Festival Pulse by Little Media

F E S T I VA L

PULSE eco-fest

How to stay green

Happy Campers

WIN

Camp Bestival Tickets

the latest

SUMMER LOVING trends.

10 TOP

Festivals

baby london’s

festival special!

Festival Pulse ✱ 1

embrace life

@theBabaSling

www.theBabaSling.com

Notting Hill, London W11 2AJ 020 7229 5855

Primrose Hill, London NW1 8UY 020 7586 1552

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F E S T I VA L

PULSE EDITOR Rebecca Moore rebecca.moore@littlemedia.co.uk

Editor’s letter

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Christina Burgess christina.burgess@littlemedia.co.uk

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER Danielle Owen mail@danielleowenphotography.co.uk

FASHION STYLIST Roxzann Weston info@roxzann.co.uk

SHOOT CO-ORDINATOR Sarah Lancaster sarah@mindthecashmere.co.uk

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers. Neither the publisher nor any other person associated with the production and publication of this magazine make any guarantees, warranties or claims as to the accuracy, currency or truthfulness of any of the contents of this magazine. The publishers cannot be held responsible of any loss caused by errors, loss or negligence from staff. We cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited editorial, images or photographs published. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be found on our website, www.littlemedia.co.uk at the time of entering. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the publishers' written consent. © Little Media 2014. All rights reserved.

t may seem a modern-day phenomenon but festivals actually began way before people started getting tangled up in tents and perfecting the squat position. They may not have been quite the geared up gathering they are today but the festival scene has come on leaps and bounds and the industry continues to grow to appease our festival hungry culture. Gone are the days when festivals were exclusively for the young, wild and free, they have now become an annual ritual for families across the globe. Step into the 21st century and there’s now a festival to suit every person across the land. We’ve narrowed down our top ten festivals touching down on British soil this

summer on page 23. As fun as festivalling can be we cannot hide from the potentially detrimental effects they can have on our environment. Jaime Eastham is sharing her wisdom on how to love your festival. With a bit of planning you can have a tip top time, while leaving only your muddy footprints behind - flick to page 10 to read more. And if you’re looking for some inspiration on dressing your mini festivalites, check out our fashion story Boho Dream on page 12. Ensuring your little’ns look the part this summer we’ve pulled together more fashion ideas than you can shake a glow stick at. Happy Festivalling,

Festival Pulse ✱ 5

Flash

Festival News • Competitions • Fun Facts • What’s On • Love your Festival • what to wear

Festival

31 July until 3 August...

FAMILY FUN AT

CAMP BESTIVAL

adies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, Baby London has teamed up with Camp Bestival to offer a family ticket to their festi-holiday jamboree this summer. With a veritable wealth of incredible treats for your delectation from 31 July to 3 August, Camp Bestival guarantees you a family festival experience like no other at a castle campsite by the sea. Crowned Best Family Festival

at the UK Festival Awards, a host of acts are running away to join this year’s circus themed festival, including Sunday night headliners dynamic dance duo Basement Jaxx, and indie giants James also topping the bill. Other acts already announced include the amazing Johnny Marr, fabulous chanteuse Sinéad O’Connor, and Mercury Prize nominee and soul sensation Laura Mvula. Horrible Histories is back at

Camp Bestival by extraordinarily popular demand performing their new show, Barmy Britain: Part II, and the utterly legendary Mr Tumble will be clowning his way to the Castle Stage once again. Helping to celebrate a phenomenal 50 years of Roald Dahl’s best-loved tale in 2014, they will also be hosting a Charlie and the Chocolate Visit www.babylondon.co.uk/ Factory 50th Birthday Takeover competitions to enter. Competition on Saturday and, don’t miss their closes Friday 27 June. Good luck! favourite elf and fairy duo Ben and ✱ www.campbestival.net

Family-Friendly WYCHWOOD FESTIVAL Turns Ten This Year

A © Darren Coleman

s we greet a new season of festive frivolities we also welcome in some big birthdays for the well-established festivals in the market. This year will mark the 10th Wychwood Festival (Friday 30 May to Sunday 1 June), a

