Just So Festival Review 2019 (Guests to review).

We love Just So Festival and my 9 and 10 year old boys were delighted when we were asked back again this year to review. We are big supporters of the team behind Just So, Wild Rumpus, who bring together nature and the arts to give families unique experiences they'll remember forever.

Just So Festival's 10th Anniversary took place in the usual Cheshire woodland location of Rode Hall and created a real festival to remember forever, and one for your CV if you work in events management!!

I've been to many, many festivals over the years and for the last 25 I've had children with me. It's really easy for it all to go wrong when the rain hits, and it hit Just So really hard. One month's rain in one day, as 5000 people arrive and attempt to start their festival weekend. It's the stuff of nightmares for any event organiser. They did fantastically.

The staff and volunteers gave everyone just enough leeway, and the festival attendees had enough common sense, to make it work safely for as many people as possible. I'm truly sorry to anyone who didn't make it in the end. For most of us at least, the festival went ahead virtually as planned.

It was a festival of the arts and the outdoors, and nature was determined to reassert the fact she is bigger than all of us.

Timber Festival - back in the Derbyshire Woodlands 5th-7th July 2019 (Press Visit)

Last Summer we had the most amazing time at the first ever Timber Festival and I'm delighted to say they've invited us back again this year to review. The setting is Feanedock, a gorgeous 70 acre woodland in the National Forest in Derbyshire, and the programme is absolutely packed with all kinds of theatre, music, dance, performance, arts, workshops, discussion and debate for adults and children aged around 5+.

Timber won Best New Festival at the UK Festival Awards and they were a worthy winner. My boys are now 9 and 10 and were ecstatic when they heard we would be returning this year - even when we told them we'd definitely want to go and see Stuart Maconie talk about rambling again.

Timber is the festival for hippies, eco-warriors, tree-huggers and laid back types of all ages. If you want to sit in beautiful, natural surroundings listening to live bands, talks and stories, watching theatre and joining in debate, it might just suit you too.

There is an eclectic mix of entertainment on offer at Timber and a hint of what you'll find is listed below. I'm particularly excited about Cardboardia myself... The photos are from 2018 and don't represent exactly what you'll find this year, but it'll give you a good idea...

Timber!!!!!! A brand new family festival in the woods 6th-8th July 2018

Wild Rumpus are brilliant at bringing a bit of magic to our lives and this year they are launching a brand new festival for families in the heart of the country. Feanedock in the National Forest, just south of Burton-On-Trent (and very close to where I grew up) will play host to Timber: The International Forest Festival. Running from 6-8th July 2018 it promises adventure for everyone...

We've been invited to review and I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity. My young boys, just like their siblings, can create a day's worth of amazing pure fun given only a bit of woodland and some freedom to explore and imagine. It should be a weekend off for everyone...

Unlike other festivals, Timber is about music and art, but also philosophy and sustainability. It will be carbon neutral and powered by 100% renewable energy. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about their environment as well as play in it, joining discussions and workshops with thinkers and scientists.

Child Of The Divide - Big Imaginations Festival Launch At Z-Arts

Tonight we attended the VIP Family Launch of the Big Imaginations Festival. This is a huge Family Theatre Event which encompasses 9 Shows over 18 Days at 26 Venues in the North West. The Launch Event was followed by the first North West performance of Child Of The Divide.

The journey into Manchester was uneventful and all the traffic was going the opposite way, and as soon as we arrived we were offered a plate full of delicious Z-Arts CafeZ veggie and vegan curries with all the extras, so it really got off to a great start!

Behind The Scenes with The Lost Carnival at Dunham Massey this August

This August Wild Rumpus, the people behind Just So Festival, will be busy at Dunham Massey hall and gardens with a brand new Lost Carnival event. We popped along on Saturday evening to have a preview of what is going to be hidden among the trees for visitors this Summer...

We haven't been to Dunham Massey before, but the gorgeous gardens double up as a deer park, which delighted our children. In fact there was wildlife in evidence everywhere, those woods are alive!