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25 July 2011
Last updated at
14:21
In pictures: Secret Garden Party 2011 in Cambridgeshire
About 26,000 visitors flocked from across the UK to the 2011 Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire. The festival has grown steadily since it began in 2004 when just 1,000 people attended.
The festival boasts an eclectic mix of live music, art installations, theatre, world food, children's entertainment areas and workshops. Many people make the effort to dress to impress, like this couple who spent the weekend dressed as geishas.
The Secret Garden Party takes place in the grounds of a country house in the village of Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon. The central lake is always home to a different sculpture and other smaller art installations. This year a giant dragonfly took pride of place.
The organisers pride themselves on maintaining the independence of the festival. It is billed as "your festival" and revellers are encouraged to dress up and join in the many performance art presentations and workshops as well as enjoying four days of live music.
Artists display their creations in every corner of the festival site. Many of the displays are designed to be interactive and this year "art boats and trains" were introduced to carry visitors around the site.
The main stage is set in a natural amphitheatre on the site. Although numbers attending have risen steadily over the years, Abbots Ripton Parish Council leader John Leaver said the size of the site would naturally restrict the numbers attending and he had "no worries" that the festival would reach the size of Latitude or Glastonbury.
Debbie Harry headlined with Blondie on the main stage on Saturday. When it first started, the festival opened with just one stage. This has now increased to 15 dotted around the site.
BBC Introducing Cambridgeshire presenter Kerry Devine (left) broadcast her radio show live from the festival and was on stage herself on Saturday when the death of Amy Winehouse was announced. She sang an impromptu version of Valerie, as a tribute to the singer, with a member of the audience called Jordan.
The highlight of the festival is on the Saturday night when the lake sculpture - which this year was a giant dragonfly - is set alight followed by a fireworks display.
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