Lollibop Festival in Regent’s Park “The Big Bash for Little People”

“The biggest day out for kids this summer” is some claim. But 2,500 families (with under 10 year olds) a day between 5th and 7th August traipsed into central London to give it a go. I was equipped with a six year old who was pretty well amused with the train and tube journey and got very excited climbing the statues at Waterloo and riding the lift at Regent’s Park tube station.

I was impressed that the burly security guards all had their faces painted to make them less scary to the small people. Also with the wrist bands issued to all the little ones bearing their carers’ mobile phone numbers. The first stall we reached was selling merchandise and I was pleasantly surprised that they charged just £7 for a bright purple tee shirt.

There was so much to do, for a moment or two we just looked around us in bemusement. There were buggies and kids and parents and tents and attractions everywhere! At the large stage in the distance we could just about hear Shrek singing “I’m a believer” as we made our way for an early loo stop. We passed Bob the Builder meeting the kids. Early on I spied “the adult creche” aka the bar. The Pimm’s looked good. The background music switched to “If you’re happy and you know it…” We clapped our hands.

There was a DJ Workshop in the back of a rather cool looking van. The crowds around it prevented me from getting a closer look. We passed some enormous frames of bungee tramolines – with kids squealing with delight as they were flung high into the air. The “club” was full of mini-ravers dancing to “Ring my bell”. My six year old looked longingly at the array of yellow triangular inflatables, which were all full, before spotting a huge layout of inflatable blue snake (with spongy mats all around to prevent bruises) onto which he happily jumped. There were long queues for more trampolines but where he was it was a free for all. I was impressed again to see some wandering event staff keeping an eye on proceedings though.

We wandered over to the food stalls – yet another “club” was playing “I like to move it, move it”. We danced a bit as we surveyed stalls selling corn roasts, burgers, Mediterranean salads, paella and chorizo (we had some of this later – the chicken version – at £6.50 and it was warm, tasty and filling). The queues were silly though – how do you manage hungry kids in a 30 minute wait? There was a bit of wailing going on – and that was just the parents. There was also a sweet store which led to a mini-tantrum. Guess that was inevitable.

We walked along the path and watched small people at the “Meet the species” stand. Ladybird eggs were amongst the attractions. Then there was Foyles and Lollibooks where storytelling took place throughout the day. We were handed a flier relating to Horrible Histories – apparently they are coming to a theatre near you in October. With a taster session later in the day. I also met a large brown bear who I think was doing something in the Enchanted Forest – but the six year old kept us moving. I missed the Gorilla play area as a result. I looked longingly at the adults sat on picnic rugs in the shade under the trees. On closer inspection it seemed that most of them were nappy changing. Ick.

Soon we were walking through clouds of bubbles – teeny, tiny ones and great big ones. Naturally, everyone stopped to admire the spectacle. We took a peak at the gem mining area but the queues and prices were a bit of a deterrent. At this point we spied a couple of huge kangeroos bouncing around – the kids were delighted. I was a little surprised that as they passed their “boy kangaroo parts” were apparent on the back of their outfits. Was this really necessary?

We fought our way through a monster of a queue for the show in the big tent and passed the Tottenham Hotspur stand. There were families sitting happily on the numerous bales of hay spread around whilst small folk enjoyed meeting Peppa Pig. We joined a queue for a giant inflatable slide – with a challenging climbing frame to reach the top. I took the opportunity to return to the coffee stall I had spied earlier. Whilst I didn’t mind paying £2.50 for a cappuchino I was a bit cross at paying £1 for a caramel syrup shot (it’s only 40p in Starbucks and other coffee chains). Still, it was good coffee. And it was good to hear a punk version of The Banana Splitz theme tune playing in the background.

I returned to the queue at the slide where the friendly staff were measuring the hopeful sliders. At this point the heavens opened and the rain started. And there simply wasn’t enough space in the various tents or under the trees to provide cover for everyone. Our young man was called down from the top of the climbing frame just before he got to the top of the slide. But he was focused on the fact that he was walking around some very wet and muddy grass in his socks.

Raincoats and brollies appeared from parents’ bags and we looked hopefully at the sky to see a glimpse of blue. It wasn’t to be. There was a fair bit of wailing going on – this time from damp babies and disappointed kids. Over in another Baby Loves Disco tent they were limbering up to musical statues to the strains of Stevie Wonder’s MasterBlaster. You had to admire the spirit of the numerous performers who carried on through the monsoon conditions.

We wandered over to the food stalls and the queues had miraculously disappeared. We got some paella and found a lonely parasol amongst a sea of abandoned picnic benches. It was such a shame that the rain stopped play. We went over to the big stage and watched the ZingZillas do their thing to a raptured audience under umbrellas. I really wanted to but simply couldn’t stay any longer even though I really, really wanted to see RastaMouse. I was cold and wet in places I had forgotten I had – and my sparkly ballet pumps were completely waterlogged. Still, it did mean that all the kids got to experience real festival conditions.

Tickets weren’t cheap at £23 (£30 at the gate) but compared to a day at one of the theme parks it didn’t seem so bad. I was a little bit irritated at the claim that everything was free when there were plenty of things (like digging out gems and tattoos) there that did cost extra. Still, there was a huge amount to do and it would have kept even the most hyper child amused all day. I just wish that the rain hadn’t been so unforgiving – that way we could have stayed until 7pm. It will definitely go in my diary for next year (www.lollibopfestival.com).