Jolly Day Out 2011 Review

Jolly Day Out 2011 – 26th to 29th August 2011

Held over 4 days with different headliners each night, this new summer festival promised to bring music and fun for all the family to Hampton Court Green on August Bank Holiday weekend.

Getting there by car was very easy.  Perhaps not quite so easy by public transport, but possible – just slow because of the location.  The festival was well organised with good signposting, helpful car park stewards and no queues to get in.  So far so good.

Read more…

Standon Calling 2011 Review

Standon Calling 2011 weather: Rained overnight on Friday. Fine the rest of the weekend.

standon calling 2011

Review by: Sam Sugden (with two 12 yr olds and a 3 yr old)

Getting to the festival:

We planned to arrive Thurs eve, but rain was predicted so were lucky enough to stay at friends who fortunately live close by. We therefore arrived around 10am Fri instead and there were no queues at all. Unlike 2010 when camper vans were parked up on the hill, this year they had moved us to a spot much closer to the festival.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

If you ask my daughter what her highlights were she would say the swimming pool and Big Love Gallery where they got to make lots of lovely badges. My 3 yr old son and I once again enjoyed listening to Morris and his reggae nursery rhymes, and the Punch and Judy show.

My highlight would be that we got to see John Grant up close and personal late Sunday, one of those moments that will stay with me for a lifetime.

Read more…

Just So Festival 2011 Review

just so festival2011 Just So Festival weather: Cloudy but warm and dry.  Some rain at night.

2011 saw the second ever Just So Festival, a unique and special event intended to celebrate all that is creative and fun in childhood.  You won’t find commercialism or big children’s TV characters here, just boundless opportunities to play and explore in a magical journey through the woods. This is not just a festival… this is a place where kids and families can come together in the beauty of imagination. 

There were problems with an inadequate water supply and the organisers have issued public apologies, admitting that they got it wrong and have learnt for next year.  Reviews should be read with these issues in mind, which will have undoubtedly deeply soured the experience for some. 

The organisers are not professional festival managers, rather it is led by two mums inspired to create a special and creative weekend for families to share. They care passionately about the event.  On many counts they have done an incredible job and are well on their journey through this huge learning curve.  It’s also worth remembering that this is a not-for-profit community event.  The Just So Festival has a great ethos and has already built up a very loyal fan base.

Read more…

Croissant Neuf Summer Party 2011 Review

2011 Croissant Neuf Summer Party Weather: Cloudy most of the time, one or two light drizzles.

Review by: Nonny Kinchin-Smith (with 2 kids: aged 5 and 4)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

The festival is situated in a beautiful wooded valley in south wales, accessed by very narrow country roads. Stewards were at junctions in the approach to the site to ensure that no vehicles tried to drive the wrong way (limited passing places). Once on site we queued for 15 minutes in the car before being able to go to the ticket office to get our wrist bands. So, in less that 30 minutes we were already parked and unpacking our gear.

Read more…

Field View Festival 2011 Review

2011 Field View Festival Weather: Mixed. Some sun, cloud and rain. Both hot and cold.

Review by: Festival First Timers (with a 2 yr old)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

No queuing. Smooth organisation with a warm welcome from all. Lots of space in the family field and everyone was so friendly.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

Fantastic music throughout the weekend. There were activities on during the day but my boy just loved exploring the site.

Read more…

Larmer Tree 2011 review

Festival Kidz goes to Larmer Tree Festival 2011

mud dance larmer tree

Wednesday:  An hour before we planned to leave and we start packing… well obviously we weren’t nearly ready in an hour so ended up leaving 2 hours later than planned!  Oops!  What is it that makes me think I would be more efficient at packing for a family of four by now?!  I seriously overestimate my packing abilities sometimes… Anyway by the time we arrived at Larmer Tree later that evening we had 2 very excited girls squealing in the back of the Campervan.  This really is their favourite festival.

Read more…

Farmfestival 2011 Review

Farmfestival invited us to come and see how family friendly their quirky, hat-tastic, small festival is, so we sent along Danielle with her 2 kids (8 and 10) to try it out:

Review by Danielle:

Luckily, the weather was glorious at Farmfestival this year, except for a heavy downpour on Saturday morning.

We arrived on the Saturday lunchtime but had intended to go Friday with friends. We arrived to lots of parking and no queue. The family camping area was right inside the main entrance so we did not have far to walk. Read more…

The Magic Loungeabout 2011 Review

magic loungeabout main arena

The Magic Loungeabout invited us along to sample the festival this year, so we sent festival virgin Sarah and her young family along to find out if the Unwind was really so Refined…

Review by Sarah Folley

OUR FAMILY

We were festival novices having never attended a festival before either as a couple or with our children. We are in our early thirties with two little girls, aged 2 and 4.  We’ve been following Festival Kidz for a while now and, inspired by their blogs and articles, decided we were ready to try out a festival as a family and see for ourselves whether it really was as much fun as it sounds!

Read more…

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!

Read more…

Camp Bestival 2011 Review

2011 Camp Bestival Weather: Overcast on Friday with a light shower, rain on Sat AM but beautiful sunshine for the rest of the weekend.

Check out our Guest Blog from Melksham Mum on her Camp Besti Experience and also see some other in-depth CB reviews from The Arts Desk , Madame Guillotine, Family Festivals and Tattooed Mummy

Review by: Anonymous (with 10-12 year olds)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

Long walk to the camping, despite paying for an extra day, was pretty full and getting spots for two family tents on a reasonably flat area was hard.  Most campers were pleasant but quite a lot of rowdy teens.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

Very good adult / older teen lineup, plenty for under 5’s but lacks things for the older primary / younger teen age group this year. Read more…

Jolly Day Out 2011 Review

Jolly Day Out 2011 – 26th to 29th August 2011

Held over 4 days with different headliners each night, this new summer festival promised to bring music and fun for all the family to Hampton Court Green on August Bank Holiday weekend.

