Castlefest

Name: Castlefest
Address: Keukenhof 1, Lisse, 2161AN, NL
Telephone: +31888882662
Price range: $$
Rating: 4.7

Castlefest: where fantasy becomes your reality.
(1350)

Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the Netherlands, held on the first weekend of August in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof in Lisse since 2005.

05/11/2024

Castlefest 2024 had so many delicious food options, that we didn't even get to try it all! Which was your favourite?

01/11/2024

Sowulo brings atmospheric dark folk to Castlefest 2025!
Creating melancholic and powerful songs full of spirit and depth is the essence of Sowulo. With lyrics in Anglo-Saxon language and music created with (early) medieval and contemporary instruments, the creator and listener are challenged to go on an inner journey and to invoke archetypical wisdom.

Captivated by the cyclical nature of existence and an animistic worldview, multi-instrumentalist and composer Faber Horbach is determined to express his spiritual path through Sowulo’s music.

More info via https://bit.ly/CF25Sowulo

31/10/2024

Blessed Samhain! 🕯️

According to the Celts, everything begins from darkness. It’s no surprise that they saw winter as the start of a new year. They also viewed Samhain as the beginning of winter, making it the Celtic New Year. The celebration began at dusk and continued through the night, in the darkness.

The Celts believed that on the night of Samhain, the veil between our world and the Otherworld was thinnest. On this night, the dead could visit our world of the living, and evil spirits could also make an appearance. To ward them off, the Celts carved scary faces into pumpkins, as well as into turnips and potatoes.

Regardless of how you celebrate this holiday... we wish you a blessed Samhain!

Learn more about Samhain in our Vana Grimoire:
https://castlefest.nl/en/news/vana-grimoire-samhain

29/10/2024

For animal welfare reasons, we have decided that starting from Castlefest 2025, dogs, like all other animals, will no longer be permitted to attend with visitors. The festival is large, with loud noises and crowds of people. In recent years, we have seen that some dogs appear uncomfortable, stressed, or even display aggressive behavior. In its current form, we do not consider Castlefest a suitable environment for dogs.

An exception applies to officially certified assistance dogs, which are still welcome on the festival grounds and campsite, provided they remain on a leash.

📸 Ellen la Faille Photography

25/10/2024

It’s time to announce the first band that will be part of Castlefest 2025! We’re proud to welcome these Swedish folk legends on stage: Garmarna

They are set to bring their unique sound to our 20th anniversary, offering you a chance to experience the magic of a band that has been at the heart of Nordic music for over 30 years.

Garmarna has carved out a distinct musical path, blending the haunting beauty of traditional Scandinavian ballads with a modern edge that has kept their music fresh and relevant for decades. Drawing inspiration from ancient Swedish folklore, Garmarna’s music feels timeless—deeply rooted in the past, yet constantly evolving.

Discover more: https://castlefest.nl/en/line-up/garmarna

24/10/2024

We have great news about the Castlefest Campsite of 2025. We’re moving!

After extensive conversations with the municipality of Lisse and Keukenhof, we have received the green light to relocate the campsite back to the location where it was from 2017 to 2019. We are thrilled to return to our old spot. This means we will have more camping spots and parking spaces available.

Since this news brings many changes, it raises many questions from you as well. In our blog post, you’ll find more information about the move and answers to the most frequently asked questions: https://castlefest.nl/en/news/camping-nieuws-2025

08/10/2024

Two enter DE KOOI, only one leaves…
What a great show that was! Who was your favourite fighter?

07/10/2024

Wow, we love your enthusiasm for our 20th anniversary!

The Castlefanatic Camping tickets are very popular. If you're planning to stay at our campsite in 2025, be sure to secure your tickets soon!

In the meantime all preparations are in full swing. Soon the first bands will be announced. Keep an eye on our socials to not miss any updates!

PS. We can’t stress this enough: beware of scammers in the comments under our posts. Make sure to buy your tickets only through our official channels.

