AROUND 5,000 people turned out for the four-day Green Gathering festival in Chepstow this weekend, which saw music from more than 100 bands across four stages.

Organisers of the festival, which ran from Thursday, July 31 to Sunday, August 3, said they were pleased with the turnout to this year’s gathering in Piercefield Park, Chepstow.

The festival, which has been running at the site in Chepstow since 2011, welcomed Green Party politician Molly Scott Cato along with other green activists to speak.

Alero Agindotan, one of the event organisers, said: “We call it a festival beyond hedonism. You can go out, you party, and then when you come home you think about what good you can do for the world.”

The site included a healing field, craft area, speakers forum, art studio and a choice of bars, as well as performances from DJs, poets, comedians, magicians and mystics.

Ms Agindotan, who runs the speakers forum which hosts both talks and poetry performances, said the focus of this year’s festival is to be family orientated.

She said: “I bought my two nephews who have never been camping before and we’ve made baskets and done other crafts.

“It’s all quite a compact festival but it’s beautiful down here.”

There is also a campaigns area which features a range of stalls aiming to spread the various messages of the festival and to encourage sustainable living.

Ms Agindotan said: “Green living is not hard. It’s just about making particular choices in particular areas of your life.

“For many people, it’s about learning about what it entails. People don’t know the details and they think it’s a difficult thing to get into. But every little does help.”