The Apple Cart Festival 2011 Review

Applecart coconut
Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (photo: Jonathan Charles)

2011 Apple Cart Weather: Some very heavy downpours and a few outbreaks of summer sunshine

Review by: Emma Frost (with a 5 yr old)

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

HUGE Variety! Music Stage/Folk Stage/Comedy Stage/Cabaret Stage/Magic Tent/Storybook Tent/Arts and Crafts – Lots of workshops/Fairground Rides/Face-painting – Daughter LOVED the magic and fairground rides and story book and dancing with Spot the dog!

What would you change / improve (if anything)?

More seating for eating 🙂

Any other comments and your Top Tip:

British Summertime so come prepared – Wellies and Sun Tan lotion! Haha! No parking nearby so Tube is best – 10 min walk from nearest tube station.

Site and Facilities:

Toilets were GREAT – plenty – Never had to queue and always clean and always loo roll-a-plenty!

Did you feel safe?

Very safe! No violence/aggressive drunks, lots of security all the way back to the Tube station at the end. You get a wristband with your mobile number on on arrival for your child.

Would you go again?

Absolutely!

10/10

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Review by: Amy (with 2 kids aged 7 and 9)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

Clear directions from organizers. We went to Bow Lane tube and walked up Victoria Park, but got the bus back as kids were tired and was a 20 min walk. No queues and easy to get in.

Apple Cart Art Car Boot
Art Car Boot (photo: Jonathan Charles)

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

The evening line up was what attracted us to this festival. We both really wanted to see Tim Minchin and Gilles Peterson. The rest of the daytime acts were unfamiliar to us.

For the kids (9 & 7 yrs) , the House of Fairy Tales had a tent full of quirky creative activities which they loved doing. There was also a Magician’s tent with non stop magic all day, although the act we saw was more of a kid’s birthday entertainer. We also enjoyed the Art Car Boot Fair, although it probably needed more prominence as we walked through it before we realized what it was!

For the Under 5’s there was a tent opposite the main-stage where parents could hang out while the littleys scampered about. It was well used when we walked by.

What would you change / improve (if anything)?

The fairground rides. They were way too many of these and it created hassles and stress for us as the kids were fixated on going on rides and so were missing the point of a festival.  It kind of felt like they were only there to pad out the event.

Atmosphere – overall we felt the Festival lacked any vibe but this could have been due to the heavy rain showers.

£30 a ticket is OK value if you can catch all of the acts that you want to, but unfortunately we had to bail out as kids got cold and wet due to the Great British Summer.

Applecart_candlelit matinee
Candlelit Matinee by House of Fairy Tales (photo: Jonathan Charles)

Any other comments and your Top Tip:

I wouldn’t really describe this event as a ‘festival’ in the usual sense of the word, more of a Big Day Out. On the face of it, it sounded like a really good event, but we left feeling disappointed. Perhaps we missed the point of it, perhaps the weather took it’s toll… but I wouldn’t rush back.

Site and Facilities:

Site OK, Victoria Park in East London. Loads of toilets so no queuing.  You were encouraged to put a wristband on your kids with your phone number in case they got lost which seemed to work well. Good phone coverage. Great food selection but as ever at a festival, it’s expensive when you are feeding a family and there were queues.

Did you feel safe?

Yes

Would you go again?

No

5/10

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