ANNUAL summer festival The Green Gathering takes place beside Chepstow Racecourse and has won a prestigious international award for sustainable festival power.

The AGF (A Greener Festival) Greener Power Award went to The Green Gathering 2018 for its pioneering work and commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy events.

With stiff competition from eight countries across three continents and a rigorous assessment process, The Green Gathering is delighted to be recognised for its commitment to greener, environmentally friendly festivals.

The awarding body, A Greener Festival, founded in 2005, is a not-for-profit company committed to helping events, festivals and venues around the world become more sustainable and to reduce their environmental impacts.

The Green Gathering team is no stranger to accolades, having also won an Outstanding Greener Festival Award in 2018 and the UK Greener Festival Award in 2017.

A spokesperson for A Greener Festival said: "Green Gathering has provided not only its own event power using renewables (wind and solar) but has given a platform and inspiration to so many others to go out and do the same.

"Power is just one of the many fine facets of The Green Gathering and this award is extremely well deserved”.

The Green Gathering is a showcase of real life, low-impact alternatives.

Its focus is education for sustainability, with the emphasis that education should be hands-on and fun.

The festival’s philosophy is ‘beyond hedonism’ and it aims to provide an environment where creativity can be applied to ecological and social dilemmas in a tapestry of skill-sharing and entertainment, all powered by wind, sun and people.

Emma Fordham, Green Gathering director, said: “It is a place to relax, make friends and listen to music, it’s a community and an education.

"It’s about providing food, energy, health and shelter without degrading the planet.

"It’s about future families.”

The Green Gathering 2019 takes place from Thursday, August 1 until Sunday, August 4, near Chepstow in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on rolling meadows surrounded by trees with views across the Severn estuary and Wye Valley.

This year’s festival goers can look forward to intimate solar stages and outdoor venues hosting more than a hundred live acts, off-grid solutions, crafts, permaculture, campaigns, healing, kids’ activities and youth tents, a stone circle and a faerie glade, open mic spaces, acoustic sessions, yoga and dance workshops, affordable bars and ethical eats.

Tickets can be purchased from the ticket agent ‘The Ticketsellers’ via a direct link from The Green Gathering website.

For further information, please visit the festival website at greengathering.org.uk

For additional information about the work being carried out by A Greener Festival, visit agreenerfestival.com