Louise Carron Harris

pregnant festival babyMum of two, Louise, helped to set Festival Kidz up with Romany.

She shared her festival exploits with us in guest blogs and, drawing on her vast festival experience, wrote about Glastonbury trips while pregnant, with newborns, and with toddlers.

Louise’s festival-style: Huge and awesome!  Glasto of course…!

Sarah Ryman

sarahrSarah has been going to festivals for over 20 years and is now what you may refer to as a ‘festaholic’.

Her first taste of this crazy world was at the impressionable age of 18. She took a ride with some friends to a party and ended up climbing a fence in to a small event she’d never heard of. It turned out to be Glastonbury. She was hooked.

Becoming a mum opened up a whole new experience of festivals to Sarah and her partner Rob. Seeing the excitement of new adventures through the eyes of her children has rekindled their original magic. Rather than grow out of the festival life Sarah has grown with it. Over the years she has attended hundreds of festivals as a guest and also been part of the production teams adding that special sparkle at events including The Big Chill and Bestival.

Sarah’s background is advertising and when not in a field somewhere she now helps with Marketing and PR for those events she feels passionate about.

Sarah has written many times about enjoying life in a field with kids on her blog at a field somewhere and now writes for FestivalKidz; read her ’10 tips to enjoy (or survive) festivals with kids’ .

Read some of Sarah’s reviews here and here.

Glastonbury

26th - 30th June 2024

Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton

Size: A whopping 210,000!

Website: www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Glastonbury is set in 1,100 acres of beautiful countryside at Worthy Farm.  Expect something like 3,000 performances at 100 or so venues including music, cabaret, theatre, circus, poetry, green crafts and so much more.  Read more…

KidzField Glastonbury

 kidzfield helter skelterwww.kidzfield.com

Sited within the mahoosive Glastonbury in the sprawling fields of Worthy Farm is a real gem for children, an exciting explosion of colour and fun: The Kidz Field!

The Kidz Field claims to be the largest festival for kids in the world, and I wouldn’t argue with that.  Everything inside it is free too.

There’s so much going on in this field: Helter Skelters, baby-changing, workshops, climbing frames, sand pits, inflatables, circus skills, swings, messy play, crafts, kids loos, special performances, and even an NCT Tent where you can give babies a much needed bath!

Your main gripe about this field is likely to be that you spend so much time losing yourself in the excitement of childhood delights that you miss an act you were desperate to catch on the other site of the festival!  But it’s all about compromise and believe me, your kids are going to LOVE this place!

Read more…

Best Family Friendly Festivals 2024

This year is shaping up to be another stonker of a festival year, with some incredible line ups and workshops. As the sun starts to finally shine we have arrived with our 2024 recommended list!

All of these festivals have been visited and tested by our festival families. You can find reviews linked to the factsheets.

For all the family friendly festivals running this year, please go to our A-Z, Map and Calendar.

Amelie with guitar
Read more…

Carting Kids Round Festivals

Pushchairs, Wagons, Slings, Carriers and Buggies

I once read on the old Glastonbury advice page that parents should get a cheap £20 stroller from Argos and throw it away after the festival. WOW – I was so unimpressed by this comment!

Leaving aside the obvious environmental issues with that approach, for parents taking babies, a good buggy can make or break your festival experience.  Can you imagine trying to get a cheap stroller through 6 inches of mud???!!

Surely we all want our festival experience to be easy and enjoyable?

Read more…

Edith Bowman’s Great British Music Festivals – Book Review

Edith Bowman and Naomi Jones at BBC Radio 4 Studio

Last year I was lucky enough to live one of my dreams – being a guest on a Radio 4 show. I was invited onto Woman’s Hour to talk about taking children to festivals – you can still listen to the show here:

Radio 4 – Taking Children to Music Festivals

To add to that excitement, my fellow guest on the show was Edith Bowman, DJ, festival mum and all round lovely person – we shared festival stories in the Green Room before the show – and she sent me her new book to read and review!

Read more…

Best Family Festivals 2015

CIAF 2014


Here are our top picks for 2015!

Whether a festival is good for you depends on what music you’re into and what other things you like doing at festivals, as well as the age of your kids. If you are new to festivals with kids, you may want to read our guide to Choosing the right Family-Friendly Festival.

We have included our affiliate links in the listings – if you click “Buy Tickets Now” you will go straight to the ticket page for your chosen festival. You will not pay anything for this but the festival will give us a small commission to keep Festival Kidz up and running – so please use them!

Read more…

Best Family Festivals 2014

Here are our top picks for 2014!

Now is a great time to start thinking about buying your festival tickets – most of the festivals offer ‘early bird’ prices, which means they are reduced if you book them early.

Whether a festival is good for you depends on what music you’re into and what other things you like doing at festivals, as well as the age of your kids. If you are new to festivals with kids, you may want to read our guide to Choosing the right Family-Friendly Festival. Read more…

New rules make it illegal to take children out of school for holidays

P1060830In September 2013, the rules on taking children out of school in term time changed. Schools are no longer allowed to grant term time holiday for festivals.

Before September 2013, headteachers could approve absences of up to 10 days a year for family holidays in “special circumstances” – which for many families included festivals during term time. The new rules, however, state that absences are only allowed for “exceptional circumstances” such as funerals of family members. Read more…

Louise Carron Harris

pregnant festival babyMum of two, Louise, helped to set Festival Kidz up with Romany.

