Stewarding at Glade: just magic!

Max Hogg reckons stewarding is the only way to fully enjoy the unique Glade experience.

''The beautiful grounds of Wasing Estate are devoted entirely to electronic dance music for a weekend of madness.'' ''Seven main stages have a similar vibe - needless to say this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.'' ''While I was working the ‘graveyard shift’ overnight on the Sunday last year, one of the festival-goers entertained me for almost an hour doing magic tricks!''

The Glade festival is perhaps best summarised by their proud claim to have “the only dedicated outdoor psy-trance stage in the UK.” Despite being compared to the Glastonbury of twenty years ago it’s not what you would call a ‘mainstream’ music festival – the beautiful grounds of Wasing Estate are devoted entirely to electronic dance music for a weekend of madness.

The result can be a challenge to steward! On a visit to the Origin Stage last year (the psy-trance stage the organisers are so proud of) Judy Pennock, the Oxfam steward co-ordinator, was heard to explode; “No-one told me we were stewarding a rave!” Admittedly it was a quarter to five in the morning with the sun coming up over the hill. Approximately five thousand festival-goers were dancing away under a sky of fluorescent butterflies (the decorations), and were literally surrounded by one of the best - and loudest - sound systems around. Seven main stages have a similar vibe - needless to say this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.

Having said that, the comparisons with Glastonbury could be seen all over the site. There is no commercial sponsorship anywhere, and many of the best tea tents and cafes from the Green Fields were there in force. There is a definite undercurrent of social consciousness around, which perhaps explains why it’s one of the few festivals where most people clear up their litter at the end of the weekend.

But, more importantly, there is LOTS of weirdness! On a mid-afternoon shift this year, as I was walking between steward points on the backstage gates, an entirely naked man covered in red body paint jogged past me and disappeared through the gate. Before the slightly stunned gate stewards could collect themselves enough to work out whether he was wearing a wristband one of the other punters said casually, “Oh don’t worry about him. He’s here every year. Last year he was sky blue.” Right then!

It’s hard work, but for me stewarding is easily the best way to enjoy the Glade. It’s a great way to attend the festival and support Oxfam’s work at the same time, and obviously you save the entrance fee. You also get a backstage campsite away from the music tents - vital when you are trying to sleep, no-one else seems to at the festival! The expertise behind the line-up means that there is always something good on when you aren’t working and usually the best bits of any festival are the quirky things that are totally unexpected, which I reckon you see much more of as a steward. For example, while I was working the ‘graveyard shift’ overnight on the Sunday last year, one of the festival-goers entertained me for almost an hour doing magic tricks!