The Kids Favourite Things to See at Camp Bestival

I have already done a post on the kids favourite things to do at Camp Bestival, which shares everything they loved to get involved with, but this post is all about the things to see.

We were there all four days and there is so much to see that we didn’t get to do it all, but we did make a note of what we wanted to see and made sure we were there for the events that were top of our list.

Isaac and Kian are major Dick ‘n’ Dom fans ever since joining them on stage at Butlins last year and were keen to see them in action again. It was the same mad cap Dick vs Dom show we saw, only with a huge festival crowd and some giant footballs that had to race to the back of the crowd and back again.

We were on Dick’s team and won the race, however Dom’s team had been pretty useless so they decided that it had been a practice run. Lets just say that the second race was a shambles which made it even more funny. Dom’s ball ended up on our side whereas Dick’s ball just kept bouncing in the same spot.

Some brave souls from the crowd has been roped in to take part and there was some rather disgusting smoothy making action by some Dad’s, some paper bag escape action from a couple of brave mums and the obligatory custard pie action in Musical Splatues. They delighted Eliza with a resounding sing along of Nellie the Elephant at the end of their set.

Over three nights at Camp Bestival there was bedtime story reading in the Guardian Literature Tent. Friday night being Michaela Strachan, Saturday was Dick n Dom and Sunday was Sara Cox.

Michaela read the first 21 pages of Jungle Book, with the aim of Dick n Dom to read 22 – 56 and then Sara to complete the book. Let’s just say it didn’t all go to plan when Dick n Dom arrived with hilarious results, and a most unconvincing ape costume. They managed to read one page and I am not even sure if it was the whole page. There was an audience pleasing rendition of “King of the Swingers” with Dom playing his ukulele and then some of their infamous games which had a Jungle Book theme (sort of). Kids and adults adored the show, although I am not sure the kids were relaxed afterwards. How Sara managed to continue from that on the Sunday I will never know!

I must add that Isaac had to leave the tent as it was so hot and stuffy on Saturday night and he felt ill. Dick n Dom both took the time to speak to him, autograph his book and pose for a photo afterwards which I thought was a lovely gesture.

Next on my list has to be the little ones favourite – Mr Tumble. If you ever visit a festival and see the main stage packed so early in the day, he is the reason why. With impressions of some of the audiences favourite Tumble characters and Gigglebiz friends, he also performs some of the songs from his albums, all complete with actions. Thousands of mums, dads and kids doing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “Music Man” is a sight to behold and he closed with his signature song “Hands Up”. We were lucky enough to meet the big man afterwards too and he shook all the kids and our hands. I did think Sebby would go shy but he reached out his hand too.

Next on the list is another of Isaac’s favourite TV presenters – Steve Backshall, who took over the main stage with a variety of “Deadly” animals. We did fear for him at one stage when a Boa Constrictor decided it was going to wrap itself around him very tightly and he had to ask a colleague for some assistance. He took questions from the audience as well as bringing out a Snapping Turtle and some more gentle birds to display.

From the moment his tall, red and white striped hat appears around the door, Sally and her brother know that The Cat in the Hat is the funniest, most mischievous cat they have ever met. With the trickiest of tricks and craziest of ideas, he turns a rainy afternoon into an amazing adventure. This genius stage show had the kids in fits of giggles.

Of course Camp Bestival isn’t all about the stage shows on the main Castle stage, there is plenty going on around the site too. We were delighted to see some of our favourites from previous years in the Kids Garden. The Insect Circus is always worth seeing with acrobats, giant insects and even a strong man!

One of the best parts of Camp Bestival is the random things that take place, with pop-up performances all over the site. The Caravan of Lost Souls is one such thing and just watching them walk around is amazing, but they set up a full circus in the grounds within minutes. Then there are the giant animals puppets wandering around and we saw a giraffe and a rather impressive dinosaur and the drummers procession that led around the whole of Camp Bestival was brilliant.

Last year we were delighted by the Knights of Lulworth and we had been hoping to see them again, but because of this years theme of “Wild”, they were replaced by the Wild Warriors of the Cossack who performed extreme trick riding, even hanging upside down and riding on two horses at once and they were certainly a worthy replacement for the Knights.

It is safe to say that the kids had an absolute blast at Camp Bestival and have made memories that will last a lifetime.