16 Family Festivals To Book For Summer 2018 Lauren Hyland 16 May, 2018 Activities and Days Out, Living With lineups being announced, it’s time to get on with planning and book some summer festivals to keep the children (and you!) entertained over the summer break. Here are the ones we recommend buying tickets for before they all get snapped up! Truck Festival Truck is a fantastic family festival, not too big but not too small and always super friendly. With the likes of George Ezra, Friendly Fires and Peace taking centre stage, with Jake Bugg and De La Soul backing them up, Truck is set for another fantastic festival in the Oxford countryside. More line up is still to be announced. WHEN: 20-22nd July WHERE: Hill Farm, Oxfordshire Click here to get your tickets Alastair Brookes / Entirety Labs Festival No 6 If you’re not seduced into buying a ticket from the beautiful scenic imagery the festival always throws out, let us talk you into it. This magical music and arts festival is an incredible family festival offers a wealth of activities for all ages. Enjoy music from headliners The The, Franz Ferdinand and Friendly Fires, dive into the cultural scene with Will Self, Edith Bowman and a tribute to Mark E Smith. WHEN: Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales WHERE: 6-9 September 2018 Book now The Big Feastival Food, drinks, music and lots and lots of feastival fun! Roll up and get your tickets to the Cotswolds delicious and damn good fun festival. With the lineup yet to be announced, we’re on tenterhooks to know who will grace Alex James’s feastival with their musical presence. Obviously we don’t just go to this one for the music – with cookery schools, street food and time to speak with the experts, it’s a culinary experience as much as a musical one. Last year the Udder Stage was filled with fantastic children’s performers, while the Cotswold Farm and Vintage fair provided hours of fun. (PSST!.. There’s FREE day tickets for children 12 and under.) Book your tix here and now. Main Arena Victorious Festival This two-day festival on the south coast of the UK has an absolutely remarkable lineup once again The Prodigy taking centre stage, as well as The Libertines and Paul Weller. The kids area returns this year, but we’re still waiting on the lineup to be announced so watch this space! WHEN: 24-26 August WHERE: Portsmouth Get it booked here Jimmy’s Festival The Channel 4 presenter and farmer Jimmy Doherty, who were were fortunate enough to interview recently, is heading up his own festival: Jimmy’s Festival. With the likes of Paul Young, Happy Mondays and The Bluetones headlining, alongside children’s entertainers Dick & Dom, this festival is guaranteed to be fun for all! Jimmy commented “The whole event has something for everyone with added extras like the Wildlife Park, Farm and incredible food – where else can you hang out with meerkats one minute, and the Happy Mondays the next?!” Book now WHEN: 21-22nd July WHERE: Jimmy’s Farm, Ipswich Shambala Shambala is always a sell-out. In fact, they’re already had to issue a ticket warning, as only a quarter of tickets are remaining. Who’s playing? Nobody knows, lineup is to be revealed 20 March in line with the spring equinox. We do know that it’ll be festively filled with theatre, crafts, workshops, and loads of activities for kids. Book here. Hurry! Photo credit: Louise Roberts Latitude Festival With headliners Solange, Alt J and The Killers, Latitude is going to be HUGE this year. They’re not short of family activities either with creative crafting, theatre performances, wild life and weird science adventures AND an enchanted garden. Latitude cater for the under 5s, as well as the older children so nobody will feel left out. When: 12-13 July Where: Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk Just So From the creators of Wild Rumpus, Just So festival is taking place on the fantastic Rode Hall Estate in Cheshire. Specially created for children and their families, Just So offers brilliant arts and cultural experiences for all the family. Experiences include: the Playground of Illusions – an area full of trickery and mystery; Roll Up, Roll Up – an area dedicated to circus and seaside; and a brand new comedy show form James Campbell titled ‘That Was The Week For Kids’. Find out more about this award-winning non-profit family festival here. Click here for 2018 tickets. WOMAD Festival This vibrant and colourful festival has been running for 36 years and always features a colourful medley of music, dance, food, art, spoken-word, poetry, science and other family fun. The thrilling lineup comprises of a diverse mix of artists and speakers, including Amadou & Mariam, a Malian blues act, and Django Django who’ve been dubbed ‘the most inventive art rockers around’. The World of Children features fantastical and interactive workshops and activities the kids will love. Click here for tickets WHEN: 26-29 July WHERE: Charlton Park, Wiltshire Camp Bestival Bestival’s little sister Camp Bestival is family fun festival. This time round theme is all about ‘setting sail’ and what haven’t Camp Bestival got in store for us? Putting aside the music line-up for a moment, you’re in for animatronic dinosaurs, Insect Circuses, pantomimes, a gin festival, and River Cottage feasts. Then let’s tag on some outstanding headliners: Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Simple Minds and a bit of Rick Astley. Click here to find out about tickets WHEN: 26-19 July WHERE: Lulworth Castle, Dorset Bestival The four-day boutique festival calls itself ‘the most colourful show on earth’, and if you’ve ever experienced its incredible light and colour shows, you’ll know this may be true. Who’s on the line-up? The likes of London Grammar, M.I.A and Grace Jones top the list, alongside Plan B and Django Django. Under 12s go free with your ticket. Find out more here WHEN: 2-5 August WHERE: Lulworth Estate, Dorset Curious Arts Festival Curious Arts Festival is a great mix of arts, culture, music and more. They’ll be talks from novelists, historians, poetry performances, as well as a great comedy line up. For the children, they’ll be puppetry, pop up theatre events, story-telling and journalism workshops. What’s more, under 5s go free! Book now WHEN: 20-22nd July WHERE: Pylewell Park, New Forest NiddiFest This quirky Yorkshire festival is a celebration of nature and the great outdoors. With wild woodland workshops, they’ll be chance for everyone to really connect with nature with mud pies, den building, tree climbing and much more. Niddfest will feature The Yorkshire Vet Julian Norton, as well as authors Sam Enthoven and Tim Defender. Click here to find out more. WHEN: 16-17 June WHERE: Harrogate Geronimo Festival Taking its forth year in its stride, Geronimo Festival has been billed as ‘Glasto for kids’ by the Sunday Mirror. What’s more, due to popular demand the festival has opened another site at Knebworth House so more families can join in the Geronimo fun down south too. Justin Fletcher and Cbeebies stars will be headlining the main stage, as well as teen Youtube stars Max & Harvey. What’s in it for the adults? Luxury spa facilities, including the chance to hire your own hot tub. There’s also a camp creche so chill time for adults is guaranteed. Find out more here WHEN: 25-28 May (Cheshire) and 30 June-1st July (Knebworth) WHERE: Arley Hall, Cheshire AND Knebworth House, Knebworth By The River, Henley-On-Thames This brand new classical music festival is taking place by the river this year in association with Classic FM. Classical music lovers will see the likes of Alfie Boe, Sir Karl Jenkins, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform this year. There will also be a farmers’ market, and some award-winning food and drink from superb caterers. Under 12s go free. Click here to book tickets WHEN: 11 August WHERE: Temple Island Meadows, Henley-On-Thames CarFest North & CarFest South With musical acts including Clean Bandit, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Feeling, CarFest is set to be a fantastic family weekend. They’ll be kids’ theatre and The Toy Factory bringing Christmas and new toys to the festival. WHEN: 27-29 July (North) and 24-26 August (South) WHERE: Bolesworth, Cheshire and Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire Book now 27th August CarFest South We’ll be adding more festivals and info to this list, so do check back soon. Contact me at lauren@mybaba.com if I’ve missed your festival. Featured image: ‘Dance Off’, Louise Roberts
