Review | Just So Festival 2017

This was our second year at the Just So Festival and the best so far. We had WAY more fun than we did last year [not sure how that is even possible?!} but it was such a good weekend! There were sprinklings of rain all weekend, but that didn’t put a dampener on the festivities, though when the sun did come out, you could feel the whole vibe of the festival change and buzz even more.

We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday and managed to get our tent pitched before the rain came. Once pitched, we went for an explore of the festival, seeing what was the same as last year and what was different. It was a great to just have a wander around, get our bearings and get ourselves in the spirit. After popping back to the tent for some dinner, we headed back out, exploring the Spellbound Forest {and the barefoot walk in the rain!} before heading to Footlights to listen to some music, enjoying cider {only me!} and churros whilst listening to Huw Eddy.

Saturday we explored even more, making Exquisite Corpses on the Village Green, practicing our circus skills, listing to stories in the woods, eating candy floss in the high seas and playing in the Actual Reality Arcade. Later on, we met the Fairy Queen, made dream catchers, played in the sandpit, saw Fiona Bevan at Footlights and then some bands around the bonfire.

Sunday brought some sunshine, in the daytime at least, we spent some time sitting in the High Seas, enjoying the sunshine and being sung around by the ‘Choir anyone can join. I spent a lovely couple of hours on the village green, with a sleeping beastie and a friend whilst the girls explored. We made clay faces on Sunday too which Beastie loved!

There was a brief moment on Sunday when we ‘lost’ Baya. After realising I hadn’t seen her for quite a while, we searched all around the Village Green where we’d been sitting but couldn’t see her.  A quick search of the forest and we still hadn’t found her, we decided to go the the Lost Child tent. They were amazing, and straight away radioed around, getting all festival staff looking for her. We found her not long after, happily dancing and unaware she was lost. I knew she wouldn’t have gone far, and wasn’t worried – but the staff there were so helpful and fast-acting.

The highlight of the festival is always the Tribal Tournament, that rounds off the festival on Sunday night. There are seven tribes – Owls, Foxes, Fish, Stags, Frogs, Lions and Bees. Lola was a Bee, the rest of us were Fish this year. We dressed up and earn gold pebbles over the weekend for our tribe. Gold Pebbles get handed into your tribal leader and added to the tribal scoreboard. On Sunday, all the tribes meet at their designated points ready to march down to Footlights to find out which team are the winners! I love how this pulls the whole festival together, people make so much effort to dress up and it adds so much excitement to the weekend – it really does make the Just So Festival extra special. Even the arrival of some rain just in time for the tournament didn’t dampen any spirits – the kids all said this was their favourite bit!

Early bird tickets for Just So Festival 2018 (17 – 19 August, Rode Hall Estate, Cheshire) are on sale from Friday 25 August at midday at www.justsofestival.org.

We were guests at the Just So – all thoughts and opinions are our own