Get your wellies at the ready as festival season approaches

EVERYONE loves a good festival, don’t they?

And whether it’s based around music, literature or food what’s not to love?

An entire weekend camping in a field with a dozen good friends, more booze than you can shake a stick at, a plethora of entertainment, and acts that fill stadiums and television screens around the world – it’s the perfect mix.

Unless, of course, it buckets down with rain. In which case, it’s the perfect mix of a quagmire of sodden fields, gloopy mud baths, and dirt-covered (and often, bleary-eyed) revellers. But it’s all part of the fun! Festival season is just around the corner and, traditionally associated with places like Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury, the events are becoming increasingly popular right here in Wales.

The country is gaining ground as a festival hotspot and offering up music pickings like rock, pop, blues and folk, as well as a whole host of literature, food and comedy events – there really is something for everyone.

So whether you fancy digging out your old wellies and spending the weekend getting your groove on, expanding your mind at a literature festival or stuffing your face with some good grub, here are some of the best we have to offer.

Green Man An independent music and arts festival in the Brecon Beacons, Green Man is a happy, warm, welcoming festival – and not because (and this might be a preconception) it’s full of old folk-lovers and hippies with kids.

The crowd is as varied as any other with everyone from families to couples, those old folk-lovers, and groups of youngsters all partying side-by-side to the often brilliant, and equally as varied, music line-up.

Here you’ll find everything from bluesy rock to electronica, folk, African blues funk and pop.

This year’s line up includes, twotime Mercury Prize-winner PJ Harvey and Grammy-nominated Ryan Adams. GlastonBARRY From the Brecon Beacons to the Vale of Glamorgan, GlastonBARRY is swiftly becoming one of the hottest and most talked about music tribute festivals in the UK.

It all started in 2013 when cousins Matt Blumberg and Ross Mackintosh wanted to create a music festival in their home town of, yes, you guessed it, Barry.

Since then it has grown bigger every year from 800 customers in 2013 to more than 5,000 visitors last year.

This year’s event will feature 14 bands, including tributes to the late David Bowie and Prince, and a 4,000-capacity circus big top arena so whatever the weather, everyone will be covered and (hopefully) mud-free.

Hay Festival A fizzpoppingly splendiferous celebration of great writing, Hay Festival brings together poets and scientists, lyricists and comedians, novelists and environmentalists, as well as filmmakers, politicians and musicians.

Names of those to have appeared in the past include Bill Clinton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacqueline Wilson and actress Dame Judi Dench. Former Pop Idol winner Will Young has been named as one of the acts performing at this year’s event, along with the legendary Sir Ken Dodd, artist Tracey Emin, and chess player Garry Kasparov. So get ready to be inspired, entertained and perhaps find a book or two, because Hay is, in Bill Clinton’s phrase, “The Woodstock of the mind”. The dates for 2017 are May 27 to June 4.

Abergavenny Food Festival Think food, think Abergavenny Food Festival.

Now one of the highlights in every self-respecting foodie’s calender, the Abergavenny event features a market with exhibitors, chef demonstrations, a meat market, craft brewery festival and a night market.

We don’t know the line-up yet for this year just yet but big names in the past include Great British Bake Off contestant Richard Burr, River Cottage’s resident gluten-free expert Naomi Devlin, award-winning chef and restaurateur José Pizarro, and Tim Hayward.

The festival is in the gorgeous market town on September 16 and 17.

Festival No 6 Festival No 6 is a boutique celebration of art and music and is undoubtedly unlike any festival you’ve been to before, if only because of its uniquely stunning setting in the Italianate village of Portmeirion in Snowdonia.

Acts including Noel Gallagher, Grace Jones, Primal Scream and Manic Street Preachers have performed at previous festivals, although last year’s event will be better remembered for the parking disaster which saw thousands of cars stuck in a flooded car park.

Remember what I said about the gloopy mud baths? Yes, that.

But fingers crossed the weather will be a little kinder this year as Brit Award-winning British Breakthrough Act Rag ’N’ Bone Man joins a bill which sees The Flaming Lips, Bloc Party and Mogwai headline the festival. So what are you waiting for?

Whether your interest lies in food, music, art or literature there’s never been a better time to try out a festival in Wales. Just try to remember to bring your wellies!