FROM tiny acorns grow mighty oaks and from small festivals grow huge and faceless corporations. Not all metamorphosis is for the best.

Fortunately, the Green Man festival’s growth over the last 14 years has been organic rather than cultivated by the sharp shears of market forces. It has blossomed like a delicate flower, as opposed to being forced to branch off in artificial and twisted directions by the bombast and brass of the bottom line.

If you’re of a poetic bent you could say the caterpillar has become a butterfly. Or you could say it’s a festival which has refused to sell out. Like all things green it has grown and changed over the years but it has always stayed true to its core vision.

Chronicle Reporter TIM BUTTERS wandered as lonely as a cloud to the Glanusk Estate, ahead of the gentle chaos and happy hordes which will flock there next week, to have a chat with Festival Director Fiona Stewart, and do a little digging to unearth the green dream behind what many consider to be the ‘Welsh Glastonbury.’

The stats speak for themselves. Green Man now has an international brand reach of 1.8 billion and contributes more than £10m into the UK economy. It’s a big business and one which Fiona Stewart is fiercely proud and protective of.

“I see myself a trying to protect the festival rather than run it,” explained the lady who has been at the helm of the Green Man since 2005.

“Over the years we’ve had a lot of offers from a lot of companies interested in buying the Green Man but we’re proud to be one of the handful of independent festivals remaining in the UK.

“To my mind festivals should be unique and when you have big corporations in charge it becomes a bit like a version of a cloned High Street.

“At the Green Man we are not accountable to any sponsors or boardroom full of suits and that gives us incredible freedom. In short, we’re not governed by the bottom line and we never will be because it would stifle and suffocate what we are trying to do as a festival, and that is to give people experience and memories to cherish, and you cannot do that when you are perpetually worrying about your profit margin.”

As anyone who has been to the Green Man will testify, strolling around the charming and meticulously laid-out site is like taking a walk around a super-sized philanthropic village. The pace is relaxed, the manners refined, and the mood is civil.

Yet to make this happen takes a lot of hard work. Fortunately, Fiona has a dedicated team of individuals, some of who she has been working with for 30 years, who all have their specified roles.

“Organisation is key to running a festival,” explained Fiona. “Much like restaurants there’s a lot of people who dream of starting a festival and at first it can seem relatively easy, the hard part comes in trying to make it successful and long-lived. To do that you need a good team around you and a lot of trust. I don’t believe in close management because everyone should know their own role and how best to do it.”

Fiona added, “Believe it or not we have 57 managers on-site because running a festival is like running a little village. Someone has to be responsible for sanitation, the structure, the security, and so forth. There’s no rehearsal with a festival it always has to start incredibly well and you have to trust each person to do their job and make it happen. And thankfully it always does, because we’re big believers in treating everyone how we’d like to be treated.”

Fiona and her team are at the Glanusk site weeks before the festival to ensure everything goes to plan. And it’s always a magical moment for Fiona on the Wednesday before the festival kicks off in earnest.”

“There’s nothing like that feeling of anticipation and adrenaline before the majority of the festival-goers arrive. Everything has been put in place, everything is beautiful and pristine, and everything is so very quiet as the festival waits to come to life, and then boom! It’s transformed and everything is different.”

Of course, as charming and enchanting as the Glanusk site is, it’s music everyone has come to hear.

From obscure bands to those you’ve never heard off, the Green Man’s acts are no household names but then again, the Green Man has always been about the joy of discovering new music rather than the boredom of watching established acts go through the motions.

And with a team of dedicated curators with their fingers on the pulse and scouring the world to find undiscovered gems and rare nuggets, the Green Man make sure it stays fresh and vital when it comes to bringing new sounds to the masses.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for musicians,” explains Fiona. “To get up on stage and do what they do takes incredible courage and talent. There’s nowhere to hide when you’re performing in front of thousands of people and you have to admire that. And we pride ourselves that the Green Man has hosted some of the best out there over the years and given up and coming acts their first headline slot.”

Somewhat refreshingly in the celebrity age, the Green Man has no VIP area for its artists and believes in everyone mucking in together.

Fiona explained, “Exclusivity is not what the Green Man is about and although we can’t afford to pay the artists the same fees as other festivals we help out by washing their clothes, cooking them a meal, and buying their kids toys - that sort of human touch goes a long way.”

With the Green Man, the human touch also extends towards their charity the Green Man Trust. To date the Trust has supported more than 5,000 people with grants and support, and is dedicated to being a cause for positive change in Welsh communities.

Fiona is also a firm believer that being located in Wales is also vital to the Green Man’s success.

“I’m not Welsh myself but I love the country and spend a lot of time here and I believe there’s a massive synergy between Wales and the Green Man. I’m not just talking about the wonderful countryside either. I think the Welsh people are very generous on an emotional level and very welcoming. I think that rubs off on people when they come to the Green Man and it creates a positive and harmonious atmosphere.”

With no signs of slowing down, Fiona still retains an unbridled enthusiasm for the Green Man and the magic it helps weave.

She told the Chronicle, “We live in an age of deep distrust and there are not many things you can rely on so it’s important to us that the Green Man offers an experience that people can trust and believe.

“We may not make as much money as other festivals but we’re a firm believer in emotional equity. We like to think people leave the festival with a feeling of well-being and memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. That’s what’s important to us.”