Vale Castle was filled with the sound of folk and traditional music with a hint of the blues on Saturday afternoon as well as various activities for people to get involved with, including a tent full of activities put on by Guernsey Museum, a street fayre on the castle’s existing cobbled street, and sword-fighting displays.
The first Chateau de Val festival was put on by Regency Events, which had put up temporary structures to reproduce the feel of when the castle had buildings inside its walls.
‘We put on a lot of events here, and our yard is just down the road and it’s the beginning of the season, so we have put this on, partly because Chaos festival finished, and partly because we are able to here,’ said one of the organisers, who goes by the name of Stretchy.
He had said he was pleased with the turnout for the event.
‘Last time I checked we had had 300 people through the gates,’ he said at about 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
‘Yesterday we held a free event for people with autism and that did really well despite the weather, we had about 130 people.’
Knights of the Green Isle put on a weapon display and show.
‘What we do is encourage people to interact with historical weaponry,’ said Phil West.
‘We demonstrate the use of the weapons with each other as all the weapons are safe or blunt, and spar with each other. We’ve had a steady stream of people throughout the day.’
The festival went on with music in the ‘Grand Hall’ until 11pm with folky local acts like GU10 and Clameur de Haro, before The Space Pirates of Rocquaine closed the festival.