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Where It All Began

@whereitallbeganfestival

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A new, UK community-owned festival with grassroots music 🤝
✊Not for Profit
📆18-21 June 2027
📍@thesecretgardenparty site
🎟️ Get your tickets 👇

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We thought it was about time we tell you a bit about the people behind Where It All Began, Si Chai and Potter.

Two people. That’s it. Just two people who’ve spent decades building this culture from the ground up.

Si and a team of incredible people over the years built @chaiwallahs, which started back in 1999 as a chai stall. Since then it’s grown into one of the most respected independent festival venues in the UK, hosting thousands of artists, millions of people, and showing up at some of the biggest festivals going. Potter was a regular on the Chai Wallahs line ups and properly joined Si to create the dream team around 5 years ago.

But it’s never been about being the biggest.

It’s always been about the artists, the sound and the people in the tent.

@sichaixxx been deep in this for over 20 years, DJing, programming, connecting scenes, and always pushing for something better.

@pottsmusic is an artist in his own right, building, supporting, and shaping the culture from the inside out.

Together, they’ve spent years creating platforms for artists that don’t always get seen.

This isn’t new for them, Where It All Began has been the dream, and now it's happening.

A festival built the same way they’ve always done things, with community and creativity at the centre. by @whereitallbeganfestival

We want to acknowledge this properly.

We're genuinely sorry that we've had to make the difficult decision to re-schedule the first ever Where It All Began festival until 2027.

Not cancelled, not abandoned, just a pause.

Swipe for the full picture. Every reason, every number, no spin.

Over the coming months we'll be digging into each aspect of this decision in detail, because this conversation needs to be had. by @whereitallbeganfestival

For anyone new here, Welcome.

'Where It All Began' is a community-built festival, rooted in independent music, grassroots culture and collaboration.

It started as a feeling.
It grew through people.
And it’s being shaped together.

We’re not here to build just another product.
We’re here to build a space.

Welcome to Where It All Began.

#whereitallbegan by @whereitallbeganfestival

Hey 👋

Today would've been the first day of the first ever Where It All Began.

Feels like the right day to come back online. We needed a bit of downtime to reset and get our heads back in the right place before pushing Where It All Began forward properly.

We've had our heads down, crayons out and working out exactly what Where It All Began is, and isn't. Our morals and values aren't up for negotiation, and we'd rather take the time to get that right than rush it and lose what makes this different.

Thank you for sticking with us. Without you, none of this exists in the first place.

Lots of love, and lots to come 🫶🏻

Where It All Began, brought to you by the people behind @chaiwallahs. June 18-20th 2027. by @whereitallbeganfestival

We want to acknowledge this properly.

We're genuinely sorry that we've had to make the difficult decision to reschedule the first ever Where It All Began festival until 2027.

The reasons are many and varied, but here's the short version:

🔸 Delays to our Funding grants, costing us vital development time.
🔸 Huge issues with our first ticketing platform, resulting in a 7-week delay in the affiliate marketing and promotional strategy.
🔸 Delays in branding creation – resulting in uncertainty as to the legitimacy of the event.
🔸 Poor sales through March and April – this was felt across the entire sector.
🔸 305 Ticket deposits from Original Founders that didn’t convert to payment plans or full priced tickets which exposed us to a £45,000 deficit.
🔸 10 to 15% rise in infrastructure and transportation costs since the invasion of the middle east – this has resulted in an extra £30,000 in production costs in the last two weeks alone and would be expected to rise.

Had we pushed forward we faced a potential loss of £60,000–£80,000. WIAB would've died before it even started - and Chai Wallahs would've gone with it.

If you're an Original Founder or early ticket buyer - check your emails. We'd love for you to roll your tickets over.

Where It All Began was never meant to be a one hit wonder. It’s building something better for Grassroots industry.

We’re fully dedicated to Where It All Began in 2027, same date, same place. We hope to see you there ❤️ by @whereitallbeganfestival

Slow mornings, music in the distance, a full day of dancing ahead of you.

Who are you bringing with you to Where It All Began? by @whereitallbeganfestival

It’s not just about dancing to solid independent music at Where It All Began. It’s about looking after yourself too.

Saunas. Cold plunges. Yoga. Sound baths.

Spend a few hours resetting… and you’ll be ready to go again.

(No cognitive therapy on site though… maybe next year 😉) by @whereitallbeganfestival

Only took us forever, but boutique camping is finally here! 🏕️

Bell tents and handcrafted bow top wagons - unfurnished or fully made up with premium memory foam beds, cotton bedding, tea and coffee, the lot!

🔗 Link in bio to book yours by @whereitallbeganfestival

💥 Phase 2 lineup is here 💥

Frothing with independence, grassroots energy and genuinely incredible talent.

No ticket yet? What are you waiting for. Link in bio. by @whereitallbeganfestival

We’ve been trying to show you what Where It All Began is going to look like…but when it doesn’t exist yet, that’s actually quite hard.

So we got the crayons out and had a go anyway for these parts... more to follow...

The @chaiwallahs tent - no surprises here. The home of grassroots music. The people building this whole thing.

If you know Chai Wallahs, you’ll know the energy they bring, and Where It All Began, is going to be that energy times 100.

Expect sounds from everywhere, dancing into the night, and cocktails that have been properly dialled in.

The Bohemian Triangle - powered by @the_beat_goes_on_events. A space you kind of just end up in and don’t leave. Dance music into the early hours, some of the UK’s finest selectors, proper late-night energy.

The Wellness area - for when your body’s asking questions. Hot tubs, saunas, cold plunges, yoga, massages… all the good stuff. Reset, then go again.

Skate & street art - by day and by night. Open sessions, drop-ins, murals being painted live across the weekend. Then as the sun goes down… it shifts. More DJs, more noise, same energy.

It might look like a few scribbles on a field right now… but give it a few months, we'll be bringing @thesecretgardenparty site alive with pure energy and grassroots culture. by @whereitallbeganfestival

When ops invite marketing to a site visit…In all seriousness though - have you seen the flyover of how we’re using @thesecretgardenparty land?
No? Go have a look 👀 by @whereitallbeganfestival

Not backed by corporations. Backed by people.

A real community that believes the festival scene can be better.

Where It All Began is built from the ground up, by the people who want to protect what festivals are supposed to be about. Come and be part of the change. by @whereitallbeganfestival