For those with kids coming to Kelburn Garden Party you can expect a music festival and adventure holiday rolled into one. Kelburn estate is an award-winning family attraction, and festival goers get access features such as the Secret Forest, Soft Play and the mini Adventure Playground on top of all the extra magic we lay on for the weekend.
Instead of a simple “kids field” that is the norm of many-a-festival across the UK, we are utterly proudly bursting with a whole spectacle of family-friendly fun throughout the glen taking in theatre, comedy, crafts, nature and of course music. We also welcome the wonderful Wildhood Festival crew to host some unique kids entertainment each day in the Summerfield.
Read on for a cheeky taster of the activities and acts you and your family can catch at Kelburn, and look out for the full menu in the programme and on various boards around the site.
Kids under 5 go free to the festival, and kids and youth tickets are heavily subsidised. We also have a new quiet and family camping field and some upmarket toilet and shower facilities for those who like a bit more comfort.
Kids activities
The Secret Forest Project
One of the gems in Kelburn’s crown and open from 10am to 5pm daily, the Secret Forest is a surreal labyrinthine trail through the woods above the main festival site, that includes many bizarre attractions, from the Chinese gardens and Pagoda, the gingerbread house and the Greenman’s maze, to the crocodile swamp and grotto and the “inner wood”.
At our festival each year the Secret Forest becomes a living theatre space that hosts an interactive, problem-solving adventure aimed at our younger audience but which also provides quite a trippy sanctuary from the festival outwith – The Secret Forest Project!
“The pots are filled, the rosettes ironed and the gardens are ready to be thrown open for the annual Kelburn Flower Show! Unfortunately, tragedy has struck, with the star competitor found dead in their greenhouse. The King and Queen of the Garden will need your help to uncover the mystery of the flower show slayer, and more importantly, who is the fairest plant of them all?”
The Lullabies Collective
Families will find a warm welcome at the Lullabies Collective. A focal point of the family camping field, their programme puts some familiarity and rhythm into the day for younger festival goers while giving parents some down time too. Start the day with a Sing Along, enjoy a bubbly Baby bath after dinner, and finish off the day with the festival bedtime of your life – songs and stories from the Lullabies Collective!
The Lullabies Collective are artists and musicians with children of their own who love festivals and produce collaborative performing arts for children. Together they create the Lullabies Tent, an amazing sheltered environment for parents, babies and young children. Bath the kids and enjoy original songs and stories, traditional and modern lullabies, entrancing visuals, and soothing live music.
Kidding Around
Kidding Around is back again this year with even more exciting ways to come play! We will have a constantly changing play space with sensory activities, play tray, and retro toys to discover. There will always be a choice of what to get up to and our team is always on hand to help if you have an idea and need to make it happen. We also have a huge crafty selection for you to come let your imagination run wild. We usually have some ideas to get you started but this is a table of exploration so who knows where you might end up. Then when you just can’t explore any more there is our cozy corner filled with books, snuggly toys and soft spaces for a bit of shoes off time. Once you have recharged and are ready to head back out we have all the outdoor toys you could ever need to whizz, pop and bounce yourself into the next chapter of your festival adventure. So come find us, let your imagination run wild and play with your pals from 11-6pm each day.
Duck Race
Come to the river, grab a duck and join in the fun. Our duck racers will have you whipped up into an exciting frenzy watching your duck float down the river in the race to find out who is the quickest quacker in the Kel Burn.
Spinning Jenny’s
Stand tall on stilts, wobble wildly on a unicycle, teeter, totter and spin!
Roll up, roll up! Come and join the circus shenanigans to learn a new skill (or show off an old one) with spinning plates, giant hoola hoops, juggling, stilt walking and more…
Little Theatre
The Little Theatre is a small black box theatre with a backstage area full of costumes and props to inspire story building and theatre making in our drop in workshops. Children join our theatre company and put on plays throughout the afternoon, to the delight of parents and friends who watch from our small auditorium. The Little Theatre is run by early career theatre makers and is a free creative space for playful and meaningful participation in theatre, with collaboration, cooperation as well as performance skills at the heart.
Wildhood Takeover
This year we are delighted to announce a collaboration with Wildhood festival, Scotland’s best family focused outdoor festival bringing huge host of activities all taking place between 11am and 2pm in the Summerfield.
