Calling all wild creatures, shapeshifters, hybrids, mystics, and beautiful weirdos… Welcome to Carnival in the Undergrowth 2026!

A whole day Festival! :)

At the height of summer, we gather to celebrate the earth and all its strange and wondrous inhabitants. Join us for a jam-packed day of Collective Creativity and Radical Imagination: Live Music, Cabaret, Parade, Ritual, Workshops, Puppets, and more!

This year we honour creatures that blur boundaries - mythical beasts, hybrid beings, and animals whose lives defy fixed categories and gender conventions. From the fluid flailing of the clownfish, to the writhing whiptails, the slime sodden snails, fungal fruiting and dancing dreambirds, intersex icons and gender revolutionaries, we take inspiration from nature’s endless imagination and the shapeshifting folklore that surrounds it. In the Undergrowth, difference its is abundance.

DRESS CODE : SUMMER SPECIES LOVERS Come adorned as your wildest self: beast, bloom, chimera, pollinator, predator, symbiote, swampling, spirit, celestial hybrid, or something entirely unnamed. Come dressed to meet your mates, to meet your 'mate', or to simply slay (Praying Mantis style).

Featuring trash electro disco queen CHEWY SHE for fans of high-energy, genre-defying live shows, hypnotic polyphony from Tryani Collective with voices are used as instruments and Band of Bugger for a highly theatrical unique bluesy, whisky-soaked sound... and many more delights from the depths of the Undergrowth!
Plus Afterparty at Basement 45!

DAY TIME 12am to 10pm (Bridge Farm, Family Friendly- children under 12 come free

POWERED BY : Awassa Omnidirectional soundsystem. 

✦ Live Music
✦ Cabaret
✦ Rituals
✦ Workshops
✦ DJs & Dancing
✦ Puppets and Parade
✦ Costumes, Creatures & Transformation
✦ Food by Cibomatto and Kotto Hut (Vegan and Gluten Free)

NIGHT TIME 10.30 to 3am (Basement 45, 18+) :
Separate tickets available https://hdfst.uk/e156356 Cheaper in bundle day+night available here.

✧ Live Modular Synths SHOW
✧ DJ Sets
✧Immersive Rooms
✧Interactive Installations

SEE OUR INSTAGRAM @UNDERGROWTH_COLLECTIVE TO SEE FULL LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENTS

____

Undergrowth C.I.C. is a Bristol-based community interest company creating immersive events, workshops and artistic experiences inspired by nature, folklore and collective imagination. We are committed to supporting neurodiverse, LGBTQIA+ and marginalised communities by creating welcoming spaces where people can connect, express themselves and celebrate difference. Our work is rooted in care, creativity and respect. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism or any form of discrimination or harassment will not be tolerated at our events.

Need assistance or have any questions? [email protected].
Concessions tickets available upon email request.

Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio) — Read more — Read less