AN ENVIRONMENTALLY friendly music festival is returning to an Oxfordshire village.

Wood Festival is the brainchild of Steventon brothers Robin and Joe Bennett, who also organise the county’s Truck Festival.

The musical celebration will use stages powered by solar panels and bicycles hooked up to generators.

Family-friendly workshops and music from indie band Brakes and Britpop act Dodgy will also be among the attractions.

Robin Bennett said this year’s event would take place at Braziers Park, in Ipsden, near Wallingford, from Friday to Sunday, May 15 to 17.

One of the festival’s generators will run on recycled chip fat, the toilets will be compostable and the stages themselves will be made of wood.

Workshops will include a knitting circle, songwriting, circus skills, salsa and pilates.

There will also be an opportunity to make costumes and masks, and a performance from local Morris dancers.

Mr Bennett said the Wood festival was created as a family-friendly event.

He said: “What we wanted to do was make it as environmentally friendly as we could so we decided to run the whole thing on renewable power.

”We wanted to have lots of children running around having fun and that was what happened last year.

“The feedback we got was really positive and we really enjoyed it as well. In fact, most people who were there last year thought it was perfect in terms of size.”

The festival, which attracted between 500 and 600 people last year, will have a capacity of about 1,500.

Most of the food served at the festival will be locally produced.

Mr Bennett said: “If you find loud rock music and raving until 2.30am is maybe too much and you perhaps have young children, then Wood will appeal to you.

“I think there is something for everyone there.”

Other acts lined up to perform this year include Karine Polwart, Spiers & Boden, Stornaway, Jonquil and Danny the Champ.

Mr Bennett said: “The atmosphere was perfect last year.

“The music and the workshops are probably why people come and once they get there they will just enjoy all of it.

“I think some people are drawn by the fact they can sit around the campfire and play guitar – which is good enough for some people and it’s good enough for me.”

Tickets cost £55 and are available from various outlets. For details, visit thisistruck.com