aaamusic | On 13, Apr 2011

These days, many a festival lays claim to being family-friendly but when you get there the reality can often be a long schlep from the car to the campsite (and then to the main arena and then to the stages…), activities that cost a fortune, bugger all to do from breakfast until the music starts and an unpleasant atmosphere after-dark. Come to think of it, that can be the reality of a lot of festivals whether you have kids in tow or not.

But not at Deer Shed. After abandoning one too many festivals early because they weren’t having the time they hoped for, organisers Kate and Oliver Jones decided if they couldn’t find the perfect festival for them and their three children, they were going to have to put one on themselves and thus Deer Shed Festival in North Yorkshire was born in 2010. The aim? A festival full of the unexpected but those of the delightful variety like discovering a new found passion for graffiti tagging or dancing with your six year old, not the unpleasant surprises like filthy toilets.

Starting with a blank piece of paper, Kate and Oliver built their dream festival from the ground up, focussing on all the things they’ve found can sour a festival experience. Enlisting like-minded friends, including one with over 20 years teaching and childcare experience to co-ordinate all the activities kids can get involved in, the Deer Shed Festival soon took shape – free activities, a spacious campsite, stuff to do from first thing in the morning, good old-fashioned hospitality, fantastic bands and value for money ticket price. Somewhere to get away from the day to day grind and remember how great it is to paint, play, make things, sing, dance and have fun with your loved ones whether they’re six months or 60 years old. Somewhere to come away from feeling revitalised and refreshed, not wiped out and weary.

In addition to an awesome line-up of music, the Deer Shed Festival offers a programme that includes everything from cabaret and comedy to sports to arts and crafts:

Comedy & Cabaret

The Friday night cabaret show is curated this year by the Greentop Circus who will also be on hand over the weekend to teach circus skills. Comedy, which is all PG-rated, will be supplied by Chortle Award winners Pappy’s, James Campbell, Jon Reed and Andrew Clover from BBC2’s My Almost Famous Family.

Sports

The Deer Shed team are seriously considering attempting to break the world record for the most people simultaneously playing swingball this year. Failing that they’ll have organised football and softball with qualified coaches and over a quarter of the campsite space will be given over to a field full of hula hoops, space hoppers, building barrels and that ridiculous amount of swingballs to keep everyone occupied when the main arena isn’t open. They’ll be recreating a mini-seaside too for those who enjoy some bucket and spade action.

Arts & Crafts

The arts endeavours in the arena will include a doodle wall, paintball art, graffiti workshops and ukulele lessons. Craft activities include making lots of different things out of lots of different stuff – guitars out of cardboard, mobiles out of CDs, masks out of of milk cartons, gardens out of plasticine, badges out of…well badges and models out of anything and everything you can lay your hands on.

And there’s more…

For the times when festival goers simply want to sit back and relax instead of getting involved, there’s cartoons and family films to watch, storytelling, an artist blacksmith in residence to whip up pieces of bespoke jewellery, a cocktail bar and high quality food to tickle all types of taste-buds.

It’s not rocket science (though the festival has a Sky At Night theme in honour of headliners I Am Kloot so there may be some rocket happenings lined up), but the Deer Shed team have put some serious thought into what everyone wants from a festival. Take a look at the homepage of the website for some of the feedback from happy campers in 2010:

“the kids loved every second of it”

“ambience was the most chilled of any event I’ve been to for ages”

“so much stuff for the kids/big kids”

“family and purse friendly”

“the entertainment was first class”

Superb, great, amazing, fantastic, wonderful…the plaudits were high. Nominated for Best New Festival at the UK Festival Awards 2010, Deer Shed struck a chord instantly with festival goers that don’t want to pay a fortune for the privilege. Back by popular demand for its second year in 2011, with an increased capacity to cater for all those that missed out last year, the Deer Shed Festival is a true family-friendly weekend.

Tickets available now through www.deershedfestival.com/tickets

Adult (16+) weekend ticket (Fri-Sun) £59

Adult (16+) Saturday & Sunday only ticket £45

Child (6+) weekend ticket £15

Child (5 and under) weekend ticket FREE*

Weekend campervan & caravan pass £15

* But will require a ticket obtained through the ticket sales outlet

Music line-up for 2011

I Am Kloot, The Go! Team, Frankie & The Heartstrings, The Leisure Society, Erland and The Carnival, Caitlin Rose, Admiral Fallow, Marcus Foster, Tom Williams & The Boat, Matthew and The Atlas, Lanterns on The Lake, Laki Mera, Arthur Rigby & The Baskervylles, Tigers That Talked, Spokes, Let’s Buy Happiness, The Neat, Just Handshakes (We’re British), Yonderboy, Hope & Social, Two Spot Gobi, My Forever, Sam Airey, Holly Taymar and The Glendale Family

For more information

www.deershedfestival.com / www.facebook.com/DeerShed / @DeerShed