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whole decade of family fun just beneath the idyllic Prestbury Hills at Cheltenham Racecourse. This summer discover more festival excitement with Wychwood’s family-friendly atmosphere. There is lots in store for this most special anniversary, Wychwood regulars and first timers alike can expect to be dazzled with the best programme of activity ever staged. The festival is known for its family-friendly feel, with a big range of music on offer, plus loads of other activities includ-

Holly, hosting the main stage with, for the first time ever, the actual voiceover actors from the television series. Also on the cards is the welcoming of their wondrously fabulous new venue, The Greatest Tent on Earth featuring Gandini Juggling Remixed by Rob da Bank; irresistible new theatre show Hugless Dougless making its festival debut; hoola hooping marvel Marawa the Amazing; the exhilarating street dancing of Funk da Cirque and many more! And what’s best of all, you could be in with a chance of winning a family camping ticket (2 x adult tickets plus up to 4 children!).

The first

Glastonbury

Festival took place in the September

ing 100 workshops for all ages, comedy, cinema and much more. Plus the festival boasts a very laid back vibe. We love that you can drive onto the campsite to unload all your gear, so it’s no surprise to us that they’ve been nominated Best Family Festival in the UK Festival Awards every year. ✱ www.wychwoodfestival.com

of 1970 with an audience of just

15 00 paying £1 each for tickets

All little ones are natural explorers and we’ve got lots of activities and ideas to help them learn about themselves and the world around them.

Goodies Gang created by Caroline Jayne Church www.carolinejaynechurch.com

Look out for promotional packs of Organix Goodies this summer to claim a free explorer pack.

For little ones on an adventure, we’ve got activities to help them explore storytelling, arts and crafts, the great outdoors and growing their own food.

Over the summer we’ll be exploring on tour, popping up at festivals, county shows and family days out. Find out where we’re going to be:

www.organix.com/exploretour

With the help of Lucy, our lovely food expert, we’ve got lots of ideas for fun activities to help you and your little one explore food.

To ﬁnd out more visit...

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FESTIVAL

Flash

Festival News • Competitions • Fun Facts • What’s On • Love your Festival • sweet music

Festival

FESTIVAL AWARDS

Photography: Danielle Owen | Styling: Roxzann Weston

ne of the coolest and reputable events in the festival industry calendar, a packed-out Roundhouse in London on 2 December 2013 was the setting for another spectacular celebration of the music festival industry and culture, which marked the tenth Anniversary of the UK

Festival Awards. The UK Festival Awards was launched in 2004 with a mission to provide a platform to highlight the spectacular achievements of the festival sector and empower festival-goers to shape the continuing standard of the marketplace. Anticipation for the night’s winners’ announcements undoubtedly

Here are some of the award-winning festivals that took the gong on the day. BEST FAMILY FESTIVAL Camp Bestival BEST SMALL FESTIVAL in association with Intelligent Venue Solutions

Bearded Theory BEST LINE-UP in association with J20 Lates

Latitude THE EXTRA-FESTIVAL ACTIVITY AWARD Wilderness THE GREENER FESTIVAL AWARD in association with AGreenerFestival

Shambala Festival

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8 ✱ Festival Pulse

AWARDS 2013

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grew throughout the day as the many faces behind the festival scene returned in merriment. The event also saw an impressive selection of the industry’s leading lights as they debated the challenges and opportunities facing today’s market, in the UK Festival Conference. James Drury, Managing Director of UK Festival Awards commented, “In this, our 10th year, we had the most fiercely-fought competition for the awards yet. There were so many incredible events taking place this year that it’s not surprising that 575,000 votes were cast by fans from across the world.” ✱ www.festivalawards.com

Ingredients 4 tbsp light mayonnaise 1 tbsp plum sauce 1 cooked chicken breast, sliced Quarter small cucumber, sliced 4 spring onions, sliced into strips 4 tortilla wraps Method 1. Mix the mayonnaise and plum sauce together. 2. Warm the wraps in a frying pan for one minute. 3. Spread a little mayonnaise mixture along one side of a wrap. 4. Top with chicken, spring onion and cucumber. Roll up, then slice into three pieces on the diagonal.

