Louise went down to Shambala Festival to check out their family friendly credentials for Festival Kidz. Louise lives and breathes festivals, so much so that she even took her newborn baby to Glastonbury last year just days after an emergency c-section! So what did she make of Shambala then?
“Wow! It was all the best bits of Glastonbury, but smaller, more accessible, and less middle class. The very first thing we felt on entering the site was a warm welcoming vibe, something Shambala is well known for.”
Campsite:
Festival Vibe:
But don’t freak out – it wasn’t in the family area!”
The Size:
“The site is compact, filled with loads of stuff to do and see, great stalls, all the cafes from Glasto, everything all really easily accessible, the main stage is surprisingly small, and never packed, I found this really strange at first and then loved it I could actually see the band and didn’t have to worry about losing the kids.”
Kids field:
“A HORSE!… a real tiny horse and cart carrying kids round the site… TOOO cute! Bikes, workshops, making, do-ing, comedy (we watched the funniest guy do a stand-up: kids loved it, adults loved it).
There was a great big sandpit for the kids too.”
* Personal Highlights *
… seeing my friend come back from her reflexology session looking like a space cadet and then, with tears in her eyes, turn to me and say “I’m having the best time” … more tears of joy and …
… running into the dance tent and ‘avin it large’ with my 5 year old to some ‘dirty dark dancehall’… everyone opening up the way so she could get to the front and dance – even though it was late at night! …
… walking on water to get to the lighthouse …
… the music …
Notes:
“Shambala is not a festival for those who like ‘squeaky clean, groomed’ environments – it has an ‘edge’ and personally I like that (it’s a more hippy, alternative feel) but one of my friends (who prefers Camp Bestival and more commercial music) wasn’t very comfortable with this ‘edge’ all.”
“This is a festival that doesn’t make you feel like you’re doing the walk of shame when pushing the buggy back to the tent at 3am in the morning! Most parents are doing the same thing and no-one is going to judge you here. If your kids haven’t been cleaned for 3 days and a wet wipe has not touched their face… then that’s OK… I have to admit even at Glasto this year I was conscious that my child was the filthiest kid on the block… but here I didn’t have to worry!”
I’M GOING BACK!
To discover more about Shambala festival, held in a secret location each year (usually over August Bank Holiday) visit the Shambala Festival Website at: