Another Yestival has been and gone and the wind hasn’t yet left our sails. We also haven’t stopped desiring random naps! This was the 9th Yestival (somehow we thought it was the 8th all weekend) and it was a celebration of the YesTribe’s 10th birthday, and this year’s Camp Yestival felt a tad special for so many reasons, which always start with you - you who bought a ticket and still brought a generous smile and a weekend’s worth of applause and support.
Thanks to everyone who helped raise over £1000 for Parkinson’s UK (through the bake sale and other donations). Mmm, cake! And if you’d like to become the latest YesTriber to fundraise for Parkinson’s UK we’d love to share your challenge and add it to our growing list of Parkinson’s supporters.
As you know, this has become an intensely personal challenge at home for us, and your kindness is so much more than charity. We really appreciate your moral support and anyone who has donated some time to come and help us at Big Sky on a workaway.
Finally, if you know anyone with Parkinson’s who might like to attend our Parkinson’s UK-supported Parky in the Park Festival in 2026, please let them know! More details coming soon on www.bigskyhideaway.com :)
Upcoming Events
Wilderness First Aid Retreat: 4-5 August 2025 - a two day first aid course for beginners or a refresher
Let’s Begin with Dave C and Krish Patel: 8-11 September 2025 - start something new!
Big Sky HangOut: 12-14 September 2025 - a chilled weekend full of hammocks!
Mississippi River Trip: 19-26 October 2025 - the trip of a lifetime in a unique environment
YesTribe Spring campout: 10-12 April 2026 - start the camping season in 2026 in style.
And there are so many events going on in regional YesTribes, head to Facebook and add your region after The YesTribe in the search bar (eg: The YesTribe East Midlands). Here’s a regional summary, although some regions are currently lacking volunteer leaders
And finally - put the date in your diary for Yestival 2026: 12-14 June 2026. Tickets will go on sale in mid November.
Other notable mentions
Throughout the weekend so many opportunities, adventures, books and events were mentioned and below we’ve tried to collate a list of them (if any have been missed let us know and we’ll edit this page)
Your Kindness of Strangers donations meant four people came to Yestival who ordinarily wouldn’t have been able to. THANK YOU!
Tom Napper’s fine designs made this year’s mugs and merch extra special (PS. Tom is a jobbing artist and is always on the lookout for commissions and opportunities in case you find the need for such a talent). He also made this compilation of your lovely self portraits!
Tegan Philips was mentioned on the weekend as a supremely talented and funny human to follow, she’s awesome!
Lana mentioned “The Baton of Hope” tour as something to follow later this year
Guy Baker mentioned this in an open mic, you can nominate yourself or someone else for this expenses-paid adventure in Colombia from 22-29 November
And a big thank you to those of you who extended Yestival by an extra day to help us put chairs away, sort bins out and take big tents down.
Our Speakers
These incredible humans all donated their time and stories to make Yestival 2025 the weekend it was. Please give them a follow and a cheer and if you ever need a speaker/workshop leader at an event, please do think of them! In no particular order they are…
Sarah Outen | Harrison Ward | Emma Lawton | Emma Cornthwaite | Tom Allen | Zoe Langley Wathen | Stacey Copeland | Krish Patel | Michelle Waugh | Tenny Adamian | Helen Spencer | Lauren and John - the T-shirt twins | Mel Fielding | Emma Karslake | Cedar | Jo Bradshaw | Mel Nicholls | Karen Atreed | David Willis | Jon Beardmore | Kim Ingleby | Spike Reid | Becky Woods | Siobhan Daniels & Dave Cornthwaite
Request for film
We’d love to see any film of your Yestival journey (before and during the event) so we can edit together a lasting memory of the weekend. If the YesTribe stands for anything, it’s community and collaboration, so hopefully you can send us your gems to edit together :)
WeTransfer is a free website where you can send footage and photos (to dave@sayyesmore.com) if you find the time to share. Thank you!
Big Sky!
If you enjoyed your time at Big Sky please do spread the word. We’re open 1st April until 1st October each year, we hire the site out in part or full for events throughout the year, and in between we’re open for camping and glamping. We’d really appreciate it if you spread the word and come back to see us, and for added incentive use the code “YESTIVAL20” to get 20% off stays of two nights or longer for the rest of this year.
Finally, a huge thank you to the volunteer crew, our inspiring speakers and everyone who brought their own magic to Yestival. And of course to Anna Pumer whose photography has brought Yestival to life over the past few years. What better place to finish this blog than to share her official photos from Yestival 2025. Yay!