Here are some delicious recipes that you can wrap up, and take on the go Preparation: 15 minutes Chicken, Broccoli & Mange Tout Pasta Salad Makes 2 portions This chicken pasta salad is packed full of nutritious ingredients, including chicken and broccoli. Ingredients 110g pasta spirals 55g small broccoli florets 30g mange tout sliced 3 tbsp sunflower oil Half tsp toasted sesame oil 2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp honey | 2 tsp soy sauce 110g cooked chicken, thinly sliced 30g pumpkin seeds | Seasoning Method 1. Cook pasta until al dente, adding the broccoli two minutes before the end of the cooking time and the mange tout one minute before. Drain and immediately rinse well with cold water, then drain again. 2. For salad dressing, whisk oils, vinegar, honey and soy sauce in a large bowl. Add the pasta and vegetables and toss salad to coat, cover and keep cool until needed. 3. Just before serving, add the chicken and toss salad again, then sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 10 minutes ✱ www.annabelkarmel.com

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Festival News • Competitions • Fun Facts • What’s On • Love your Festival • what to wear

ECO-FEST

Festivals have the potential to be environmental disasters, but with a bit of planning you can have a wild weekend, while leaving only your muddy footprints behind. Words: Jaime Eastham

housands of us haul our camping gear, children and optimism across the country every year to pitch our tents, escape everyday life and let our kids go wild for a few days. Music festivals are no longer the domain of the young and childless - family-friendly festivals are popping up all over the place and drawing enormous crowds. The preparation involved in camping with small people is extensive. So between all the list-making, the packing of many spare pants, and the cleaning of camping gear (why didn’t I scrape the mud off properly last year?), it’s not surprising that reducing our eco footprint falls down – or completely off - the to-do lists. Unfortunately, as festivals have grown from a few free spirits dancing in a field, to the swarming

10 ✱ Festival Pulse

masses in their festival-chic floral playsuits, the environmental damage they cause has become significant. Abandoned tents, plastic bottles, rusting cans, and high ammonia levels from urine are just some of the destructive remnants of a music festival. There have been stories of wildlife being injured or even dying from

a large economic force to be reckoned with, so the decisions they make can have significant impacts on the environment. And thanks to some forward thinking festival promoters, and non-profit groups such as A Greener Festival, sustainability is hitting the main stage. Green initiatives are becoming more common at the

“Green initiatives are becoming more common at the major festivals, and some of the smaller festivals are downright ethical.” eating discarded rubbish. And that’s not even touching on the carbon emissions caused by transporting thousands of people across the UK. But times, they are a changin’. Festival promoters have a major role to play in greening the music industry. They have become

major festivals, and some of the smaller festivals are downright ethical. Shambala, a family-friendly festival held in Northamptonshire, has won multiple awards for its inspirational initiatives, with organisers doing everything they can think of to reduce the event’s

impact. The whole festival is 98% powered by wind, sun and waste veg oil, they provide subsidised coach travel from six cities to reduce carbon emissions, they recycle everything they can get their hands on, provide as many compost loos as they can get hold of, use strict ethical traders and food suppliers - and to top it all off there’s a biofuel shuttle bus from local public transport links. A Greener Festival has been plugging away for years to spread the green message to festivals, small and large. It conducts environmental audits and also holds the annual Greener Festival Awards, to praise the good and inspire the not-so-good. But the group’s co-founder Claire O’Neill, says it’s not enough for festival promoters to be green – it falls on the individual to take responsibility. Fortunately, green initiatives are striking a chord with many festival goers who are happy

to do their bit. Hampton-based mum Lucille Potter makes the annual pilgrimage to Shambala with her three children. “I love being away from all the mod cons and I love the fact

BRAVE PUBLIC TRANSPORT (it won’t be as bad as you think) Transport is the biggest environment problem associated with festivals. So take public transport if you can – travelling to the middle of nowhere with a pile of children and camping gear might sound like hell on earth, but it won’t be that bad! It might even be an adventure. Lots of festivals offer shuttle buses, and Glastonbury has even introduced a Green Traveller lanyard, offering discounts, vouchers and solar showers for people who arrive by public transport or bicycle.

