Visiting Geronimo family festival at Tatton Park

What a wonderful day we had a Geronimo festival yesterday!

"It doesn’t matter if you’re two or 12, there is something for everyone at Geronimo Festival. Whether your kids are adrenaline junkies or craft-mad, animal enthusiasts or music lovers, the North’s biggest family festival boasts a jam-packed line up of live 

shows and amazing experiences for the whole family to enjoy".

We were so excited to go, firstly because it's the 1st family festival we were visiting and secondly even though I restrict L's TV watching time, she is a huge fan of CBeebies characters.Before travelling I have read different reviews mainly for the purpose of finding out about parking at Tatton Park as was a little bit worried that due to the size of the event there might be queues and I didn't want to miss any activities. We were setting off just after 7am with the idea that it will take us about 2 hours to drive. In the end it only took 1 hour 45 mins in total to get to Tatton Park, pleasantly surprised!

Once we arrived to Tatton park we were greeted by the staff who showed us the way to the car park, where to drive to pay for parking (£6) and followed us up to the actual parking space. I would like to mention that the parking and entrance to the Geronimo 2016 festival was seamless, without any hiccups at all.

The first thing to note is that Tatton park is massive, we have never been to Cheshire or Tatton Park, so it was quite an experience. We were really overwhelmed by the amount of activities that were going on. At the information desk we picked up the times for the main activities of the day and the venue map and off we went to investigate. 

Tip: Don't ignore the stand with pens/markers, as a precaution parents were asked to write a telephone number on a child's wristband in case they were lost. 

The first zone we have visited was "3ft and under", just the right place to be with little babies and toddlers. