Just So Festival

About Us

20/21/22 August 2021, Rode Hall Estate, Cheshire

A Family Weekend Adventure Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

Just So Festival is an imaginative outdoor adventure for children and their families. With a love of stories and childhood escapades at its heart, Just So invites families to step out of their day to day lives and into a wonderland of world class literature, arts, theatre, dance, music, comedy and creative pursuits together.

Just So takes audiences (from bumps to great grandparents) on a unique expedition of mischief and mayhem to lands full of magical midnight feasts, curious creatures, hidden retreats, top notch food, drink and boutique camping options and breath-taking beauty.

After 11 years, the Just So team knows a thing or two about keeping things exhilarating at the festival. For 2021, festivalgoers can expect a jaw dropping range of new intriguing areas and activities so families can enjoy the best of times this summer.

Across the weekend Dizzy O’Dare’s turns the traditional falconry display on its head with a raucous comedy street show, puppet-maker extraordinaire Judith Hope presents Keeper’s Nest and introduces festivals goers to two giant magpie puppets in ramshackle nests and Acrojou's mischievous and enchanting Jesters mix and mingle, skip, tumble, juggle and hula hoop.

A fantastical family adventure unlike any other, Just So also presents Papageno’s Quest, an interactive musical adventure created for the festival by Clonter Opera Theatre and StrongWomen Science, a fast-paced family circus science show starring two women scientists turned circus performers, exploding with astounding tricks and messy experiments. Families can expect magical entertainment galore across the weekend including a rainbow Colour Fight inspired by the glorious and vibrant Holi Festival of Colour.

Also new for 2021 is The Observatory, an illuminated, celestial celebration of the planets and stars. Here attendees can discover the dazzling Starlight Bar with an indoor eating area and The New Curiosity Shop for an eclectic array of workshops with a sciency twist. In this stunning new area, attendees can also witness brand new immersive theatre show ‘Blockbuster Factory in Space’ featuring American Movie Director Martin Beilsperg and legendary playwright Charles Bexley Heath. With the help of the Just So audience we are, as Martin says “Makin Movies Here!  Film fans can also head to the Just So Woodland Cinema for evening screenings of family classics The Iron Giant, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and My Neighbour Totoro.

An eclectic host of musical acts await revellers across the weekend. Expect a full-on flamboyant, dance-pop party courtesy of Manchester's eccentric mischief makers Age of Glass, a touch of crazy from riotous, aquatic genre benders Seas of Mirth and pure energy from 11 piece afrobeat-inspired rock-funk-psych juggernaut Agbeko. Scots singer-songwriter/harpist Anna McLuckie will treat attendees to her hauntingly beautiful nu- folk and London based marimba band Otto & The Mutapa Calling playing energetic, joyful music from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Just So  2021 will also see the return of festivalgoers’ favourite programming from previous years. Salford's finest moustachioed vaudeville ukulele band Thingumabob & the Thingumajigs make a welcome return with their unmistakable ‘good time music’, alongside side-splitting stand-up and children's author of the super funny Boyface, James Campbell and legendary campfire storyteller Ian Douglas gets his own throne in the Spellbound Forest. Of course, no Just So Festival would be complete without the joyous Midnight Feast or legendary Silent Disco and those who still have energy after all that can dance into the twilight hour before lighting up the woods in the stunning Just So Lantern Parade.

Attendees after a more chilled experience can visit Shangri-La where the daily agenda is about re-energising and re-balancing. Here festivalgoers can enjoy family yoga, mindfulness, Tai Chi or venture out onto Rode Pool in a rowing boat for a hazy summer adventure.

Dedicated entirely to families, the relaxed pace of Just So offers a whole site of imaginative adventures. Peekaboo is an area totally devoted to 0-4s and their grown-ups. There'll be music, stories and messy play plus baby yoga, harp lullabies, dance classes and much more.

The festival is underpinned by the Carnival of the Animals. It’s the part of the festival where attendees dress up as different animals (owls, foxes, frogs, stags, lions, bees or fish) and compete to win golden pebbles for their team, before coming together for the final parade and the crowning of the winning team. This joyful idea has turned into the most beloved part of Just So because it embodies the whole idea of the festival – bringing people together to have an unforgettable time in the great outdoors.

START YOUR ADVENTURE NOW

Family adventurers should keep their ears to the ground for more adventures to be revealed in the coming months.

For information and tickets visit justsofestival.org.uk

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