SHARE YOUR CAR If you have to travel by car then try to fill it up. Not necessarily with strangers, that might be weird. But if you have a small friend who can fit in between the booster seats, squeeze them in!

that there is no TV – the children make new friends and it really is a joy to see them running around wild for five days.” Lucille was particularly drawn to Shambala because of its ethical credentials. “These kind of festivals are great as they’re not commercially run - they’re independent and very environmentally conscious. I don't like the ones that are just out to make masses of money.” Lucile has also taken her children to Starry Skies, a family-only festival held on the Welsh border. She said both festivals cleverly made people aware of their

individual impact on the local environment in all sorts of ways. “You had to bring a bottle to fill at water stations and there was a return your cup policy at the bars, plus compost loos. We used the recycling points and tried to reduce the amount of rubbish we

fancy dress fun!

BYO BOTTLES Plastic water bottles are a huge waste of resources and create unnecessary waste, so take your own refillable water bottle instead (not glass). Some of the greener festivals are aiming to be completely plastic bottle-free this year!

RECYCLE Recycle your rubbish wherever possible while you’re there. It might be a bit further to walk to the recycle bin, but it’s worth making the effort. © Louise Roberts

TAKE CROCKERY AND CUTLERY Some of the greener festivals provide biodegradable tableware, but taking your own is still the greenest option.

DON’T LEAVE ANYTHING BEHIND! This sounds like an obvious one, but a huge amount of camping gear is often left behind by people who can’t be bothered to take it with them. Treat it as you would any other camping trip and try to leave without a trace.

USE ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS To prevent build-up of chemicals in the land and water around the festival, use natural, biodegradable soaps, shampoos and conditioners while you’re on site.

created while we were there too.” “I really think bigger commercial festivals could learn from these independent ones.” So, if you’re heading to a festival with the children this year, here are a few tips to make your weekend a bit greener:

USE THE LOOS A cheeky pee behind a bush might seem harmless but thousands of people peeing behind a bush is most definitely not harmless!

BE THOUGHTFUL WITH YOUR NAPPIES Nappies are a tricky one at festivals. Do you do cloth and try to wash? Take enough so you don’t have to wash and hope they don’t smell too much? Or just use disposables? Most parents I

spoke to opt for disposables while they’re away, or use cloth with disposables liners. Whichever you choose to do, make sure you take care to put your nappies / liners in the correct waste bins provided. © Louise Roberts

SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE Festivals have always been progressive events, with positive community vibes. There are so many new innovative green ideas coming out of festivals that we can all learn from. So, as well as an adventurous weekend away, festivals can also be a great way to teach your little ones about looking after the planet. RESOURCES ✱ www.agreenerfestival.com ✱ www.shambalafestival.org/ sustainability ✱ www.starry-skies.net

Festival Pulse ✱ 11

Festival News • Competitions • Fun Facts • What’s On • Love your Festival • what to wear

EXCITING FIREWORKS!

LOCATION: Sulby Croft, Berkshire WITH THANKS TO: The Mind the Cashmere Team, Grace and Galor, Daisy and Dukes Model Management. FOR THE PROPS: Field Candy: for the tents. Glam Camping Co: Camping equipment. Green Tulip: Children’s Bottles AND THE MODELS: Bonnie, Dominic, Ellique, Ella, Olivia, Taleyah, Imogen & Ten’e. Ella wears Anthony Dress, £69, Love Necklace, £21, both ilovegorgeous. Floral Head Dress, stylist’s own. Bonnie wears Festival Dress, £85, Pom Pom Headband, £9, both ilovegorgeous. Tasselled Beads worn as Necklace, stylist’s own.

Boho Dream Photography: Danielle Owen Art Direction & Styling: Roxzann Weston Assistants: Sarah Lancaster & Natasha Elcox set dresser: Zahra Noble

THIS PAGE: Ellique wears Parakeet T-Shirt, £24 and Bowler Hat, £42, both Waddler. Pilou Patch Track Pants, £20, Indikidual. Trainers, £25, Vans. OPPOSITE PAGE: TOP: Bonnie wears Frill Tunic Dress, £49, Rachel Riley. Boots, £50, Dr Martin. Daisy Head Dress, stylist’s own. Ella wears One Piece Playsuit, £45, Imps and Elfs. Wellies, £39, Hunter. Head Dress, stylist’s own. Taleyah wears Coco Jumper, £54, Waddler. Crinkle Cut Shorts, £45, no added sugar. Wellies, £39, Hunter. Head Dress, stylist’s own. BOTTOM LEFT: Dominic wears Drama Tassel Hoody, £35, Flo Fringe T-Shirt, £25, both Indikidual. Gabriel Shorts, £47.50, Soft Gallery. BOTTOM RIGHT: Imogen wears Baby Cleo Dress, £45, ilovegorgeous .

