Camp Bestival 2009 - the inthenews.co.uk preview
Camp Bestival 2009 - the inthenews.co.uk preview
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Wednesday, 22, Jul 2009 11:48
Is Camp Bestival the best family-friendly festival in the UK this summer? And does it deliver those magical festival moments for child-free music fans as well? Natasha von Geldern is packing up her baby and heading off to Dorset to find out.
Once upon a time there was a Bestival. It was very popular and won lots of awards and then it got a baby sister. Little Camp Bestival won the Best New Festival gong at last year's UK Festival Awards but she's not ready to grow up yet.
Only 15,000 tickets were released as the Bestival team try to recapture the halcyon, intimate days of early festivals. Although the weekend camping tickets are long since gone you can still buy day tickets for Friday and Sunday and a very few Saturday day tickets and non-camping weekend tickets.
Festival-goers will enjoy majestic views of Lulworth Castle and the dramatic Jurassic coastline in Dorset.
The music line-up is once again impressive. Programmed by Rob da Bank, diversity is king on the Main Stage, Insect Stage, Balearic Bollywood arena and the Spiegeltent.
There's a strong US contingent this year. Watch out for 80s orchestral rockers Mercury Rev, the indie-folk sounds of Bon Iver, disco and R&B pioneers Chic, and the latin glamour of Kid Creole and the Coconuts.
Florence and the Machine will no doubt follow up their performance at Glastonbury with another highly theatrical gig.
Roots Manuva, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Dub Pistols and Hayseed Dixie will also perform over the weekend alongside Beadryman, Ebony Bones and the Cuban Brothers.
Of course the lady that everyone will want to see is homegrown Polly Jean Harvey, in what will be her only solo show in the UK for 2009.
It's not just music - Camp Bestival also has a rich offering of comedy, spoken word and theatre entertainment and, of course, fireworks.
This is a festival that positively encourages music-loving Mums and Dads to bring the kids along so they can party too.
The organisers go out of their way to make festival camping easy for parents, with top quality facilities, parking next to the campsites and easy access. In fact there's more family camping areas than otherwise.
Camp Bestival places a lot of emphasis on making the festival camping experience the best it can be, including the now ubiquitous "boutique camping" area. This is where the luxurious tipis, yurts, podpads, bellpads and gypsy caravans are available for hire.
Each camping field will have its own set of showers and loos, and tea and toast are promised while you're in line for the showers in the morning.
You can expect a fantastic Kids Area with magical entertainment for children of all ages, including sports, story telling around the campfire, a cockney knees-up, insect circus, kids summer party, dressing up and Lulworth castle's own animal farm.
Special guest appearances from Mr Tumble, Spongebob Squarepants and Angelina Ballerina may cause excitement in some quarters, while a dedicated under-fives area will keep the littlest festival goers content.
For gastronomes there will be a mini Real Ale Festival, the Dorset Women's Institute will be on the job, there's a farmer's market, a fish stall selling local cockles and mussels, a sushi yurt, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Café and much more.
Don't forget your animal magic fancy dress!
Natasha von Geldern