The Great Swing Picnic

19th July

Join us for one of the most upbeat and fun events of the summer on the Northwood House Lawns… The Great Swing Picnic!

If you love a great night out, gather some friends and dress yourselves up in style for this fun-filled frolic picnic event this July! We bring you a vintage-themed night of entertainment, headlined by one of the best swing and dixieland jazz bands on the national circuit…the incredible Alvar TreeFrogs from London!

This professional six piece band recreate the energetic musical vibe of a vintage New Orleans street party from the 1920s and 30s which is sure to have you up and jiving with your friends until the cows come home! Covering classic dixie-style jazz and swing tracks from a golden age of incredible uptempo music, this is a unique opportunity not to be missed!

Getting the Swing Picnic off to a lively start, you’ll be welcomed by our Swing Picnic DJs Ronnie Pakes & Ian Hobbs who’ll set the tone for what’s to come.  Then, before we get to our Treefrogs, the Island’s own vintage dance supremos, the Gramophone Fun Band, headed up by the legendary  JC Grimshaw and Paul Armfield, will get you warmed up with their own unique style of vintage swing and gypsy jazz.

What a treat for music lovers and those in search of a very sociable night out here at Northwood House, one of the Island’s most popular event venues of the last few years.

Dressing up and making a real effort is kind of  the thing for the Swing Picnic…that’s what makes it Great! Just think Great Gatsby, Prohibition, Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey or anything from between the 1920’s -1940’s goes. Be a style icon for the night and just go for it, you’ll be in great company!

Great Swing Picnic tickets will be available to purchase exclusively from the Price is Wight soon. 

Obviously it’s a outdoor picnic event, so bring what ever you need in the food department along with you, but please leave the booze and other drinks at home. All tickets include at least 2 bar tokens per person and if you try to bring alcohol you’ll kindly be asked to leave at the door by our friendly team of door staff for collection on the way home. This is a licenced venue where alcohol has to be purchased from one of the lawn bars to be consumed at the event and is the only way we can make an event of this quality possible at these ticket prices.

Please also bring picnic blankets and chairs with you for your own comfort if you purchase a standard lawn ticket.

You can purchase one of a limited number of outdoor 4 person garden table tickets and 10 person group tickets with garden chairs and tables included if you don’t want the hassle of bringing your own.

If you don’t want to bring a picnic, hot food will be available from our food partners “The Prickly Pear” who’ll have a full menu of great street food available through-out the evening from their cantina on the lawn.

Other event information

Please bring a printed copy of your online email booking receipt with you as your ticket, which will be checked off at our box office against the order database.

This is a great fun and very sociable outdoor event, so please dress up in style, but also for the weather. Late evenings can still be chilly in July.

The event will continue, even in light to moderate rain and showers, so please bring brollies and waterproof attire ready to sit it out in true British spirit. Also see cancellation section below.

Children from the age of 12 may attend with a standard ticket but must be accompanied by and parent or guardian at all times. Drink tokens can only be exchanged for soft drinks, but must be obtained by an adult (no children under 18 may queue at a licenced bar, even for a soft drink).

A strict challenge 25 licencing policy applies. Bring a valid photo driving licence or passport if you look 25 years or younger and likely to be asked for ID.

Standard security protocols apply including SIA bag and picnic basket searches at the box office and in the venue where alcohol and drinks will be removed from attendees if they’ve brought them to the event. These will be available for collection at the end. Thank you in advance for respecting this rule.

Right of Admission reserved by our SIA Team and good behaviour while in our venue s expected at all times.

A zero-tolerance drugs policy is applied by our SIA team. The issue will become a police matter if attendees are caught taking or dealing illegal drugs on the premises.

Please respect our neighbours and leave quietly at the end of the event.

Car Parking- evening and overnight

We appreciate that many people attending The Great Swing Picnic may want to drive and leave their cars overnight. If so parking is available on our Ward Avenue event field.

Evening Parking 6pm-12am: £3.00

Evening & Overnight parking (6pm-11am next day): £5.00

Please purchase in advance in the ticket section at the Price is Wight and you’ll be checked in by our stewarding team.

Event cancellation

If for any reason the event has to be cancelled in advance of the event (up to 6.30pm on Saturday 19th July- the opening time), a full refund will be made to all ticket holders back via the Price is Wight within 7 working days of the cancellation.  This could be for severe weather, contractors or third parties letting us down at short notice, ferry cancellations (for our band’s crossing), legal interventions, force majeure and other reasons out of our control.

If the event is cancelled with in the first three hours of opening  for any reason, a 50% refund for the proportion of the cancelled event will be issued with in 7 working days, less the £12 value of the drinks tokens included in each ticket. i e event cancelled at 8pm: £24.50 ticket-£12 tokens= £12.50 x 50% = £6.25 refund

If the event is cancelled after the first three hours of opening for any reason, no refund can be given, sorry.

Customer ticket cancellation- as per the Price is Wights standard policy. Please contact them directly for confirmation and arrangements.