THIS PAGE: Dom wears Indikidual Grape Vest £20 and Soft Gallery Gabriel Shorts £47.50, Hunter Wellies £39, Indian Feather Headress and Necklace, stylist’s own. OPPOSITE PAGE: TOP: Ten’e wears Baby Skater Boy T-Shirt, £35, Baby Peat Track Pants £32.50, both Soft Gallery. Red booties, £25, Susie & Toto. BOTTOM: Olivia wears Baby Tessie Dress, £45, ilovegorgeous. Head Dress, stylist’s own.

THIS PAGE: Imogen wears ilovegorgeous Baby Temple Dress £49, Flower Headress, stylist’s own. OPPOSITE PAGE: TOP & BOTTOM RIGHT: Ella wears Anthony Dress, £69, Love Necklace, £21, both ilovegorgeous. Floral Head Dress, stylist’s own. Bonnie wears Festival Dress, £85, Pom Pom Headband, stylist’s own. BOTTOM LEFT: Dom wears Indikidual Grape Vest £20 and Soft Gallery Gabriel Shorts £47.50, Hunter Wellies £39, Indian Feather Headress and Necklace, stylist’s own.

TOP LEFT: Ten’e wears Baby Skater Boy T-Shirt, £35, Baby Peat Track Pants £32.50, both Soft Gallery. Red booties, £25, Susie & Toto. TOP RIGHT: Imogen wears Eagle Hat, £45, Sarah Lowes for Nixie Clothing. Baby Temple Dress, £49, ilovegorgeous. Olivia wears Baby Tessie Dress, £45, ilovegorgeous & Head Dress, stylist’s own. BOTTOM: Dominic wears Tunic T-Shirt, £34, Sierra Julian. Anchor Print Shirt, £59, Rachel Riley. Scratch Chino, £37, Indikidual. Wellies, £39, Hunter. Squirrel Tail, £25, Tell Tails. Ella wears Topsy Vest, £22, Bird Shorts, £28, both Indikidual. Wellies, £39, Hunter. Head Dress, stylist’s own. Fox Tail, £20, Tell Tails. Taleyah wears Candy Stripe Skirt, £45, Rachel Riley. Multi Bow T-Shirt, £38, Sierra Julian. Wellies, £39, Hunter. Head Dress and Flower Necklace, both stylist’s own.

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Camp

TOP 10 FAMILY

a la

Roberts

FESTIVALS We’ve clustered together the best family festivals for you to enjoy this summer.

L o l li

Lo llib op

b op

SHAMBALA Best for: Eco Fun When: 21–24 August Where: Northamptonshire

CAMP BESTIVAL Best for: The Whole Shebang When: 31–3 August Where: Dorset Roll up, roll up for this year’s Camp Bestival - the big daddy when it comes to festivalling en famille. This multi-award winning festival features a truly enormous children’s area with a host of thrilling activities from soft play and circus skills to go-carts and glitter. This year’s circus themed festival sees new for 2014 The Greatest Tent On Earth, where many of circus frivolities will be taking place. And of course mothers will happily see the return of their pioneering Breastival Mother and Baby Chill Out area. Music: Basement Jaxx, De La Soul, Rob Da Bank Weekend Tickets: Age 4 and under FREE, age 5-10 £20, Adult £195

Shambala is a fab family-friendly festival, with more © Louise Roberts family focused activities than you can shake a stick at, there’s music, magic and mayhem. New for 2014 there’ll be a dedicated family live-in vehicle field near to family camping, more childsized loos, new woodland adventure area, nets and nature workshops and a focus on ‘free-play’ activities in the Kids Field. The Family Yurt is a space to play, grab a cup of tea and join the bedtime stories. You can even book your 2-7year olds into the Bees Crèche. And to top it off they offer wheelbarrows on loan to help get your kit from the car park. Music: Andy C, Young Fathers, Slamboree Weekend Tickets: Age 5 and under FREE, age 5-14 £35, Adult £135

