Brighton Fringe: Funk The Family Festival, Hove Park, Hove, Saturday, May 30

First published Monday 1 June 2015 in The Argus

Family festivals seem to be on the rise, and it’s little wonder why.

The opportunity to drink beer in the sunshine with your little ones in tow, listening to chilled-out tunes while they run around chasing bubbles – what’s not to like? It’s not often you get to keep both sides of the child/parent equation happy simultaneously, after all.


Funk The Family Festival is a relatively new kid on the festival block, but it seems likely it will carry on doing well if this weekend was anything to go by.

The Saturday sunshine shone down on plenty of stalls, tents and interactive children’s zones, and the image of small children gathered round humming and doing yoga will stay in my mind of one of the more Brighton moments I’ve seen in recent years.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that St Ann’s Well Gardens held their summer festival the previous weekend, which was free to attend, and while FTFF boasted live acts such as Omar and Nubiyan Twist, many of the other stalls and activities on offer were very similar, begging the question of whether it was worth the £18.50 ticket price.
Still… sunshine, live music and happy children. Some may argue that’s cheap at twice the price.

Three stars