Firestarter Festival, the Island’s only festival catering exclusively for teenagers, is returning in summer 2012 for a milestone fifteenth year.  Organisers are hoping to mark the occasion by making the event one of the largest in the Festival’s history.

Graeme Brooks, the Festival Coordinator, commented: “A lot has changed in the last fifteen years.  Many of the volunteers who help run the Festival now were coming as revellers five or ten years ago.  We’ve also teamed up with other local youth projects, such as The Upper Room, who will be arranging some of the acts for our main stage this year.  However, whilst the music and activities have changed with the times, the underlying principle hasn’t: we are here to give teenagers an event to call their own, where they can have fun without the pressures of drugs or alcohol that are sadly often involved in today’s youth culture.”

The Festival has been running annually since 1998, and gives young people between the ages of 12 and 17 the choice of a huge range of activities, including outdoor pursuits, games and live music.  This year’s event runs from Wednesday 15th August to Sunday 19st August, with over 150 youths expected to be camping for four nights at Union Mills Football Club.  The Club offers the ideal venue for the Festival, with a large clubhouse and a lot of camping space, plus it is a sociable distance from residential areas.

In addition to great music, other activities and entertainment on offer will include pugel fighting, giant boxing on an inflatable ring, hikes, talent shows, themed parties, sumo suit wrestling and water fights.  For many regular attendees, the highlight of the festival is a water fight involving over 5,000 water bombs and more than 100 water guns.

Tickets are available to anyone aged 12 to 17 at the time of the festival, and cost £99 with all camping, meals and entertainment included in the price.  Further information and application forms can be found at www.firestarterfestival.com.