She shared her festival exploits with us in guest blogs and, drawing on her vast festival experience, wrote about Glastonbury trips while pregnant, with newborns, and with toddlers.

Louise’s festival-style: Huge and awesome!  Glasto of course…!

Glastonbury

26th - 30th June 2024

Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton

Size: A whopping 210,000!

Website: www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Glastonbury is set in 1,100 acres of beautiful countryside at Worthy Farm.  Expect something like 3,000 performances at 100 or so venues including music, cabaret, theatre, circus, poetry, green crafts and so much more.  Read more…

Best Family Friendly Festivals 2024

This year is shaping up to be another stonker of a festival year, with some incredible line ups and workshops. As the sun starts to finally shine we have arrived with our 2024 recommended list!

All of these festivals have been visited and tested by our festival families. You can find reviews linked to the factsheets.

For all the family friendly festivals running this year, please go to our A-Z, Map and Calendar.

Amelie with guitar
Read more…

Edith Bowman’s Great British Music Festivals – Book Review

Edith Bowman and Naomi Jones at BBC Radio 4 Studio

Last year I was lucky enough to live one of my dreams – being a guest on a Radio 4 show. I was invited onto Woman’s Hour to talk about taking children to festivals – you can still listen to the show here:

Radio 4 – Taking Children to Music Festivals

To add to that excitement, my fellow guest on the show was Edith Bowman, DJ, festival mum and all round lovely person – we shared festival stories in the Green Room before the show – and she sent me her new book to read and review!

Read more…

Best Family Festivals 2014

Here are our top picks for 2014!

Now is a great time to start thinking about buying your festival tickets – most of the festivals offer ‘early bird’ prices, which means they are reduced if you book them early.

Whether a festival is good for you depends on what music you’re into and what other things you like doing at festivals, as well as the age of your kids. If you are new to festivals with kids, you may want to read our guide to Choosing the right Family-Friendly Festival. Read more…

Sarah Ryman

sarahrSarah has been going to festivals for over 20 years and is now what you may refer to as a ‘festaholic’.

Her first taste of this crazy world was at the impressionable age of 18. She took a ride with some friends to a party and ended up climbing a fence in to a small event she’d never heard of. It turned out to be Glastonbury. She was hooked.

Becoming a mum opened up a whole new experience of festivals to Sarah and her partner Rob. Seeing the excitement of new adventures through the eyes of her children has rekindled their original magic. Rather than grow out of the festival life Sarah has grown with it. Over the years she has attended hundreds of festivals as a guest and also been part of the production teams adding that special sparkle at events including The Big Chill and Bestival.

Sarah’s background is advertising and when not in a field somewhere she now helps with Marketing and PR for those events she feels passionate about.

Sarah has written many times about enjoying life in a field with kids on her blog at a field somewhere and now writes for FestivalKidz; read her ’10 tips to enjoy (or survive) festivals with kids’ .

Read some of Sarah’s reviews here and here.

KidzField Glastonbury

 kidzfield helter skelterwww.kidzfield.com

Sited within the mahoosive Glastonbury in the sprawling fields of Worthy Farm is a real gem for children, an exciting explosion of colour and fun: The Kidz Field!

The Kidz Field claims to be the largest festival for kids in the world, and I wouldn’t argue with that.  Everything inside it is free too.

There’s so much going on in this field: Helter Skelters, baby-changing, workshops, climbing frames, sand pits, inflatables, circus skills, swings, messy play, crafts, kids loos, special performances, and even an NCT Tent where you can give babies a much needed bath!

Your main gripe about this field is likely to be that you spend so much time losing yourself in the excitement of childhood delights that you miss an act you were desperate to catch on the other site of the festival!  But it’s all about compromise and believe me, your kids are going to LOVE this place!

Read more…

Carting Kids Round Festivals

Pushchairs, Wagons, Slings, Carriers and Buggies

I once read on the old Glastonbury advice page that parents should get a cheap £20 stroller from Argos and throw it away after the festival. WOW – I was so unimpressed by this comment!

Leaving aside the obvious environmental issues with that approach, for parents taking babies, a good buggy can make or break your festival experience.  Can you imagine trying to get a cheap stroller through 6 inches of mud???!!

Surely we all want our festival experience to be easy and enjoyable?

Read more…

Best Family Festivals 2015

CIAF 2014


Here are our top picks for 2015!

Whether a festival is good for you depends on what music you’re into and what other things you like doing at festivals, as well as the age of your kids. If you are new to festivals with kids, you may want to read our guide to Choosing the right Family-Friendly Festival.

We have included our affiliate links in the listings – if you click “Buy Tickets Now” you will go straight to the ticket page for your chosen festival. You will not pay anything for this but the festival will give us a small commission to keep Festival Kidz up and running – so please use them!

Read more…

New rules make it illegal to take children out of school for holidays

P1060830In September 2013, the rules on taking children out of school in term time changed. Schools are no longer allowed to grant term time holiday for festivals.

Before September 2013, headteachers could approve absences of up to 10 days a year for family holidays in “special circumstances” – which for many families included festivals during term time. The new rules, however, state that absences are only allowed for “exceptional circumstances” such as funerals of family members. Read more…