To be at a festival and wish everyone would just grow up!?

[bumbleclat]

Each year I'm 'lucky' enough to be given free tickets to a very well known music festival which runs over four days (live nearby so organisers give local residents tickets to keep them sweet).

It's your usual hippy fest with lots of workshops, vege food, healing yurts and a variety of music.

Each year I go, I become more bored of the cliche hippydom, for example faces full of glitter, posh white youths wearing ironic vintage clothes, dub beats in the background, overpriced drinks, pious recycling regimes, home educated children called 'Oak' and 'Cloud' being wheeled around in metal wagons with fairy lights around the edges at 3am, the constant wondering from tent to tent, the illusion of freedom and the naive art work everywhere.

I must be getting old but these events just don't do it for me anymore, I see men and women in their fifties and sixties wearing fairy outfits and elf ears and it just gives me this, 'oh just grow up' reaction inside.

I dislike this judgemental threatened Katie Hopkins like beast that seems to rise up inside me each time, but I think next year I will just sell my much coveted ticket to a more appreciative visitor.

I am BU aren't I!?

I'm with you OP. When I was young enough to want to go I couldn't afford it...now I'm older and still can't afford it. Just as well eh? .

On the plus side, you can sell your ticket next year and make some money!

I have a general horror of anything involving tents and a lack of access to hot water/other facilities for civilised ablution since being forced on camping holidays as a youngster.

I love this post! It's so judgemental but I agree with all of it 😂
That said, I have never been to a festival but felt like I was at one a few months back with blow by blow facebook status updates from a well known festival. A friend had taken her 3 yr old and it looked pretty much what you describe OP.

We went to Eroica. Possibly the greatest concentration of hipsters ever seen in one place on the planet.

Meh, we had a good time, so did everyone else.

Anyone been to the Big Feastival? Intrigued to know what it's like (fairly local)

Fuck me, I'm in Florida at the moment and took dd to meet Mickey and Minnie yesterday. Once she'd had a hug, I got in there, hugged the big guy and had a photo. Loved it!!!

I'd like the opportunity to relive my festival going days but I will NEVER go to a festival with my children.
Except Goodwood Revival. I am totally going there and we're all dressing in 50s clothes all weekend but that's different, right? 👒👗👓😀

Kerala - I was in the massive queue for autopia on Friday morning moaning about the blokes driving Teeny cars round while the kids waited!

If you don't like festivals then don't go! I don't like being ripped off so would prefer hippy environment any day. Take your own booze and food as far as possible. I have been to about 25 festivals in 25 years... before kids, with kids, without kids... love it all! Each to their own.

Yes YUBU, everyone enjoys different activities and they are not hurting anyone. If you don't like it then don't go?

I've been to many many festivals and by far the worst was Glastonbury.

It is not the peaceful hippy experience that I have heard about. It is fucking massive, you walk miles and miles every day (one day on my steps counter I did 16 miles!) and there were 175,000 people this year. That meant the ground was hideously churned up, too muddy to sit down anywhere and just people absolutely everywhere. Queues for everything. Not a relaxing experience at all.

LOL at anyone describing it as hypocritical that the demography of Latitude is Stoke Newingtonesque. Latitude is Stokey in a Tent, and marketed as such. It has talks by Guardian writers!

I have never been to a full on festival, it just isn't my thing. But people do all sorts to relax, wear silly outfits and go fishing, wear silly outfits, get horrendously drunk and remove the outfit on The Strip in Albufeira, and so on. You cynical lot: I am quite heartened that grown adults can still enjoy a bit of dressing up and play at a different life for a couple of days.

Queen that's why I have no interest in Glastonbury or any other monty festival. Not relaxing, not comfortable, not enjoyable.
I like festivals but smaller ones with tidy campsites on good ground and plenty of places to sit in the arena with no overcrowding.
It's not an age thing either...I was the same at 18. Did T in the Park once. It wasn't for me. Love music...hate crowds.

Pictish, I see you're back. I'm sorry if my comment annoyed you. To clarify, I mentioned my son not because I consider him the font of all wisdom but as a counter to the view that festival going is a juvenile activity. The young people I know dismiss it rather cruelly, as something their parents do, along with shopping at Boden or listening to the Archers.

Me, I still quite like a festival but these days would only go if I could stay in a B&B as I have grown partial to a flushing toilet. I never wore elf ears but have been known to come home in Thai fisherman's trousers and still have a belly dancing costume somewhere.

Peace and love.

it's your right to do so and none of anyone else's business. Similarly nothing to do with anyone else if you believe in Santa and book a visit to see him at Christmas. Or if your idea of a good read is 'The Gruffalo'. Or if you want to wear your hair in bunches with Hello Kitty ribbons.

I don't see theme parks being on a par with Santa visits or reading the Gruffalo at all. A lot of theme park rides are for adults.

overwhelmed - that was the one I've been moaning about. It really is just expensive commercialism themed as a festival. If you have plenty of money you'll be fine.

Good bits ;
Plenty of Jamie's famous pals showed up so you could do lots of celeb spotting
Bad bits;
I think it has too many people for the space.
Masses of litter everywhere this year ( not so bad last year).
Only one main stage so it gets very very crowded and is literally a sea of blankets and chairs.

The best bit was watching the very niace family crowd trying to dance to Mark Ronson. His gangsta bit in the middle literally stopped people in their tracks. However he played Valerie at the end so everyone jollied up once they could sing along.

So, at the risk of being the sort of festival -goer that everyone else looks down on. What is a good nice festival for a middle aged, middle class beginner?
I was with a friend last night who'd like to try one. I've done Leeds -we live staggering distance away but even do it's a bit down, dirty and druggy> Also been to Glastonbury, which we loved but again stayed in comfort at a friend's house.
Some one suggested Latitude or Secret Garden Party or Rewind....

If it helps, we promise we won't wear glittery shit or wings.

Damn autocorrect. I of course meant NAICE not nice

We took the kids to Legoland in June, stayed in the hotel...at breakfast there were so many couples without kids. Why? Two nights at Legoland or a week abroad? I know which I would pick

Adults in liking different things shocker

There's an Eroica festival, tinkly?
I need to know more...

I've misread that as erotica and raises an eyebrow...

Try Green Gathering :) Lovely festival :)

Haha I did wonder reveal ! I don't have loads of money so will wait a few more years I think!

Shambala is nice. There's a fancy dress parade which DD loves (I take part - so shoot me), workshops and a good range of music. A few people have complained that there are 'too many kids' but it seems like it has something for everyone. You'd be hard pressed to get a steak but I quite like the hippy atmosphere (I'm a fairly unashamed hipster). I've heard nice things about Secret Garden Party and End of the Road, both of which are smaller and easy to get around.

I would never go to Reading again - way too grabby. How people can afford to get as drunk as they do baffles me, it's so bloody expensive!

Lamar Tree is rated as "very nice" by my friends. Not stressful and good choice of music.

Beautiful Days is nice. Just So if you have kids. Into the Wild gathering (just been) if you are a raging hippy.