Just 15 minutes up the road from us is where the Deershed Festival is held every year in July at Baldersby Park since 2010. It’s a family-friendly music and arts festival is held called the Deershed Festival. The festival started small, about 2000 people tops, but has now grown to a capacity of 8000 people.
The Helter Skelter at the Deershed Festival
The festival has all the usual chilled out vibes and entertainment you’d expect such as bands, big tops, comedy and food, and shopping stalls. Deershed is slightly different because the entertainment is aimed at children. There are workshops based on an annually changing theme such as monsters, time travel, up in the air, machines, and sky at night, comedy, sports, the legendary Bubble Man and loads more to do. Festival-goers can also enjoy a game of swingball, in the largest swing ball pitch ever.
I think the theme this year is “At the Movies”, but you can check the website for all the details. It can be a bit pricey for a larger family but if one of you volunteers to help out by doing a few shifts in the workshops or camping fields, you get your ticket for free! The review on their Facebook page say it all again.
You can camp, or glamp, come for the day (but you’ll miss the best acts) and enjoy a brilliant range of things to do. There’s a big top, 3 stages for music alternating so they don’t clash, after-hours clubbing somewhere in the woods nearby so as not to disturb the young sleepers and plenty of portaloos which are cleaned out all day long.
Up in the Air
We’ve been to about 5 Deer Shed festivals now so we are having a break to try something different this year, but 2016’s event was great fun and boiling hot. The usual Saturday morning kids fun was Cardboard City of course what else do you need but a big pile of cardboard boxes and leave them to it to use their imaginations.
The bands that play range from folk, rock, and little known local bands but there’s always a bigger name to headline on Friday and Saturday night. We’ve seen St Etienne and the House of Love there and picked up a liking for some of the more obscure bands from hearing them play at the festival.
Fairground Rides are a bonus
