Core Element is an 18+ camping festival for the furry fandom and anyone who loves fantasy, costume and music. For three days and three nights it fills the showground and forest of Elvaston Castle, near Derby in the English East Midlands, with two forest stages, workshops, vendors, a bar and an interactive story, and most attendees camp on site.
The organisers have not announced dates or a location for 2027 yet. Last summer's festival, Core Element: Ritual, ran from 14 to 17 August 2026 at Elvaston Castle, and the team's latest posts have been about 2026 photos and feedback forms. For 2026, tickets went on sale in March, and you had to register on the website and be approved before you could buy one. Standard Entry cost GBP 130, Sponsor Entry GBP 160 and VIP Entry GBP 200, with camping and parking included. Watch the official website and the Telegram updates channel for the 2027 announcement.
Core Element is closer to a small music festival than to a hotel convention. Attendees pitch their tents together on the field, the stages and many activities sit inside the forest, and after dark the woodland is lit with coloured lights and festoons. Each year has its own story: in 2026, costumed characters called the protectors guided people through puzzles and story elements placed around the site, and the organisers stress that the darker theming is never meant to scare and is entirely optional. The daytime programme mixes community-run workshops, talks, games and meetups with bigger set pieces such as a rodeo bull, an inflatable gladiator arena and a dance showcase, and all activities are free once you are inside. If you like the idea of fursuiting in the woods, dancing to DJs until midnight and camping with friends, Core Element is built around exactly that.
The 2026 festival was held at Elvaston Castle, Borrowash Road, Elvaston, Derby DE72 3EP. By car, follow your satnav to the castle's main public entrance and then the Core Element signs to the festival's own car park on the field, which is free; the castle's tarmac car park is pay and display. By train, travel to Derby station, which the organisers describe as about a 15-minute taxi ride from the site, with fares quoted at around GBP 8 to 15. The nearest airport is East Midlands Airport, about 20 minutes away by car, and Birmingham Airport is an alternative with rail links to Derby. The Derby Skylink bus stops outside the castle grounds, but the walk from the stop to the festival takes 20 to 25 minutes and the organisers do not recommend it with heavy bags. There was no shuttle bus in 2026: with Derby so close and taxis cheaper, the organisers judged a shuttle was not viable for now. Gates opened at 14:00 on the Friday, and you could not enter earlier.
Curated stays near Elvaston Castle showground and forest, Elvaston, United Kingdom.
Camping is the heart of the event and is included in the ticket. You can bring almost any tent up to 10-person size, as long as it can be pegged safely into the ground, and you should leave room between tents and guy ropes for people to walk past. Campervans, RVs and other vehicles used for sleeping have their own area next to the campsite, paid a GBP 40 pitch fee in 2026 and must stay on site for the whole event unless staff escort them out. If you do not want to bring a tent, the festival rents 5-metre canvas bell tents that sleep up to seven people, one per group, but they sold out by early summer in both 2025 and 2026. Showers are on site, quiet hours on the campsite start at 23:00, and the organisers warn that nights get cold even after a hot day, so pack a warm sleeping bag and extra layers. Staying off site is allowed too: Derby has plenty of hotels and B&Bs a short drive away, and your wristband lets you back in through the gates.
A year-by-year record of this convention
Open an edition to see the details that belong to that year.
Festival entry with no parking or camping charge, festival booklet, car window sticker, souvenir ticket and standard wristband.
Everything in Standard plus a T-shirt, Core Element 2026 pin badge, themed sticker, sponsor wristband and your name in the booklet.
Everything in Sponsor plus a wooden coaster, handmade natural soap, lanyard and three drink tokens for the Core Element bar, with a VIP wristband.
One attendance ticket per registered and approved attendee, bought online only. RVs, campervans and other vehicles used for sleeping paid a GBP 40 pitch fee. Bell tents for groups were sold as a separate add-on.
Core Element: Ritual ran from 14 to 17 August 2026, the first year at Elvaston Castle and the first with three full days. Based on feedback from 2025, Friday became a quieter arrival day before two packed days of events, and the team's feedback summary promised more food suppliers, a fixed layout agreed directly with the council, camper vans parked next to the campsite and festoon lighting above the toilets and near the tents. A wildfire warning led the council to ban camping stoves and open flames, so the team set up a communal gas-stove cooking gazebo instead. The festival raised money for Mansfield Wildlife Rescue and MindOut, and the organisers have said they will publish the total.
The first Core Element ran from 16 to 18 August 2025 on a field and forest site that attendees could reach by shuttle bus from Cambridge station. It had two stages, Surface and Experiment-1, with more than 20 DJs, plus a dealers' den, activities, an interactive story and bell tents for hire. The weekend had a rough start: the venue owners changed the layout days before the event and the main food supplier cancelled three days out, and the team's feedback summary set out how 2026 would fix both.
Trends
Compare dates, themes, attendance, charity, and guests across the record.
2027
Dates TBA
2026
Aug 14-17
Theme
Ritual
2025
Aug 16-18
Want more context? Compare this convention against other furry events or browse the attendance rankings.
Browse our complete calendar with dates, locations, and details for every upcoming furry convention.
View Full CalendarNew to conventions and festivals? The first convention survival guide covers pacing yourself and staying safe, and our first convention packing list pairs well with the festival's own camping checklist. Since your ticket already covers camping, our guide to budgeting for a con can focus your planning on travel, food and the bar. Planning to fursuit outdoors in August? Read what makes a convention fursuit-friendly and our guide to fursuit cooling gear before you pack.
For a UK hotel convention earlier in the year, ConFuzzled runs in Birmingham each May. Wild North follows in September at Chester-le-Street, if one summer gathering is not enough.
11 listed cons and 20 events in United Kingdom, with dates, cities, and stats.
The 6-2-1 rule, post-con depression, and everything else first-timers need to know.
Real costs for badges, hotels, food, and dealers den across three budget tiers.
Eurofurence, NordicFuzzCon, ConFuzzled and more with visa and travel tips.
See upcoming conventions by date, region, and attendance.
Check verified attendance rankings and growth trends.
Put dates, prices, and features side by side.
Switch to smaller furry events, furmeets, and club nights.
Find conventions and events grouped by country.
Jump into the alphabetical index if you want another event by name.