Getting there by car was very easy.  Perhaps not quite so easy by public transport, but possible – just slow because of the location.  The festival was well organised with good signposting, helpful car park stewards and no queues to get in.  So far so good.

Read more…

Just So Festival 2011 Review

just so festival2011 Just So Festival weather: Cloudy but warm and dry.  Some rain at night.

2011 saw the second ever Just So Festival, a unique and special event intended to celebrate all that is creative and fun in childhood.  You won’t find commercialism or big children’s TV characters here, just boundless opportunities to play and explore in a magical journey through the woods. This is not just a festival… this is a place where kids and families can come together in the beauty of imagination. 

There were problems with an inadequate water supply and the organisers have issued public apologies, admitting that they got it wrong and have learnt for next year.  Reviews should be read with these issues in mind, which will have undoubtedly deeply soured the experience for some. 

The organisers are not professional festival managers, rather it is led by two mums inspired to create a special and creative weekend for families to share. They care passionately about the event.  On many counts they have done an incredible job and are well on their journey through this huge learning curve.  It’s also worth remembering that this is a not-for-profit community event.  The Just So Festival has a great ethos and has already built up a very loyal fan base.

Read more…

Field View Festival 2011 Review

2011 Field View Festival Weather: Mixed. Some sun, cloud and rain. Both hot and cold.

Review by: Festival First Timers (with a 2 yr old)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

No queuing. Smooth organisation with a warm welcome from all. Lots of space in the family field and everyone was so friendly.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

Fantastic music throughout the weekend. There were activities on during the day but my boy just loved exploring the site.

Read more…

Farmfestival 2011 Review

Farmfestival invited us to come and see how family friendly their quirky, hat-tastic, small festival is, so we sent along Danielle with her 2 kids (8 and 10) to try it out:

Review by Danielle:

Luckily, the weather was glorious at Farmfestival this year, except for a heavy downpour on Saturday morning.

We arrived on the Saturday lunchtime but had intended to go Friday with friends. We arrived to lots of parking and no queue. The family camping area was right inside the main entrance so we did not have far to walk. Read more…

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!

Read more…

Standon Calling 2011 Review

Standon Calling 2011 weather: Rained overnight on Friday. Fine the rest of the weekend.

standon calling 2011

Review by: Sam Sugden (with two 12 yr olds and a 3 yr old)

Getting to the festival:

We planned to arrive Thurs eve, but rain was predicted so were lucky enough to stay at friends who fortunately live close by. We therefore arrived around 10am Fri instead and there were no queues at all. Unlike 2010 when camper vans were parked up on the hill, this year they had moved us to a spot much closer to the festival.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

If you ask my daughter what her highlights were she would say the swimming pool and Big Love Gallery where they got to make lots of lovely badges. My 3 yr old son and I once again enjoyed listening to Morris and his reggae nursery rhymes, and the Punch and Judy show.

My highlight would be that we got to see John Grant up close and personal late Sunday, one of those moments that will stay with me for a lifetime.

Read more…

Croissant Neuf Summer Party 2011 Review

2011 Croissant Neuf Summer Party Weather: Cloudy most of the time, one or two light drizzles.

Review by: Nonny Kinchin-Smith (with 2 kids: aged 5 and 4)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

The festival is situated in a beautiful wooded valley in south wales, accessed by very narrow country roads. Stewards were at junctions in the approach to the site to ensure that no vehicles tried to drive the wrong way (limited passing places). Once on site we queued for 15 minutes in the car before being able to go to the ticket office to get our wrist bands. So, in less that 30 minutes we were already parked and unpacking our gear.

Read more…

Larmer Tree 2011 review

Festival Kidz goes to Larmer Tree Festival 2011

mud dance larmer tree

Wednesday:  An hour before we planned to leave and we start packing… well obviously we weren’t nearly ready in an hour so ended up leaving 2 hours later than planned!  Oops!  What is it that makes me think I would be more efficient at packing for a family of four by now?!  I seriously overestimate my packing abilities sometimes… Anyway by the time we arrived at Larmer Tree later that evening we had 2 very excited girls squealing in the back of the Campervan.  This really is their favourite festival.

Read more…

The Magic Loungeabout 2011 Review

magic loungeabout main arena

The Magic Loungeabout invited us along to sample the festival this year, so we sent festival virgin Sarah and her young family along to find out if the Unwind was really so Refined…

Review by Sarah Folley

OUR FAMILY

We were festival novices having never attended a festival before either as a couple or with our children. We are in our early thirties with two little girls, aged 2 and 4.  We’ve been following Festival Kidz for a while now and, inspired by their blogs and articles, decided we were ready to try out a festival as a family and see for ourselves whether it really was as much fun as it sounds!

Read more…

Camp Bestival 2011 Review

2011 Camp Bestival Weather: Overcast on Friday with a light shower, rain on Sat AM but beautiful sunshine for the rest of the weekend.

Check out our Guest Blog from Melksham Mum on her Camp Besti Experience and also see some other in-depth CB reviews from The Arts Desk , Madame Guillotine, Family Festivals and Tattooed Mummy

Review by: Anonymous (with 10-12 year olds)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

Long walk to the camping, despite paying for an extra day, was pretty full and getting spots for two family tents on a reasonably flat area was hard.  Most campers were pleasant but quite a lot of rowdy teens.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

Very good adult / older teen lineup, plenty for under 5’s but lacks things for the older primary / younger teen age group this year. Read more…