01/10/2024

Tickets for Castlefest 2025 are now available! Will you join us to celebrate our 20th edition? We can’t wait to dance, sing, and share a mead with you! Get your tickets today via https://tickets.castlefest.nl/.

We are still working on realizing the possibilities for other accommodations at the campsite. Once this is finalized, you will be able to book additional accommodation as a campsite guest.

We look forward to welcoming you from 31 July to 3 August 2025 at the Keukenhof Estates in Lisse. See you there!

PS. Beware of scammers in the comments under this post. Only purchase through our official channels.

27/09/2024

Slowly, we are waking from our September slumber... to let you know that ticket sales for Castlefest 2025 will begin next Tuesday, 1st October!

From 12:00 PM (CET) onwards, you can purchase tickets for our 20th edition. We can't wait to celebrate this with you!

22/09/2024

Blessed Mabon

Today the day and night will be of the same length. This autumn equinox marks the start of the second harvest festival, Mabon. We take a moment to bring balance back to ourselves and our surroundings.

While we feasted in abundance during the first harvest festival Lughnasadh, this festival is a bit different. We will be mindful and use this harvest to prepare us for what will come. It will help us through the winter. This is the time of apples, grapes, and pumpkins.

You can read more about Mabon in our Vana Grimoire: https://castlefest.nl/en/blog/vana-grimoire-mabon

Small reminder: This is a planned post. From Tuesday, October 1st onwards, we are back for all your questions and messages.

During the autumn equinox we celebrate Mabon. Read more about it here in our Vana Grimoire blog.

27/08/2024

What a grand 19th edition of Castlefest it was!
The dust has now settled and we look back with wonderful photos, a striking aftermovie and amazing memories. Behind the scenes, we are still busy wrapping up the last things. After that, we will take a moment to rest.

From 1 to 30 September, we will therefore be unavailable by phone and our e-mail and social media inboxes will also remain unanswered.

From Tuesday 1 October, we will be ready to answer all your messages again and start our plans for next year. Do you have an urgent question? Send us a message before September 1st!

📸 by Orkfotografie.nl

20/08/2024

Relive the Wicker Ritual of Castlefest 2024 ❤️

This year we met the Wicker as Corvus, the messenger of our ancestors. Dancing on the currents of air, the bird of the gods brings messages from the Other World and of your subconscious.

17/08/2024

Throwback to the sunny Sunday, the perfect final day of Castlefest 2024.☀️
Will we see you again next year?

16/08/2024

Time for a throwback to Castlefest Saturday!
What was your favourite moment?

15/08/2024

Are you missing Castlefest as much as we do? Reminiscence the good times through the garlicy flavours of a knobi!

In our blog we share our recipe for home-made knobi. What are your favourite toppings?

Get the festival feeling at home with your own knobibrot or garlic bread. Here you find our recipe of knobibrot as you know it at Castlefest and Keltfest.

14/08/2024

Throwback to the Castlefest Friday. What was your highlight?

Adres

Keukenhof 1
Lisse
2161AN

Telefoon

+31888882662

Website

http://www.castlefest.nl/

Meldingen

Wees de eerste die het weet en laat ons u een e-mail sturen wanneer Castlefest nieuws en promoties plaatst. Uw e-mailadres wordt niet voor andere doeleinden gebruikt en u kunt zich op elk gewenst moment afmelden.

Contact

Stuur een bericht naar Castlefest:

Video's

Tim Talesman shares a story of the greatest Viking army ever. Would you prefer to be in charge of the swords, shields or cooking? 📹 Coen Halmans Productions 📍@castlefest 2024

The Wicker Ritual @ Castlefest 2024

Relive the Wicker Ritual of Castlefest 2024 ❤️ This year we met the Wicker as Corvus, the messenger of our ancestors. Dancing on the currents of air, the bird of the gods brings messages from the Other World and of your subconscious.

Spleen Orchestra - What's This?

#ThrowbackThurday: What's This? What's This? There's colour everywhere! The Spleen Orchestra - Tim Burton Show brought the gothic fairytale atmospheres and songs of Tim Burton's movies to Castlefest 2023. The sights, the sounds, they were everywhere and all around. We've never felt so good before! What did you think of the show?

Project Baraguda - Second home (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: Percussionist Rob van Barschot - artist page is a familiar face at Castlefest, having performed many times over the last decade, both with bands and during his GUDA drum workshops. Last year, the GUDA drum took center stage with his Project Baraguda. This unique musical journey served as the Castlefest opening act on Thursday, and we couldn't think of a more relaxing way of starting our festival in 2023.

Ball Noir - Time Marches On (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: Doesn't this Ball Noir performance feel like it happened just yesterday? Their unique blend of acoustic balfolk and electronic metal created a mesmerizing dance party, bridging the old and new worlds. It's hard to believe that we were dancing to this song nearly a year ago at Castlefest 2023!

Willos' - Johnny is the fairest man (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: Last year, the Italian-Canadian band Willos' - irish folk music took us on a journey to where fairies dance with their Celtic Folk tunes. We still dream of those magical places while listening to this song!

Castlefest 2024 Ticket Update

🇬🇧 Tickets for Castlefest are selling like hot cakes! We predict that passe-partout and Saturday tickets will be sold out soon. Don’t wait too long: grab your tickets now to be part of this incredible event! 🇳🇱 Tickets voor Castlefest gaan als warme broodjes over de toonbank! We verwachten dat passe-partout en zaterdagtickets binnenkort uitverkocht zijn. Wacht niet te lang: koop vandaag je tickets nog om Castlefest mee te beleven!

Tulua - The Cabin Reels (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: We love ourselves a good portion of reels. At Castlefest 2023, we were lucky to have the traditional Irish fusion band Tulua Music on our stage. With tunes like these, it’s hard not to dance.

Waldkauz - Dimna Juda (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: Last year, Waldkauz enchanted us with their mix of music and tales about ancient magic, the power of nature, and the dance of life and death. With their wonderful paganfolk tunes, they treated us, for example, to 'Dimna Juda,' a song about a Slavic Witch-Nymph of the woods. We're still under her spell...

Loogaroo - Van Izegem tot Istanboel (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: Last year, at Castlefest 2023, Loogaroo kicked off Balfolk Friday at Meadow Stage, showing us that their wonderful folk tunes make everybody start to dance, from Izegem to Istanbul and from New York to Castlefest!

FeHu - Zelda (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: At Castlefest 2023 •FeHu• brought us stories of not-too-distant times when carefreeness was the main feature of life and imagination took over reality. Inspired by medieval and folk melodies they sure made us all dance!

Blóð Dýr - Sleipnir (Official Live Performance @ Castlefest 2023)

#ThrowbackThursday: Blóð Dýr brought us the story of Sleipnir at Castlefest 2023. Combining traditional and modern instruments, they took us on a journey to the heart of ancient European cultures, coloured by medieval and tribal paganfolk sounds.

Snelkoppelingen

Where fantasy becomes your reality

Imagine yourself in a completely different world at Castlefest, the Fantasy festival of the Netherlands. fest for young and old, where, as soon as you enter the gates, you find yourself in the Other World. Castlefest is a total experience with lots of music, fantasy writers, themed catering, medieval crafts and a large market which offers everything a fantasy fan is looking for.

A large amount of bands are performing at the various festival stages, from Pagan Folk to World Music, from Medieval Rock to Indie. In short, for each music lover his own!

Castlefest characterises itself by a unique ambiance. This makes that regular visitors are looking forward to the next edition a year in advance. It creates a feeling where you find yourself in a completely different world, causing a daze and homesickness for weeks after the event took place.

The Castlefest-feeling is difficult to define, but something everyone needs to experience themselves. The highlight of the festival is the Wicker Ritual. Together with visitors, bands, exhibitors, entertainers, caterers and the staff you are living towards the moment the Wickerman is lit. The energy that is then released is a special experience that cannot be missed.