Boomtown is akin to an odyssey, a very loud and proud creative masterpiece combining music with art and theatre. It stimulates all the senses and it’s unlike any other festival we have been to before. Read all about our experience for 2019 and find out our top five reasons you should go (and take the kids too!)
Kidztown
There’s a whole area dedicated to the kids. Kidztown is a dreamy, colourful and playful space that caters to children, their parents and the wild at heart. All mini-boomers can rejoice through creative pretend play in the interactive shops (like the piggy bank complete with very friendly piggies), get swinging from the trees in the Wild Wood Forest School (did someone say mud kitchen?) as well as enjoy (and take part in) workshops, circus performances and theatre.
There’s large green open spaces where little folks can run around with their new found best friends, family friendly food stalls and lots more. Plus it is slightly away from the main hustle and bustle of the festival so for those of us that are first timers (and slightly anxious) at festivalling with our offspring, it helps not feeling like we have been thrown at the deep end.
Immersive & Playful
As soon as we stepped on to the site and put our tent up we felt like we had stepped into a new magical world filled with wonder, adventure and tuuuuunes. Boomtown is the most immersive festival I have ever experienced and our first visit was with our two year old child. Every tent, balloon or bunting that we saw post-Boom resulted in super excited screeches ‘festiiivaaal mummy’ so clearly it left quite the impression on him too.
We played in the sand, immersed ourselves in the wild environment as we swung on hammocks and took in the majestic trees above us. We got muddy again and again until we gave up on trying to get clean. We played with immersive art installations and got involved in the storyline sending post from the post office to our mates. It was the greatest of times.
Amazing line-up
Boomtown is bound to get you excited whatever your musical inclinations. For 2020 you can expect a booming line-up from electronic giants like Squarepusher to London rap sensation Kano or indie rock from the Libertines, Boomtown has you covered. There will be the happy disco house extravaganza that is Glitterbox to get you throwing some moves in the fresh air rather than at their usual residency at Ministry of Sound and big names Collie Buds, Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley and Protoje the bringing the reggae alongside dub plates from Mungo’s Hi-Fi and Dub FX.
If you’re more into Drum and Bass there are sets from Andy C, Noisia, Shy FX and The High Contrast Band to get you throwing some shapes. And that’s just the icing on the cake with loads more acts, bands and artists due to be announced.
Get closer to nature
Boomtown Festival is the only major festival to take place in a National Park and is a brilliant way to get young people into the South Downs. Families can camp out together and learn more about the great outdoors getting their dose of vitamin D, greenery and fresh air.
The festival takes place on the Matterley Estate, a beautiful site with woodland areas, hills, grasslands and breath-taking views to be had. The overall site of the festival is much bigger than Glastonbury with over 900 acres to cover, so get those walking boots on and start exploring.
Party with your brood.
Be the family that parties together. Children love to dance, and this is your opportunity to bond with them. Throw some shapes and immerse yourself in the music, community and creativity of the event. We found the experience extremely satisfying (not only because our phones ran out of battery) but also because we were able to engage emotionally with each other and be present in experiencing something entirely new. Sure we had been to lots of festivals before but this was one of the first with a toddler and to see everything through his eyes gave the whole experience a brand new layer of meaning.
Plus his cognitive development seemed to have benefitted too with lots of new words added to the vocabulary and many new connections created in the brain.
Boomtown Chapter 12 is on from 12th til the 16th of August and tickets are selling fast (also children’s tickets are free). For more info and bookings visit their website here.