Our first family festival at Nozstock!

It’s taken a long time for me to write about our wonderful weekend at our first family festival simply because straight after Nozstock Family Festival we went for a little holiday in Ireland. Back at the end of July, on Mr M’s birthday to be precise – we ventured to Nozstock for our first family festival on their 20th anniversary. I must admit, we were a little nervous. We hadn’t heard of Nozstock before and so weren’t sure how family friendly it would be and we weren’t sure if our kids aged 4, 7 and 9 would enjoy it. And, since we haven’t been camping with our younger three – would we even like camping? (Just in case you think we forgot a child – Archie had a lovely sleepover with my mum and dad as we weren’t sure festivals were the best idea for adventurous one year olds like Archie! I’m sure in a year or so – he’ll love it!)

Nozstock Family Festival

But we needn’t have been nervous- we had a brilliant time! Nozstalgia was the theme this year with the festival site itself decorated in images evocative of the 80s and 90s, from Rubix Cubes, Tetris, Bill and Ted, The Simpsons  – it was our era! All anxieties evaporated as our eyes feasted on a myriad of activities for kids throughout the day in a special kid’s area called ‘Little Wonderland’. From the moment we awoke, the day just flowed, one amazing experience after the other- glittering entertainment (glitter and sequins were everywhere you looked!) I felt seriously under- sequinned! It was fun to watch my kiddos chase bubbles, learn Bollywood dancing, tie dye T. Shirts and make willow wands. Elodie and Finlay even got to try circus acrobatics and Orla spent lots of time in the craft tent and there were circus toys out most of the time with a mini sandpit for younger kids. But outside of ‘Little Wonderland’ there was lots for children too, there was a music tent where you could try and play any instrument and dress up in crazy costumes. This was a big highlight with the children. There was a tent with a crazy Scientist performing Science experiments and the charming Alice in Wonderland – esque interactive art installation complete with a hidden door to disappear through and a hula hooping contest. Around every corner there was something creative or enchanting, there’s a real attention to detail at Nozstock.

One time we went out after dark, armed with glow sticks and ate yummy Woodfired pizza and watched the lights and were entranced by fire dancers and giant, neon glow in the dark puppet insects – had to be seen to be believed! Nozstock is a real feast for the senses.

Family Camping at Nozstock

In terms of amenities, Nozstock has a separate camping section for families which had stewards on the gates – this was fun for the kids to make friends and it felt like there was more space around the tents and a more relaxed and safe atmosphere. There was a lovely wooden play area and lots of sinks for washing up and drinking water stations. The toilets in the family area were cleaner than any other festival toilets I’ve ever been in but there was only one shower block in the main area which had very long queues.

Nozstock was a good family festival from the safety point of view – it’s a no glass campsite with an emphasis on recycling and being green. There’s a sign in policy through wristbands and a lost children’s area in ‘Little Wonderland’. As it’s a smaller festival, one of the biggest pluses for families is that there are no long walks to reach any part of it so it’s good for little legs.

Nozstock has it all with added sparkle on top! It’s a real gem of a festival with such a variety of entertainment and so family friendly. It’s a festival with a definite feel good atmosphere: watching the sun set listening to music with glitter on my face was a very happy place to be!

If you’d like to grab early bird tickets for Nozstock family festival 2019 – see here…….

And to see a little insight into our weekend of fun, watch our Nozstock Family Festival mini film.