immediately and follow their advice – we have procedures – and they work!
KEEP YOUR STUFF SAFE – THE ‘TENT WATCH’ CAMPAIGN
Sadly, tent thefts can happen at even the fluffiest, loveliest of festivals. Our Tent Watch campaign has been amazingly successful, helping us to keep tent thefts to only a handful. We are determined to keep it this way, and we need to work together as a festival community to achieve this. Tentwatch is a partnership between festival goers and our staff.
Things we’re doing:
- Visible security and stewarding in all of the campsites to maintain a reassuring vigilance and be on hand to help generally
- Each campsite is home to a ‘Campsite Hub’ – a 24 hour info point, ready to receive news of any tent thefts so we can act super-quickly.
- The perimeter is secure, with more fencing, lighting, increased security, ferocious animals with sharp teeth, a piranha infested moat and a dedicated evictions team to seamlessly deport undesirables and fence-jumpers.
- If you need to pop out to your car in the carpark your wristband will be zapped, so we can check you should be coming back in.
Things you can do:
- Don’t bring unnecessary valuables
- Be sensible with your stuff in your campsite/ in tents at night (e.g. don’t leave it by the door!)
- Know your neighbours – create a community and look out for each other
- Report ANYTHING suspicious or any thefts immediately to a steward, member of security team or Campsite Hub so we can respond quickly
The key to all of this is working together. We are already a tight community of lovely people and we can easily make it difficult for thieves to begin to target the event. We are our own Community CCTV.
NO ON SITE LOCKERS
Sadly we are not able to offer lockers at Shambino (though they will return for Shambala 2022) so it’s more important than ever that you avoid bringing anything valuable, or keep any unavoidable valuables on your person, somewhere that would be hard for any rotters or wrong ‘uns to get their mitts into without you noticing, eg a bum bag or one of those adorably dorky, under-your-shirt money belts that everyone’s dad wore on holiday in the 90s.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Before you contact us with a query please read through the most common questions people ask us. We are a very small team and the less time spent on dealing with queries, the more time we have to make Shambino brilliant!
COMMON QUERIES:
TICKETS
Q. Where & when can I buy a ticket?
Tickets are only available via the website and our sole ticket agent TheTicketSellers. Tickets will go on sale at 12pm on Wednesday 23rd June 2021 via a private presale link, to those who made a SuperStar Donation to help keep Shambala Festival afloat back in 2020. 24 hours later (at 12pm on Thursday 24th June) tickets will go live both here on our website and on The Ticket Sellers website, to anybody else who wishes to join us.
Q. I’m a Superstar Donator but I missed the 24 hour presale window and now there are no tickets left – can I still get one?
Afraid not – we are opening them up to Superstar Donators for 24 hours first as a goodwill gesture, but tickets are not reserved for Superstar donators – once tickets are gone, they are gone.
Q. Are you offering instalment tickets?
We are not able to offer instalment tickets for Shambino, due to the short amount of time between ticket launch and the actual event.
Q. What if the event is cancelled, due to Covid-19?
In the event of a Covid-19 cancellation, all ticket holders will be entitled to a refund, minus the £40 Community Indemnity Pledge on each adult ticket, and booking fees (which go to our ticketing agent, The Ticket Sellers, to cover their costs.)
Q. When do I get sent my tickets?
A. When you buy your tickets you will initially receive an order confirmation that means you have secured your tickets. However, your actual barcode tickets will not be sent out until a few weeks before the event.
Q. I can’t find my Barcode!?
A. Please log into your account with TheTicketSellers and click on “E-tickets & Barcodes”. Here you will be able to download all your barcodes and also amend the names associated with individual barcodes.
Q. Oh no! I can’t make it, can I get a refund on tickets?
A. Due to the very short lead time for this event, we are not able to offer refunds – unless you need to cancel for a Covid related reason (see our terms and conditions for specifics on this) or in the event of a forced cancellation – in which case all ticket holders will be refunded, minus Community Indemnity Pledge and booking fees.
Q. I’m desperate for a ticket – should I buy one from eBay (or similar?).
A. Absolutely not – it is very likely to be a fake – there is no way to reliably verify that the ticket is genuine, as original purchasers are able to log into their account and change names as they wish. This means someone could in theory sell you a ticket with your name and then change it. It is worth noting that sites like TicketSwap and Viagogo falsely claim the name on the ticket does not need to match the ID of the ticket holder – this is NOT true, all Shambino tickets must be named to match the ticket holder. Only tickets purchased from our official online sellers directly are valid. If you have bought an invalid ticket, you will not be able to gain entry.
ON SITE
Q. When does the site open and close
A. The campsites open Thursday at midday and the site closes at midday on Monday. There are a few bars and low key venues open on Thursday night, but the main entertainment happens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Thursday is for settling in!
Q. How do I find out directions / Where is the festival?
A. Direction are clearly provided on the eticket email sent to ticket buyers.
Q. Can I bring a Gazebo?
A. Yes, we have plenty of space this year with a smaller event, so spread out and make a camp for your group. Just PLEASE do not leave any gazebos for us to deal with – even if they are broken, take them home.
Q. Can we have dogs on site?
A. We have a no dogs (or any other animals) policy, sorry. Registered guide dogs are an exception to this rule.
Q. Can we have fires in the campsites?
A. Yes, but strictly off the ground. We also sell sustainable firewood onsite at a reasonable price, available at the Public Info Point
Q. Can I go back to the carpark to get more stuff after I have entered?
A. Yes – but you MUST have your wristband ‘zapped’ on exit to gain re-entry.
Q. Do I need to book for the Family Campsite?
A. No, just turn up with your kids and settle in, but it is first come first served.
Q. Can campervans and tents camp together?
A. You are only able to pitch one tent with each camper van pitch as per the terms of purchase and size of the pitch.
Q. Can I bring my own alcohol?
A. Yes, you can bring an amount ‘suitable for personal use’ and at the discretion of the Shambino team. By way of a guide, 8 cans of beer (or cider) and half of a litre of spirits per person in your group would be acceptable. Please do remember no glass is permitted onsite, glass found during entry searches will be confiscated and not returned.