Truck Festival was a lovely, relaxing festival. Looking back that first thing I remember is the look of pure joy on so many kids faces at various points. One friend's child's whole face lite up with a giant grin and gleaming eyes when he made it to the top of the CD tower in the main stage area. All the kids had a blast climbing up it, jumping off, sliding down the Dark Side of the Moon album,  and boogieing at the top.
My favorite stage was The Saloon. It was set up just like an old day saloon with wood all around, the band stood on the floor in the center with tables and benches pushed up against the wall. We were lucky enough to make it there both Friday and Saturday nights (with our kids sleeping in trolleys of course). On Friday I managed to catch the end of The Original Rabbit Band. It was fun dancing away on a bench. Saturday, we saw most of The Epstein's show. They were fantastic.
The kids area was good. They set up a paddling pool for the kiddies under an awning which was necessary for the hot, sunny Friday. They had musicians in for the kids, a lady came and set up with poi, there were loads of art activities, making spiders, bunting out of paper and string, masks, and  painting giant heads and bodies on wooden boards, to name a few. There was also a large open space in front of us which turned into a bit of a sports arena with balls, bubbles, and frisbees. My kids had a blast.
There was also a healing area with various messages and spiritual options. We managed to get a message from Ed which was lovely. Lucky us! Our friends from Rainbow Dragon were on hand as well with festival essentials like poi and hula hoops.
The family camping area was large and quite full. There were a lot of families. The toilets were superb. Clean all weekend and only once did I encounter an empty loo roll. I never used the main camping loos but the family camping and arena ones were great, as far as a porta-potty can be of course ;) .
Overall it was a good festival. We had a lot of happy customers and kids.
No pictures for this one. I forgot my camera! In my defense, I have 2 A4 sheets of paper with things to bring to every festival so forgetting one thing is a win in my book :)

Funny As Folk Festival

I must admit, I feel a bit sad as I sit here typing this because I am home and not at Funny as Folk Festival. For those who don't know, Funny as Folk, is a small festival in northern Lincolnshire. This year there were about 400 people there which ended up being small enough to feel like a village you have lived in for years. A normal walk to the toilets (Plumbed in, clean toilets, with yummy smelling soap from Lush) included hellos to many people who I'd met and usually a few conversation breaks. The festival sight was incredible. The main arena, where we were located) was a big flat field with trees (and a climbing tyre area) around it. There was also a barn in the middle of a wooded area, a small woodland stage and an obstacle course in the woods. Not to mention the fountains, giant tyre swing, sandpit, and fairy house. Circus du Misfits were onsight as well providing workshops and entertainment. I had fun yelling at kids on a fairy hunt as I hung suspended upside down from my ankles (inversion therapy at Back Angels) pretending to be a captured fairy. 
The music was varied, free flowing, and overall quite good. Nick Harper pulled out an amazing show even changing his guitar string midsong with a little help from a loop pedal I am told. I was most surprised by the beatboxer Justin Gingercake. He put on a fantastic show that had people moving, cheering, and singing in the barn late in the night. We were lucky to be not only next to the main stage (not blaring loud, yeah!!!!) but also next to Rainbow Dragon. We spent the weekend playing with poi, hula hoops, frisbees, staffs, and ribbons they have out to try. Saturday night, the organizer's band, The Unknown Misfits got the crowd all stirred up. Sunday there were various acts on included 2 comedy acting shows and music. The Sleeping Trees Theatre received a standing ovation it was so good. Sunday night, though there was no scheduled music, an impromptu jam session went on for hours switching players as it went. 
Overall, it was an amazing experience. We had very happy customers who raved about how much they loved the freedom it gave them. One man kept saying "It works! It works!" almost everytime I saw him for the first 24 hours of his hire. Always glad to help parents really enjoy their festival. It is so nice at night (and at naptime) to go out and chat around a fire or dance in the barn knowing my kids are safe and happy, sleeping nearby in their trolleys. 
Pictures to come...

With only a few days left until Bearded Theory we have had a few changes to our summer schedule.

Sadly, Big Tree festival has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. I have refunded any prebookings we had and we will  be removing the link shortly. In the meantime, please don't book for this festival since it's no longer happening.

On a happy note, we have added a new local festival to our line up, Funny as Folk Festival http://www.funnyasfolk.co.uk/ . This looks like a lovely little family festival with loads of music, circus performers, and my festival favorite, bonfires! We will have the booking options up for this shortly. In the meantime, please email us at trolleytots@gmail.com to prebook your trolley hire.

Now its time to get back to packing and trolley mending before we depart for Bearded Theory on Wednesday!

With Bearded Theory just around the corner, we are busy getting ready but also getting very excited for the start of our festival season.

Our festival season is looking great! In 2013, our festivals include:

Bearded Theory Festival- This festival start off the season right. With Angel Gardens providing kids activities, multiple stages of music, lots of vendors for purusing  and a great vibe its hard not to love. Sunday everyone dons their beards of all shapes a sizes for a great day of fancy dress and music.

