5 Reasons to Visit OnRoundhay Festival Leeds

OnRoundhay is a new and exciting festival taking place at Roundhay Park, Leeds on the 17th September. The festival which is in partnership with John Lewis will mark the opening of the new John lewis Victoria Gate Flagship department store in Leeds. OnRoundhay is the sister festival to OnBlackheath which takes place in London every year which features a day full to the brim of live music, mouth-watering food and entertainment for all the family. If that hasn't whet your appetite for this festival, here's five reasons why you should book tickets to the hottest event in Leeds this year.

1) It's the first big festival Roundhay Park has seen in 10 years

OnRoundhay festival will be the first music festival played at Roundhay Park for over 10 years. The last act that played Roundhay was Robbie Williams in 2006. The park has a fascinating musical history with Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and The Rolling Stones all having played there. With this being the first concert for a decade, it is almost guaranteed to be one big celebration.

2) There's an abundance of street food to try and the John Lewis Food Court

One of my favourite parts of a festival is wandering around all the food stalls and there's plenty lined up for OnRoundhay. Whether you're a vegetarian looking for some unique grub or a you're a carnivore looking for your next surf and turf fix, there's something for everybody to enjoy from Leeds local street food vendors to food from John Lewis. Traders include: The Pizza Bus, Sela Bar Grilled Cheese, Los Churros Amigos, Golden Balls, Tarte and Berry, Mac Shac, Laynes Espresso, Yakumama, Crabbieshack, Longhorns BBQ, Street Fodder, Manjits Kitchen, Banh Mi Booth, Clawhide, Piggie Smalls and Pizza Fella. If you also want to improve your cooking skills and learn new techniques, there's also live demonstrations from celebrity and local chefs.

3) The line up is incredible

Smaller festivals sometimes get a bad reputation for having the z-list bands that nobody wants to hear, but not OnRoundhay. OnRoundhay has pulled together some of the best bands for it's inaugural festival such James one of the UK's most influential bands in their fourth decade of performing, Primal Scream one of the best British indie rock bands of the 80s and 90s, Wolf Alice who recently performed at Glastonbury and Max Jury and the Haggis Horns. 

4) Spending time with the family

Along with John Lewis, one of OnRoundhay's biggest sponsors is Puffin books and at Roundhay they will have their own section of the festival dedicated to children's entertainment. This includes a magical storytelling stage which will bring to life many children's classic stories from Puffin, an outdoor adventures section with egg and spoon races (I'm so jealous, I want to take part),  a special guests section where children can meet 'Peter Rabbit' and 'Spot the Dog' as well as surprise treats for children who come dressed as their favourite book character.

5) It's affordable 

The best thing about this festival is that it is affordable. The tickets are £48.60 for those over 13, £108.00 for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children 13 - 16 years old) and children 12 years old and under go free. 

Are you going to OnRoundhay this year?