Poltimore Music & Arts Festival will still go ahead, despite the fire that tore through the house last week.

The festival will literally rise from the ashes, taking place as planned on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May, but will now be in the grounds of Poltimore House, because there is now a 10-metre exclusion zone around the building.

The fire last Tuesday (April 9) - which is being treated as arson - caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage and destroyed two decades of restoration work. 

Midweek Herald: The fire at Poltimore House, Broadclyst

But the structure of the house is still intact, and the Poltimore House Trust, the community and other supporters - including the music festival team - are now all the more determined to bring the house back into use for the public.

The Music in Devon Initiative (MIDI), who are behind the festival, say they've been inundated with offers of support and practical help to stage the event - which had originally been planned as a fundraiser for further work on Poltimore House

The festival will now have its main music stage in the grounds behind the house, and the acoustic stage, which was going to be indoors, will be at the top of Lime Tree Avenue. Performances on the main stage will run at opposite timings to the second stage, so no-one will have to miss any acts.

There will be an outdoor cinema, two bars and a range of food and drink stalls, along with Wellness & Healing areas, craft traders, slam poetry and African drumming

Tickets for the festival start at £35 and are available via https://www.fatsoma.com/e/yay1hd0p/poltimore-festival-2024