Shambala proves a wonder for families with kids

We'd never been to Shambala before but we had it on good authority that we'd like it and do you know what, we did. We didn't even know where it was when we'd booked up which kind of adds a bit of an old school rave feeling to the start of the festival.

Parked up and wristbanded, we had our own wagon to transport our kit from car to camp site, but there were a fair few wheelbarrows for rent. £20 deposit was all that was required and the money was refunded if the barrow was returned in the same state it was sent out in. It's simple things like this that get everyone in the right mood on arrival and help generate the festivals old school vibe.

Heading into the camp site, and through a giant wooden rocket, we were checked in, and the ground crew met us in the departure lounge with sweets and drinks before takeoff. With this sort of welcome, it's easy to feel happy, and we were all excited. The stewards guiding people to the quieter family camping or the noisier party areas were really helpful and it wasn't long before the chilled atmosphere washed over us.

The spacious camp site was ideal, but the strong gusting wind which kept up for most of the weekend eventually succeeded in bending our tent poles. Once set up, we bought a programme to try and get a bit of a guide for the weekend's events. One of the things that attracted me to the festival initially was the mystery surrounding the line-up and we were looking forward to finding out what was going on. Shambala really doesn't seem to be the kind of festival where the attendees dash like herded sheep between stages trying to catch the next band. It's more a case of having a wander and stumbling across something or gazing through the programme to find a workshop that might be of interest (nipple tassel making anyone?).

A lot of our highlights of the weekend were non-musical and the innovative creativity and thought that obviously goes into creating Shambala makes it totally different to other festivals of this size. More surreal moments were a round of crazy golf, walking out of the loo to find 300 people learning to do the Charlston, and the table tennis tournament. Two of our friends had entered the competition so we had to go along and lend some moral support. Each of the contestants was given their own entry song (mostly trashy pop) and scores were held aloft on makeshift score cards. As the numbers were whittled down, the inevitable happened and our two friends met in the semi final with one going on to win the overall competition, and receiving a very handsome trophy and crown.

The woodland area was an area which we found to be really tranquil. During the day, only adults with children were admitted and the kids loved playing on the rope scramble nets, exploring the weird and wonderful sculptures and walking through the areas with sounds playing through a great many speakers. It would have been nice to be able to take the children in to see the place lit up in the evening, but it closed at 5, and reopened later on as an 'grown ups only' chill out space. Shame really as it looked beautiful with the trees bathed in coloured lights and projections running through the undergrowth.

Kids of all ages were really looked after throughout the festival. The family camping area offered baby bathing facilities, comfortable places for breast feeding, story telling, opportunities to discuss parenting issues, and face painting. The main kids' area had all manner of other activities to stimulate the senses and generally wear them out. A wonky bike area, clay workshop, puppet cabaret, organised football and rounders matches, mask painting, and giant musical instruments and lots, lots more. Children and their entertainment are thought about in a way that I've never really seen anywhere else. They seem to be given as much (and possibly more), consideration as the adults.

Watching kids and adults dress up on Saturday was brilliant with a great turnout and a larger percentage of people making an effort than I think I've seen at any festival. There were some great outfits and dancing troupes and although Saturday was supposed to be 'dressing up day', it was good to see the spirit lasting through the weekend.

Bits of the festival really reminded me of the green fields of Glastonbury with a permaculture and craft areas which always seemed to have a good number of people having a look around and some very interesting stalls to peruse (rather than the stall upon stall of festival tat that can be seen at a lot of other events).

As a whole the festival seldom seemed busy and congested moments were minimal. The queues for the toilets remained pretty short throughout the weekend with urinals easing congestion at all loo points. In addition, there were compost loos available in certain areas and all of the facilities were kept in a really good clean state from start to finish.

Food wise, the kids were well catered for with a fair few stalls offering children friendly portions and one stall offering packed lunch style meals in a bag. We generally opted for flavours from around the world with haloumi burgers, shish kebabs and home made cakes but you could get the festival favourite falafels or curry. The selection of beers and ciders on offer was better than any I've seen at a festival of that size, and we made a new discovery in the form of Brandy Chai – a taste sensation that was extremely soothing and warming on some rather cold, blustery evenings.

Musically, I'd been looking forward to a few acts (even though very few had been announced), primarily Quantic and his Combo Barbaro. The new Latin sounds didn't engage as much as the soul funk that I'm used to hearing from Quantic and so we left a little bit before the end feeling like we'd simmered rather than had the full boil. The Bays on the other hand did not disappoint. You never really know what you're going to get at one of their gigs as they don't produce albums or music which is sold commercially. It's improvised and the reactions of the crowd drive the music. It's pretty innovative and the housey trancey sounds that they wrapped up for us were perfect and the Kamikaze tent was rammed for their set. The DJ on before them Baobinga dropped some brilliantly mixed and well chosen dark and dirty breaks with drum and bass testing the upper and lower frequencies of the sound system.

Possibly the best live act of the weekend for me was the bonkers Kid Carpet. His cynical punk pop music played over home made layered beats and with Casio keyboards, kids plastic guitars and tape recorders works brilliantly. 'Carrier bag' and 'Jump' are highlights of the set for me but his crowd interaction and personality really shine through.

The Destroyers and their Balkan sounds were also a great hit. The kids loved them too and one of the younger ones in our group likened it to Willy Wonka music. It certainly had us up and dancing and on a particularly cold night it was good to be shifting about to something with masses of energy. The Apples also went down really well and their remix of Rage against the machines 'Killing in the Name of' in a jazz style was a perfect finale.

Shambala was a brilliant weekend for us all. As we drew away from the site, it was a tired yet blissful feeling that we were left with. I think it's certainly true that this is one of those festivals that the more you put in, the more you get out. You can arrive and wait to be entertained and I urge Shambala to stay the same, and anyone joining us there next year to take a bag of dressing up clothes and leave inhibitions at the door. See you there!

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