Children's and Family Programming

A recent survey discovered that seven out of 10 parents were keen to head to a festival with their kids instead of on a traditional summer holiday this year. The same survey found that over half of parents (54%) felt there was a real benefit to taking their children to a festival, with 11% feeling that festivals were less stressful to prepare for than holidays! And it’s not just the parent and carers, the survey found that 87% of children aged 10 – 15 were keen to go to a festival, too.

Greenbelt has long been a great inter-generational festival for all ages – and this year is no exception. For children and their families and carers coming to Greenbelt this summer we’ve lots of exciting programming in store and stuff to help you make the most of the festival.

Our venues and programming for children and families are concentrated together in one manageable area, this year close to the main Glade arena. Comprising the ever-popular Make & Create and a brand new, dedicated workshop and performance space called Learn and Do, a Play Tent, The Orchard outdoor play area and the festival village Parents’ Support Venue (PSV).

And that’s besides fantastic programming in other venues and parts of the site with children and families in mind – The PlayHouse (hosting spectacular family shows every day) and another new festival venue for 2016, The Little Big Top (hosting more intimate family theatre and family films). The Lawn, meanwhile, provides the perfect place to play games and chill-out at the festival – on one of the best-kept pieces of grass in England. It’s not every day you get to caper on the lawn of a Duke.

Our two Parent Support Venues (PSVs) will provide those with really young children and babies somewhere to sit, nurse, feed and change little ones. One PSV will be by the children’s and family venues (see above) and the other will feature as part of the 24-Hour Cafe in our Campsite Hub. This is ideally positioned on your way to and from the main campsite field into the festival village, and includes baby bathing facilities.

Make & Create provides both led and DIY art and craft activities all day long. This year it will work in harmony with Learn & Do, our new workshop and performance venue hosting a wide range of participative opportunities for all ages – from Godly Play to salsa dance – and also home to the return of the daily Family Twist with the evergreen Paul Cookson.

In addition, to help families in need of extra support – perhaps for children with access issues or special needs – our children’s volunteers can team you up with a ‘buddy‘ to lend you that extra pair of hands that can make all the difference.

Once again, 8-11 year-olds have their own club space each evening, too – our popular Late Night Village event, where older children can relax each evening away from their parents and carers, enjoying pop-in performances from artists on the main festival programme.

Add to this: great pop-up, walkabout and outdoor theatre and spectacle; trails, sports, and bushcraft with Instinctively Wild, Scotland’s Fischy Music in residence all weekend, daily Godly Play all-age worship sessions, giant outdoor inflatables and a climbing wall, the Slackline School and even Hovercraft rides – and you’ll see that Greenbelt at Boughton House is a truly immersive and transforming experience for children and their families.

Festival Communion

On top of all this, this year our festival communion service is produced with children in mind and at heart – and will be led entirely by children. See the blog all about this for more.

Our festival lineup poster has a summary list of most that’s in store here. And here’s a quick snapshot overview.

Pictured: The Slackline School