Learning Disability Today
Supporting professionals working in learning disability and autism services

Apulstock – five years on and the Stock still rocks!

Apulstock2 Tickets are now on sale for Apulstock, the annual music festival for people with learning disabilities in Chichester.

Apulstock will take place on July 18 and will feature 14 bands playing a mix of electro, reggae, rock, folk, disco, pop, funk and covers – so something to appeal to all tastes. In addition, festival-goers will have the opportunity to see the original TARDIS from Dr Who – and a couple of Daleks – there will also be a sensory garden for people to chill out in, as well as numerous other activities such as face painting, a raffle, and various fairground games. Herbie the Love Bug is also rumoured to be making an appearance.

The event will take place at the Apuldram Centre in Chichester. Apulstock has been deliberately kept small – the venue holds a maximum of 500 people – ensuring the event is not overwhelming for guests..

“Apulstock is somewhere people with learning disabilities can come and rock out and be accepted,” said Alex Fryer from The Apuldram Centre – a charity for people with learning disabilities – who originally came up with the idea for Apulstock in 2010. “We look to offer a festival experience to people who would not normally have the chance to visit a music festival, although anyone is welcome to attend whether they have a learning disability or not. It is essentially about music, community and equality”

The ethos behind Apulstock is to bring people together for the love of live music, community and rock and roll. Apulstock is an independent, community-based, not-for-profit event run by volunteers as a music festival for people with learning disabilities.

Initially, the idea was to offer the people who attend the Apuldram Centre the opportunity to camp out, which then included a barbeque. But once Mike Hobson, a local social worker heard about it, he offered to come and play some music in exchange for food and love. Apulstock snowballed from there.

This year’s festival will be the fifth Apulstock, and the first to be held at the Apuldram Centre since 2012 – Apulstock 2013 and 2014 were hosted by Matt Baker at Church Farm in nearby Bosham.

Tickets are available from The Apuldram Centre now and it is recommended to book early due to the limited number available. For the address and contact details go to: http://www.apuldram.org/

The festival also has its own website, www.apulstock.co.uk and a facebook page, www.facebook.com/apulstock which will have regular updates on this year’s event as well as photos and videos from previous years.

Tickets will be available online via the Apuldram website – www.apuldram.org – from Monday May 11.

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LDT Editor

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