Sun and Moon Festival

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Location: Merrist Wood, Guildford, Surrey

Size: Small and intimate, around 500 guests

Website: www.sunandmoonfestival.com

Sun & Moon Festival began in 2015. A totally different family wellbeing event with the focuses on activities and workshops to educate as much as to entertain.

What makes it different

The Sun & Moon Festival lasts over a whole week in August and is more about the activities than about partying. This makes it a perfect place if you wish to enjoy the community and adventure of a festival without the late night noise, something which will be a relief to many parents!

There is a huge program of activities and courses for children. Sporting pursuits include a full football training camp, as well as cricket, tennis, climbing and more. Creative pursuits include music, singing, dance, craft workshops, den building, martial arts & circus skills.

Activities

In the region of 400 activities, classes and workshops over the week-long festival period. Being an agricultural college, this remains a very rural and natural setting. There is an animal care center with birds of prey, reptiles and all sorts of animals – something the children coming to the festival will be able to enjoy hugely – with daily visits and animal feeding courtesy of the college.
We aim to have at least 20 different activities for children each day – ranging from football and tennis and climbing, to dance, music and artistic upcycling – and everything in between”.

Children’s activities are divided into age groups so they will feel comfortable amongst their peers; parents are encouraged to participate as much as they like – or to go off and enjoy themselves. To see a list of all the amazing things on offer, go to their website here: www.sunandmoonfestival.com

Older children can be left with the supervisors once settled, but smaller children should be accompanied by an adult.

A toddlers space for children aged up to 3 years old is provided, but children should be supervised at all times by their parent or guardian.

Musically, the festival delivers a diverse (& divine) program, with acts performing across lunchtimes and in the evenings.

Come and see the animals

The site has a state-of-the-art Animal Care unit which houses a huge variety of mammals, reptiles, amphibian, birds and fish. The Animal Care area also makes full use of the College’s 600-hectare farm with its range of livestock including cows, pigs, sheep and horses.

Big Kids

For bigger “kids” the festival provides a wonderful space for self-development.

Join in with activities from both the adult and the children’s program, or pursue your own interests – with art and sport facilities open to them at all times.

There will also be a specific teen program with activities such as climbing, song writing, dance and learning to DJ!

Children are FREE!

Festival entry for children up to the age of 14 are free! That doesn’t include camping or food, both of which are optional and priced to make it easy for you to come with your kids.

A week might seem a long time to spend at a festival, but with so much going on, it might just seem too short as well! The whole concept can be viewed more like an activity holiday than a festival. With around just 500 guests it’s like you gathered all your friends and family together and decided to spend a week doing everything you possibly could related to wellbeing.

Parents won’t miss out

So the adults don’t miss out on the wellbeing workshops available, children’s activities start 10 minutes earlier. And they will look after your little ones until you get back!

Accommodation and Food

One of the special things about this festival is there is no need to sleep in a tent! Accommodation is available a 14 minute drive away so you can stay in a proper room. Be aware that camping costs extra, but campers have access to real toilets and showers. You also have the opportunity to pay in advance for full meals while you’re there, which takes the effort out of camping.

Rooms and full catering cost a bit more. You can go for the luxury festival version – your own bedroom, 3 incredibly delicious meals per day (vegan, vegetarian & meat options at each meal) and endless workshops to indulge in and learn from.

Drugs and Alcohol Policy

The Sun & Moon Festival discourages all drugs and drinking to excess – most people will be heading to bed before midnight and they ask people to keep noise to a minimum if you are staying up late. At last, a chance to get some real sleep at a festival!

“We have actual buildings as well as nature at Sun and Moon Festival. There’s camping yes, but there are also bedrooms, indoor showers, toilets, and more importantly for us – 17 workshops rooms. We convert these into dance studios, yoga and Pilates studios, and other rooms for running the huge number of wellbeing workshops we have programmed”

Did you attend the Sun & Moon festival? Please comment below and let us know what you thought!