Arts & Fashion
24 March 2026
This article first appeared in our Earth Day 2026 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Valley Fest will mark Earth Day 2026 by announcing the launch of Wake the Valley – a bold new step towards becoming the UK’s leading regenerative festival.
The goal is to provide a living example of how land, food, music and people can come together to shape a better future. In this sense Wake the Valley isn’t just about marking a moment: it’s about launching a movement.
Set against the backdrop of Chew Valley Lake in Chew Stoke, Somerset (half an hour from Bristol), Valley Fest has always celebrated music, community and great food.
For 2026, the festival is set to evolve into something more: a platform for regeneration in action.
At the heart of this shift is a simple idea: that events can do more than simply entertain. They can restore landscapes, reconnect communities and inspire new ways of living that give back more than they take.
Launching this summer alongside Valley Fest, Wake the Valley will bring together farmers, chefs, thinkers, artists and community leaders to explore what a regenerative future could look like – not as theory, but as something people can see, taste and experience for themselves.
From soil health and food systems to wellbeing and culture, the aim of the initiative is to bridge the gap between how we grow, how we eat and how we gather.
‘Nature doesn’t care about our good intentions – only our actions’, says Luke Hasell, founder of Valley Fest. ‘Wake the Valley is about showing what’s possible when we start working with nature again. This isn’t about sustainability any more; it’s about regeneration.’
The long-term vision is for Valley Fest to become a ‘regenerative festival of the future’, with regenerative principles embedded into every aspect of the event. Regenerative farming and local food systems will be supported, and practical steps will be taken to enhance biodiversity across the festival site.
The festival will build deeper partnerships that accelerate positive environmental change and create meaningful economic value for local communities. Circular systems will be designed to minimise waste and maximise reuse.
The ambition extends far beyond a single weekend; Wake the Valley marks the beginning of a wider roadmap – one that transforms Valley Fest from an annual event into a year-round movement rooted in land, culture and community.
As part of this journey, Luke has also been selected for the Top 50 Farmers in Europe 2026 cohort, a network of pioneering growers who are helping to shape the future of food and farming across the continent.
The initiative recognises those who are changing both how food is produced and how people relate to it, fostering a deeper connection between land, nourishment and everyday life.
‘This recognition isn’t just about farming’, Luke tells us; ‘it’s about a wider shift in how we live; how we value food, how we care for land and how we come together as communities. That’s the future we’re building towards.’
At a time when environmental challenges can feel overwhelming, Valley Fest is forging a different path – one rooted in optimism, participation and collective action.
Regeneration isn’t just something that happens on farms; it happens when people gather, when stories are shared and when new possibilities are imagined and brought to life. This Earth Day, the call is simple: Wake the Valley and be part of what comes next.
Valley Fest’s Melissa Kidd explains how a festival environment can prompt long-term behavioural change.
’Regenerative’ is the new buzz word in food and farming – but what does it mean, and how is it different from organic?
Award-winning arts project tours to Nottingham for exhibition at Primary.
