Review | Just So Festival 2018

Just So ~ what can I say?! We had the very best weekend, I cannot say enough good things about this festival. If you’ve been considering going, I’d seriously recommend getting tickets for next year {especially as it will be their 10th birthday so it’s bound to be extra special!}. Every year we have more fun than the year before! This year the fun levels were through the roof, we went with four other families, all camping together {thanks to the fab stewards who let three of us pitch our tents in the campervan field with our friends truck and bus}. 21 adults and children meant even at the campsite there was lots of fun to be had! Kiki and her friend were our official face painters/glittering queens, keeping all of us looking sparkly all weekend long. Our whole gang was part of the fish tribe {YAY FISH!} and it was so fun to all be dressed up together – we had lots of people stopping to comment on how fab we all looked.

Friday afternoon was spent having an explore of the site, seeing what was new, finding our way around and catching a little music on the main stage – including the fabulous Zong Zing. Baya and Beastie were thrilled the Barefoot Walk was in the Spellbound Forest again this year! Everyone decided not to have a late one the first night, so once the kiddos were tucked up in the tents, we sat around in the campsite with a few drinks while we waited for the last of our gang to arrive.

Saturday arrived bright and sunny, after a slow morning sat around the campsite, getting in fancy dress and all of our faces glittered we headed back out for some fun. The great thing about the Just So is that the site is small enough {and safe enough} for my girlies to be able to wander off and do their own thing. This year, they were off with their friends who were camping with us, checking in and out with one of the adults in our group through the day.

We spent some time in the woods, sat on the Village Green watching bubbles being blown and getting told off by the Anti Fun Ministry for being too colourful haha! We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon up in ‘Roll Up, Roll Up’ – Baya loved the tightrope workshop and Beastie had fun practising circus skills and digging for tokens in the sandpit.

Saturday night was spent at Footlights watching Cut a Shine and doing a little bit of dancing {much too my children’s amusement}. Beastie fell asleep in his trolley, snuggled under a blanket, and Baya curled up on the floor and went to sleep as well!

Sunday started off a little wet, but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits. We spent the morning on the campsite again, and the afternoon enjoying all the fun – like the pillowfight, watching various shows – both planned ones and catching impromptu shows that appeared in front of us. The kids hightlight of the afternoon was catching the Anti Fun Ministery, spraying them with coloured hair spray and getting one to quit and have fun with us!!

Underpinning the whole festival is the Tribal Tournament. There are seven tribes – Owls, Foxes, Fish, Stags, Frogs, Lions and Bees. All of our gang were fish – we learnt last year when we were all in different tribes that it would be more fun to be all the same so we could parade together! Sunday evening sees each tribe meet up, and parade down to Footlights where the winning tribe is announced. To say we were excited that the Fish won this year would be a huge understatement. When it was announced we {and the whole fish tribe} went crazy! Honestly, my kids are still excited a week on that we won, and Beastie is convinced it was the last token he got that won it for us ;)

After the Tribal Tournament, we stayed to listen to Gary Stewart’s Graceland. Oh my gosh he was so good, and we all danced our socks off – especially Miss Baya – Beastie was once again asleep in his trolley. Lola and Kiki went back to the tents with friends, so we took a sleeping Beastie and a very excited Baya to the Flamingo Lounge for some late night disco dancing.

The only bad thing about the Just So is that it’s just one weekend…. none of us wanted to leave on Monday morning, and we’re already counting down to next year’s festival.