You’re never too Young to Festival

Just So Festival, the boutique, family arts festival taking place in the beautiful woodlands of Barnswood , Staffordshire, have a vested interest in their exciting programme of events for babies and toddlers this year; as Festival Director Rowan Hoban and family welcome the arrival of their fourth child, just four months before the start of this year’s festival which takes place on the 19th-21st of August.

The Hoban’s newest addition may well be one of the very youngest festival goers this year but Just So Festival’s weekend of creativity, art, music and literature is a family festival whose whole ethos revolves around creating a safe, friendly and stimulating environment for children of all ages – and that includes our very youngest adventurers. 

As Just So Festival Director Sarah Bird explains, “Our commitment is to enable our festival families with very young children to have the freedom to experience and immerse themselves in the wealth of entertainment and creativity that Just So Festival has to offer and that includes providing activities and facilities for our festival babies. Our Peekaboo glade and Babes in the Wood site are designated areas where our 0-2 year olds and their parents can enjoy some quiet time together or engage in a choice of activities that will stimulate or settle young minds.” 

Some of the highlights of this year’s programme for babies and toddlers include: the Playtime Area – with activities including singing, toys, games and paper play for youngsters; The Tiny Library – a baby library stocked with fabulous books provided by a range of publishers; Choral Lullabies – a bedtime gathering with singing and lullabies to send your little ones to sleep; Baby Yoga – teaching simple yoga techniques for both baby and parent; and the Breastfeeding Boudoir - a relaxing place for mums to come and breast or bottle feed their babies, with comfy seats, magazines and other mums to chat to.  The festival’s Babes in the Wood area is an oasis of calm and relaxation and allows tots to unwind after a busy day’s festivalling, with Baby Massage and Baby Bathtime providing some quiet time for parent and child.

Director and mother of four, Rowan Hoban offers her top survival tips for parents and babies attending the festival this year, “This year, I’ll be making full use of our clean and convenient nappy changing facilities, with free nappies and wipes on hand for our festival families and I’d recommend bringing along a number of essentials, such as warm blankets, hats, sun cream, waterproofs and the all-important baby wipes and hand-gel to make your festival experience as comfortable as possible for our little festival-goers. Most of all though, just relax and enjoy what will be a magical weekend of creativity with like-minded parents, in a beautiful woodland landscape.”