LOLLIBOP

Best for: A day-time festival When: 15-17 August Where: Hertfordshire

Known as the ‘Big Bash for Little People, this year LolliBop festival returns to a new location in the beautiful grounds of Hatfield House. Renowned for bringing some of the biggest names in children’s entertainment to its live stages, LolliBop also plays host to science and educational zones, crafts areas and adventure activities. It’s exclusively aimed at children. Tickets: Age 1 and under FREE, general tickets £20

LATITUDE Best For: Stage performers When: 17–20 July Where: Suffolk

2014 sees more family fun at Latitude festival, with hundreds of activities taking place including animation and filmmaking, mini monsters road show, pizza making, as well as arts, crafts and theatre. Arranged around the banks of the central Latitude lake, you will find the incredibly enticing Kids' Area where children are entertained all day and into the night with everything from pond dipping and face painting, to helterskelter rides and theatre workshops. They also have a great family campsite, for broods to cosy down in – with its own fully-fledged tuck shop. Music: Two Door Cinema Club, Editors, Haim Weekend Tickets: Age 4 and under FREE, age 5-12 £8, Adult £195 © Pooneh Ghana

Festival Pulse ✱ 23

Festival News • Competitions • Fun Facts • What’s On • Love your Festival • sweet music

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Festival News • Competitions • Fun Facts • What’s On • Love your Festival • sweet music

LEOPALLOOZA Best for: Further afield When: 1-3 August Where: Cornwall

Leopallooza will be hosting the cream of new British music in a lovely wooded valley in North Cornwall. There’ll be over 60 bands and DJs congregating in this beautiful, custom-built festival site. Family camping is free, and there is entertainment for all ages, as well as a retail and food village called Palloozaville. Remember to pack your bucket and spade and check out local beach town Bude whilst you’re down this neck of the woods. Music: Fenech-Soler, Foxes, Dry the River, Brother & Bones Weekend Tickets: Age 5 and under FREE, Family £150

WYCHWOOD Best For: Family Activities When: 30 May-1 June Where: Gloucestershire

A great family festival, Wychwood has been nominated Best Family Festival in the UK Festival Awards every year. With a real emphasis on activities, this year children can enjoy a whole host of workshops, alongside a Kids Literature Festival, The Roald Dahl Museum and if that isn’t enough, little ones will be jumping for joy to see CBeebies superstar Justin Fletcher up to his usual tricks. Music: The Boomtown Rats, Newton Faulkner, Craig Charles Weekend Tickets: Age 5 and under FREE, age 5-9 £20, Adults £125

BLISSFIELDS

GLASTONBURY Best For: Children’s Area When: 25-29 June Where: Somerset

When it comes to festivals it’s the humdinger; one you may not necessarily fit with families, but Glastonbury actually facilitates boundless fun for the unders. They’ve hosted their fabulous Kidz Field for 20 years, with its extraordinary world of wonder and magic. So they’re pretty experienced when it comes to festival frivolities for even the smallest festival goers. Music: Dolly Parton, Kasabian, Paolo Nutini Weekend Ticket: Age 12 and under FREE, Adult £210

ISLE OF WHITE FESTIVAL Best For: The sweet music When: 12-15 June Where: Hampshire

It’s one of the UK’s most renowned festivals, known for its sweet music and amazing venue. It’s a great festival for those more experienced festilvalites. We love their Life’s A Beach area, the perfect place to chill out and listen to bands. Or let the minis enjoy The Kids Zone, this year sees the return of the Rainbow Stage, which will feature performances from a variety of storytellers, magicians, musicians, circus acts, and more. It’s a festival bursting with family-fun. Music: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kings of Leon, Calvin Harris Weekend Tickets: Age 12 and under FREE, Adults £190