Big Tree Festival - A new festival which looks like it is going to be great. Not only is it jammed packed with activities for kids (and adults!), but they are planting a tree for every ticket bought. This festival features its own allotment, Mr. Bloom, hot tubs, and 3 stages full of music. Rated one of the top 10 festivals for toddlers by FestivalKidz, we are looking forward to it.

Barefoot Festival - A small festival in Leicestershire with a great, friendly vibe. In the centre, a roaring bonfire, burlesque show, music, sunrise yoga, drumming workshops, and more. At only £30 for a weekend ticket, this one certainly won't break the budget while providing loads of good times and memories.

Just So Festival - A festival for kids. Just So Festival is overloaded with more activities and adventures than your kids will have the waking hours to explore, though they will have a great time trying. Parents love it because you get to sit in a field or woods and relax while your kids have a blast. Conestoga trolleys are an added bonus here because it provides you with a seat while your kids are off building dens, looking for the Gruffalo, taking part in potato sack races or pirate school, or waiting to meet the Fairy Queen in her secret den.

Galtres Festival - This festival started out as a beer festival and has grown into a great music festival. With over 100 beers and ciders on tap, this festival also features multiple stages and a great kids area. Last year we enjoyed the jousting and free bouncy castle. On show this year, camel racing! Whether you want music, good beer, or entertainment at your festival, Galtres has it.

Booking will be up soon for all festivals. Until then, if you would like to prebook your trolley, email us at trolleytots@gmail.com with which trolley you would like and we can send you the paypal invoice. 

Happy New Year! 

As we start preparing for 2013 festival season it's nice to look back at 2012. We had a fantastic summer thanks to our wonderful customers, kind festival organizers and volunteers, and all that MUD! We are hoping 2013 brings a bit more sunshine but have our wellies and waterproofs ready, just in case ;)

Looking forward to 2013, we would love to hear any suggestions you may have of what you would like to see or of where you might like to see us. You can post them here or send us an email at trolleytots@gmail.com. Your input is always welcome. Thanks!

Galtres Festival

Galtres Festival If you are headed to galtres festival and are having trouble booking please email me and I will send you an invoice. I apologize for the paypal buttons being so sporadic. We are working on fixing it.

Hi! We are busy getting everything ready for Just So Festival! All our trolleys have been booked out at this point for the weekend. We have a few available for Sunday hire if anyone is interested in day hires.Only a few more days!

JUST SO FESTIVAL BOOKINGS

JUST SO FESTIVAL We have just had our last conestoga trolley booked out for Just So Festival. We have a few available on Sunday for the day so email me if you are interested in these. In the meantime, I left the conestoga button active because the all terrain trolley button is not working. You can still book an all terrain trolley using the conestoga button, though I would recommend booking soon because we are running low on those as well. That's all for now!

2000 Trees

We thought Penn Festival was muddy until we got to 2000 Trees. There was a mud river running down the central path midday Sunday yet it didn't seem to dampen the mood, even slightly. Stationed by the entrance/exit, our surroundings we very brown, mud soup as my 3 year old says.

Our stall at 2000 Trees.
We have found our groove in the muddy conditions though so it was easy to take it in stride and enjoy ourselves.

Looking out at the mud river and the Busk stop next to our spot. There was an excellent cover band playing while everyone came in on Thursday at the Busk stop and a dark side of the moon cover played on Saturday. We heard some amazing music, especially Thursday night as we were right next to the cave. Our favorite spot was up top at the Greenhouse stage where there was some comedy, chilled out music, and GRASS!

Our trolleys held their own in the mud getting through it when pushchairs would have struggled. We had positive reviews from customers. The trolleys were VERY muddy by the end so I see a bit of scrubbing in my very near future. To end, the mud river at night, looking as lovely as it did (it really was beautiful when it was so wet and flowy).

Penn Festival: We had a great time at Penn Festival and it was our first ever really muddy British festival. Our trolleys ready to go out into the festival, all clean and lovely.

Our trolleys after usage. They had loads of mud. They took loads of cleaning to get all the mud off! Just imagine, this could be your pushchair, or our trolley :)

What a weekend! We had a great time at Penn Festival and our trolleys were very well received. There was a tiny bit of mud, ha! There was a lot of mud everywhere which made travelling around the site with a pushchair either impossible or extremely difficult. I was amazed by the people who managed to carry a pushchair while navigating 5 inch deep mud without falling. I bet they fared well on the tightrope at the circus tent if they gave it a go. Our trolleys did quite well in the slushy mud and provided a clean, dry place for children to sit which was a big bonus. Will post pictures soonish... We are off now to 2000 Trees. Have spent the last 24 hours washing washing and washing. Looks like another muddy, wet one coming home. Dear sunshine, please grace us with your presence! Hopefully we will see some of you at 2000 Trees.

