Calvin Harris will headline the Friday night of this year’s Kendal Calling with the Saturday and Sunday headliners still to be announced. The Glasgow-born DJ will be airing a catalogue of hits such as ‘Acceptable in the 80′s’, ‘I’m Not Alone’ & ‘Ready For the Weekend’ to name a few.

More main stage acts have also been announced including Wild Beasts, The Futureheads, Ok Go, and Dub Pistols.

The Dance Tent’s first bookings have been confirmed from promoters Wax:On and Ape who will be hosting on Saturday & Sunday. Taking to the decks over the weekend will be Erol Alkan, DJ Yoda, Plump DJs, High Contrast, Scratch Perverts, Elite Force, Justin Robertson, Danny Byrd, Doorly, Eskimo Twins, Emalkay, People Get Real, Rich Reason, Ken Evil, and Ash Howell.

The Kaylied Folk Stage will see the return of BBC 6 Music’s Craig Charles, and the first appearance at the festival of comedy folk band The Lancashire Hotpots.

Kendal Calling has eight stages including Europe’s biggest solar powered tent Croissant Neuf. This year Kendal Calling also hosts a kid’s area, Garden of Eden and Peaceful Progress; a creative crew of graffiti artists, breakdancers & sculptors and much more. The majority of stages at Kendal Calling run until 3am, making it one of the latest-running festivals in the UK.

Tickets sold out last year for Kendal Calling which this year has also introduced a deposit scheme which enables ticket buyers to pay £30 now to secure a ticket and pay the rest later at no extra cost.

An adult ticket including 3 days and nights camping is priced at £85, a child (11-14 years) weekend ticket is priced at £45, and children under 11 can attend for free, but need a ticket. A campervan ticket is priced at £40.

Kendal Calling is held in the Lake District, over the weekend of Friday 30th July to Sunday 1st August and is a wholly independent festival returning for its fifth year and returning to the Lowther Estate, Kendal, in East Cumbria.

2010 sees the festival grow to 8,000 capacity so expect all the regular favourites (entertainers, beer tent, big top marquees, comedians, cabaret) plus many more new and innovative extras, whilst keeping the intimate vibe and friendly atmosphere.

Tickets are on sale for this year’s Kendal Calling festival at £85 for the weekend.

Tickets sold out last year which this year has also introduced a deposit scheme which enables ticket buyers to pay £30 now to secure a ticket and pay the rest later at no extra cost.

500 early bird discount adult tickets including 3 days and nights camping is priced at £65 (normal price £85), a child (11-14 years) weekend ticket is priced at £45, and children under 11 can attend for free, but need a ticket. A campervan ticket is priced at £40.

Kendal Calling is held in the Lake District, over the weekend of Friday 30th July to Sunday 1st August and is a wholly independent festival returning for its fifth year and returning to the Lowther Estate, Kendal, in East Cumbria.

Festival goers can expect a circus big-top main stage, dance tent, Kaylied ‘folk’ tent, Croissant Neuf tent, a new music ‘Calling Out’ Stage, chillout area, and camping is available.

2010 sees the festival grow to 8,000 capacity so expect all the regular favourites (entertainers, beer tent, big top marquees, comedians, cabaret) plus many more new and innovative extras, whilst keeping the intimate vibe and friendly atmosphere.

You can buy tickets here

With a population of 28,000, the Lake District market town of Kendal was once a manufacturing hub of the north, nicknamed the “Auld Grey Town”. More recently, it has been known for the eponymous mint cake, which powered Sir Edmund Hillary up Everest.

But the town is celebrated for another reason – its mountain film festival. Among mountaineers and adventurers, it’s as important a date on the calendar as Cannes or Sundance is to a movie critic.

Next week (November 19-22), up to 7,000 visitors will descend on the town to catch a glimpse of the best high-adrenalin action from the world’s top adventure film-makers.