24 ✱ Festival Pulse

Best for: Family Camping When: 4-5 July Where: Hampshire Growing as a festival with the local families, Blissfields began its venture in 2001. Still keeping families at the core of all the festival fun, this year sees the return of Angel Gardens to keep little ones’ weekend action packed. And new for 2014, the festival launches Fields Of Bliss Spa – a tranquil haven in which to relax and pamper yourself. Overlooking the golf course (YES, Blissfields has a mini golf course) it is ideally positioned to kick back and relax. Music: 2ManyDJs, Dub Pistols, Sleigh Bells Weekend Tickets: Age 9 and under FREE, Adults £100.45

STANDON CALLING Best for: A first timer When: 1-3 August Where: Hertfordshire

It’s a festival with a swimming pool! Their designated kids’ area is set in a quiet corner of the manor house behind a white picket fence. Regular activities in this area include face painting, creative crafts, storytelling, yoga classes, drama workshops, interactive theatre, Maurice’s reggae nursery rhymes and the ever-popular Punch and Judy show. This year’s theme is Lost in Latin America, so think colour, heat, and salsa! Music: Clean Bandit, Public Enemy, Ella Eyre Weekend Tickets: Age 3 and under £5, age 4-12 £10, Adult tickets operate on a tiered ticket price, the earlier you buy the cheaper

Q& with

Josie da Bank

In time for the impending festival season, Rebecca Moore talks to Josie da Bank, the Creative Director at family-friendly festivals Bestival and Camp Bestival. WORDS: REBECCA MOORE

Josie and husband Rob Gorham, or more commonly known through his DJ pseudonym of Rob da Bank, co-founded Bestival in 2004, and set up Camp Bestival in 2008. For the couple, and their three boys (Arlo, seven; Merlin, five; Miller, three), festivals are more than just a summer sensation, they’re their lives. Let’s go back to the start, how did Bestival and Camp Bestival begin? Bestival was a dream of my husband’s that very quickly came true. There were lots of ups and downs in the first year though, as we had no idea what we were doing. Camp Bestival followed the birth of our first son Arlo, we wanted to create a festival that our friends and family could attend, one that felt safe, and was more about the day time and early mornings and less about the late night partying. What does the role as Creative Director involve? It involves designing the festival site, coming up with new ideas and finding the right set builders to build them. Coming up with the theme and identity of the shows. How do you find working alongside your husband Rob? It works well; we have a lot of fun coming up with ideas for bands and installations over a bottle of wine in the evenings. We don’t actually spend much time together in the day working, as he is always very busy working on other projects. If we did spend all day

26 ✱ Festival Pulse

together it would drive us mad. Do you get lots of ideas from your children? Yes, we often have a good old discussion. A lot of the activities are inspired by our children and friends. When you’re not living the life of a festivalgoer, what’s your favourite thing to do with the family? Gardening! I love looking for bugs in the garden. Making things with Arlo and Merlin (we call him Merlin maker) and cooking with Miller. We like to go on as many holidays as possible too, as it’s the best quality time away from running your own business. Do you get time to enjoy your own festivals? Yes, especially Camp Bestival. The whole family comes to Camp Bestival, all the grandparents, cousins, friends, etc. I make sure once I have built the show that I hand it over to our producers to run. What makes a festival for you? Lots of great food, good weather, and good content that’s not just about the music. An array of activities and workshops that you don’t come across every day. What are you looking forward to the most at this year’s Bestival and Camp Bestival? Well, a few of my new installations are still under wraps so can’t say. Music-wise, OutKast, Beck and Lon-

don Grammar at Bestival. At Camp Bestival I’m looking forward to Basement Jaxx - we have known them for a long time and their music holds so many memories. I’m looking forward to Sinead O’Conner and Johnny Marr, too. If you could give one tip to firsttime ‘family festivallers’ what would it be? Have no expectations. Where do you see family festivals in the future? I see them as being very popular; I think camping holidays hold the most memories for children and families, often more so than a luxury two week holiday abroad. I think they have a long future. ✿ Camp Bestival takes place in the grounds of Lulworth Castle in Dorset, from Thursday 31 July – Sunday 3 August. Bestival is based on the Isle of Wight running from Thursday 4 – Sunday 7 September. www.campbestival.net| www.bestival.net

✽ Read all the latest gossip with our Q&As, find many more online at babylondon.co.uk

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