Off to Penn Festival! We're off the Penn Festival for the weekend. Nearly all packed and leaving bright and early in the morning! Hope to see some of you and lots of sunshine there :)

It's been a busy day here at Trolley Tots keeping up with orders while planning for departure. We picked out our homemade treats for Penn Festival this weekend. Our ambitious list is: Chocolate Shortbread, Jam Tarts, Lentil Salad, Veggie Pasties, and DIY noodles. I also would love to go strawberry picking and make some Jam for the tarts but haven't quite figured out what hours we have for that so the Jam tarts may have to wait for 2000 Trees Festival next weekend. The laundry pile is also significantly diminished today which means I can start packing up all the festival clothing gear tomorrow (theoretically). We are getting really excited for our month of festivals and look forward to meeting some of you :) What do you do to get ready for a weekend of camping and music?

Bearded Theory 2012 Review

Bearded Theory was amazing. The vibe was quite relaxed and happy despite the overcast sky. The people were very friendly. It is the kind of festival where you can stop and have a chat with just about anyone happily. The layout of the site was very well done. You were never looking at the back of anything and everything seemed quite close. The toilets were good. I think they might have had someone onsite 24/7 cleaning them, or so it seemed. Activity-wise there were loads of things to do for adults and children. Angel Gardens was on hand but we never made it in there. Instead the kids enjoyed stone balancing, hula hooping, the inflatable slide, blowing bubbles, people watching, and Raggedy Jack's story time (all free). We didn't get to see as much music as most people since we were working but we got to see some great bands on each stage. Everything culminated Sunday night with Dreadzone playing a fantastic set.
We enjoyed walking around and seeing our trolleys out and about. Our customers were all very happy with their trolley experience and thought it was a great addition to their weekend. One customer told us it was the best idea they had hiring out a trolley. It being our first festival, it was fantastic to have such a positive response to our service.

                                                             Elvis loves Trolley Tots!

Raggedy Jack!

The locals :)

More fancy dress for the World Record Attempt.

Sleep time in a trolley.

Everyone seems to have a list of "must haves" for festivals with children so I thought I would share mine. We've been to about 10 festivals with kids now and have definitely found somethings that work and others that just sit untouched the whole time.

Obviously, we always bring a trolley :)

This year I invested in wool trousers for my boys. They are great under waterproofs during the day and under pajamas at night. They stay dry pretty well and my boys seem warm enough in them, even on cold nights. I also bring a wool sweater for each of them. I pick a sweater that is large enough to accommodate as many layers at the weather calls for.
Wellies are a must have but I found with my youngest (1) he can't walk in wellies. He ends up in his socks within 2 seconds of being put outside, soaking his entire outfit. How in the world can you keep a child warm and dry when their shoes keep falling off? So frustrating. For the solution, I went to my favorite kids shoe store and presented my case. While my boys got busy playing in the toy room (see why its my favorite?), I looked at the options. We got him some waterproof (gortex) boots meant for the winter. They are lined on the inside (so soft!) so I don't need to layer on the socks and they.... stay on his feet! He even did a test run through a giant puddle about 8 times and came out with dry feet. It was amazing. Definitely a good investment. I would recommend for any little tots whose wellies just won't stay on.
Home Baked Treats. I always try and make at least one treat for each festival. It is so nice to pull out a container of homemade flapjacks or muffins for a snack. Though we have been known to eat only flapjacks for an entire day... I also bring lots of snack foods I know the kids like. I also like 5 a day fruit shoots. Once the juice is gone, the bottle can be refilled with water until it disappears, as things tend to do when put into my children's hands.
Lights! Lots of them. Flashlights (aka torches), headlamps, glowsticks, fairy lights, glow in the dark cutlery. If it glows, it is welcome.
As for toys, we only bring 2 toys and 2 books/child. Usually, the toys sit untouched because the kids want to be playing with all the cool stuff going on at the festival or interacting with the wonderful people. They don't want to play with their boring toys from home. We bring a few for any inside play time. I do count glowing cutlery and glow sticks as toys.
Wipes. Pack what you think you will need and then throw a few extra in the car, just in case. You can always go pick them up (or anything else you didn't feel like carrying/need when you arrived) later. In fact, this is a great destination when your children refuse to sleep and you need a break. Put them into your trolley and go for a walk to the car park for more wipes. Less excitement so the kids can fall asleep and a great time to catch up on the day for the adults. I have met so many parents who can't get kids to sleep at festivals, for us, taking them for a walk in the campsite works every time.
That is all I can think of at the moment other then the usual (sleeping stuff, clothes, nappies, toiletries, plastic bags, hats, gloves, scarves, sunglasses,...)

I know I have read some posts about having a to go box to make leaving easier which sounds amazing and I have tried that. It doesn't work for me. I do better just to pack the dishes/cups/etc... that we normally use after doing the dishes and then wash it and put it away when we get home. Also, then I don't have to own multiple sets of plates, cups, etc... which I love.

What are your must haves? Or what have you found you don't need that you thought you would?

Today is the final push before heading off to our first festival, Bearded Theory! We are excited and nervous and hoping everything goes well. I have been busy this week painting logos on all the trolleys. What do you think of my designs?

If you are headed to Bearded Theory this weekend we hope to see you! We will be in/near the camping (family hopefully) area. Our flag (see rental info page) will be flying high (wind allowing) so pop in :)

Our stall

Getting Ready...

...for Bearded Theory! We're sure you're all getting your gear together as well. See you this weekend!