26 Dec 2007
Bring the kids
Righto, Christmas has been and gone and I'm wondering how to dispose of the wilting pine in the corner. In a couple of days my family of four are off to Goat Island for a spot of camping, and then in February we'll be packing up the camping kit and heading off to Splore along with several hundred other 'families'. Camping with the family can be a challenge and luckily for us the Splore crew have anticipated a few of the issues faced by those encumbered by young ones. There has always been a contingent of ankle biters at Splore, and they’ve always been welcome, if you've any doubts about taking the kids to Splore, please read on...I’m one of the Splore fanatics who’re old enough to remember the 70’s and for me the highlight of that decade was going to the Nambassa music festivals. My folks were a tad alternative and joined the other hippy types for music, mayhem and public nudity. As well as the entertainment aimed at 'grown ups', Nambassa also had a kid’s festival, which was ace because we knew it was our festival too. In the same spirit of inclusion, Splore has a family camping area and a Kid Zone.
As Splore’s audience has grown and matured the kids have started to appear in droves, at the last Splore over 600 kids tickets were issued at the gate. Splore 2008 has recognised the changing demographic and has increased the kid-friendly aspects of the festival. Children 13 and under can get into Splore for free if they’re with their parents, and the family camping zone is going to be set as far from the music as possible; so that those of us who need a good rest can get it without strains of the mainstage invading our dreams.
I know from experience of the last Splore that it can be a real challenge to get up the hill from the festival to the family camping. Its a bit like a physical and mental test "Attention all parents can you traverse a gravel path with a fully loaded stroller, sun umbrella, food, picnic blanket and kids?" To decrease this burden on families and to increase the love, there is going to be a shuttle bus to get you and your chitlins up the hill (yeehaa, thanks Splore). Sorry everone else, the service is for families only. What are you complaining about anyway? You can stay up all night getting crazy without having to worry about how to entertain the todler when the sun rises. Which is where the Kid Zone comes into its own.
The young folk at Splore this year have their own area with its own dedicated tent. It’s not a daycare facility though, and parents are still expected to care for their offspring. The ‘Kid Zone’ will be chocka with daytime activities including a Circus workshop, story telling, fairies, craft activities and a lantern making workshop and latern parade. The Kid Zone will be decorated with art that Splore kids have created in a workshop held in late January - if you want to get involved keep an eye on www.splore.net/kids.html and the Splore newsletter for info about the workshop.
What else is there? Swathes of little tackers swarming all over the place, so friends to play with isn’t an issue, the swimming beach will have life guards on patrol, and the bar has a ‘Supervised’ licence this year, which means it will be child friendly during the day, so parents who wish to imbibe can have a pleasant tipple. Finally, good music can be enjoyed by all ages, and we know there’ll be truckloads of that at Splore…
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posted by Jamie, 26 Dec 2007 | read comments | blog |
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