The Festival grew out of a group of friends deciding to build a real treehouse in their spare time. Every summer they’d spend a week or so camping out at Brandon House Farm, working on the treehouse’s spiral staircase, its balcony, or its roof. More friends came along to join in–after all, it sounded pretty fun. Eventually even more friends came, who didn’t particularly want to build but wanted to enjoy the camping and community spirit that quickly became something very special.
Soon, the week of camping became its own entity, while the magnificent tree house continued to be built and thus the Treehouse Festival was born.
Sadly, the treehouse–made by young people in their own time, with their own initiative; created from entirely recycled materials, a long way from anywhere; that had engendered a sense of community and a can-do attitude in countless young people–was ordered to be removed by the South Norfolk Council.
Rather than mourn its loss and change the name of the Festival, we decided to keep the name and let the Festival be a celebration of our departed treehouse, and the special community spirit it brought us.
Here she is:
