Report from LolliBop

Where do I begin? LolliBop was a sensational afternoon filled with spectacle, fun and a true peace and love vibe.

The first thing that greeted us after we walked through the gates, ticket tags strapped around our wrists (these served as ID bracelets for the little ones), was a creature from the North Pole.

‘That is amazing!’ hubby exclaimed at the sight of a giant polar bear, parading in front of a growing crowd. It was like something out of the island of Lost – except without all the freaky elements and zig-zagging through time!

The polar bear puppet was just one of the magical features of this children’s festival taking over Clissold Park for the weekend.

Forest fairy princesses on stilts, giraffes on walkabout, kids competing in sports’ day races and then standing on podiums to receive their medals…there was almost too much happening.

And yet. Whenever you go to a family event on this scale, you expect to be overwhelmed by the levels of noise, crowds and general ‘woo-hooooo’-ness of it all.

One thing I can say about LolliBop is that the atmosphere was so chilled out, you would hardly believe you were surrounded by loads of Lilliputians. One mum admitted she’d spent part of the day asleep on her picnic blanket. ‘It’s very restful,’ she said.

We arrived at LolliBop later than I’d hoped so didn’t get to check out absolutely everything that was on offer (you’d need the whole weekend to manage that). Sadly we missed most of the Circus Acts although we did see Bert the Clown and his balancing act.

And there were plenty of good times doing samba with Jed at the bandstand, ‘having it tiny’ in the Miniscule of Sound (world’s smallest disco) and pimping my pushchair with streamers and garlands. Ezra’s favourite parts of the day included leaping around on one of many bouncy castles, playing crazy golf and climbing aboard the fantastic Albion Kids pirate ship.

If I had enough energy left, I’d go again today.

On the Spot
Marsha and Meredith (11 months), from Romford

”I heard about the LolliBop Festival on the metro. We’ve been enjoying ourselves a lot today. It’s been relaxing and such a friendly atmosphere. We made Meredith’s funky glasses in the crafts tent.’

LolliBop continues today Sun Jul 18, until 7pm at Clissold Park, Stoke Newington, N16