“It’s the social event of the year for anyone who’s into mountains,” event director Clive Allen says. “And among the world’s mountain film festivals Kendal is known as the party one, no doubt helped by taking place in a former brewery.”
He adds that one of the main attractions is the chance to meet the stars of adventure and exploration. “There are not many sports where you can guarantee you will be rubbing shoulders at the bar with the top performers.”

Among the headline acts are British climber Leo Houlding, who has just returned from a 14-day epic ascent of Mt Asgard, a 1,400m peak in the Canadian Arctic. His achievement left the climbing community in awe.
Not only did Houlding parachute in as if he was in the SAS, he also base jumped off the summit. The film of the adventure, by climbing team-mate Alastair Lee, is one of the most eagerly anticipated in the festival line-up.
“If the experience had been any harder we would have freaked. It was really dangerous, too,” Houlding says. “Due to global warming there was a lot of rock fall, house size boulders were coming down. It was way more ‘out there’ than the Himalayas.”

Also speaking is the French “Spiderman” Alain Robert, who solo climbs skyscrapers with no ropes or safety equipment. (“He’s never spoken in the UK before,” Allen says.) In addition, Tarka L’Herpiniere and Katie-Jane Cooper will describe their recent fight for survival in Patagonia (featured on these pages recently).

Other highlights include the premiere of The Wildest Dream, a film about Mallory and Irvine’s fateful climb on Everest in 1924. And there are dozens of speakers, from Himalayan climbing legend Doug Scott to Major Phil Packer, the Iraq war veteran who, despite being paraplegic, has gone on to run the marathon, row the channel and climb the 3,000ft-high vertical rock face of El Capitan in California by making the equivalent of 4,254 pull-ups.

Another person who has come back from serious injury is the 33-year-old Norwegian base jumper Karina Hollekim. Until a few years ago she was one of the world’s top extreme athletes, regularly photographed skiing off cliffs and base jumping off mountains. Then, in 2006, a routine jump went wrong, her parachute failed, she hit the ground and shattered both legs. Lucky to survive, she was told she would never walk again. Three years and 20 operations later she has done just that.

Skiing and base jumping are out of the question, but Hollekim will tell the Kendal audience how she has been forced to be content with more mundane challenges, such as finding the motivation to face the day. “I appreciate things in a different way because I know how it feels to have what you love taken away from you,” she says.
Despite the extreme nature of her chosen career path, she feels her story is universal. “We all have setbacks, whether illness or the loss of someone close. We all need to find the strength and motivation to get back up on our feet,” Hollekim explains.

“Hers is a fantastic story,” Allen says. “She really bust herself up.”

Hollekim is speaking as part of The North Face Free Flight Night. Other themes in the programme of lectures and films include mountain biking and adrenalin. There will also be mountain art and literature on display. And there is an adventure film academy for anyone looking to get into film-making themselves.

Tickets (01539 725 133; www.mountainfest.co.uk)

Telegraph.co.uk

Country Fest gives a real taste of the countryside, celebrating the quality and diversity of the superb independent food and drink producers and suppliers that abound in Cumbria and the North West.

Alongside a full programme of talks and demonstrations, visitors can also learn where their food comes from in the “Why Farming Matters” Zone, which will include a wide range of farm animals. An Eco Zone, Wedding Fayre, wide variety of trade stands along with a packed Demonstration Arena, childrens’ activities and entertainment and lots of good music ensure a great day out for the whole family.

Fair on Gooseholme with music, food, displays, table top sale, competitions; a good afternoon for all ages.

Proceeds in aid of church funds, Kendal Shopmobility and Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity using hospital ships and land-based programmes to deliver specialised health care and community development services to the forgotten poor. Mercy Ships programmes promote health and well-being by serving the urgent surgical needs of the poor and empowering developing communities.

After a sell out show in 2008, Chubby Brown makes his return to Kendal, just after his new DVD has been released.

Over 18’s only, please do not attend if offended easily.

Can you help the Easter chick find her eggs in the garden?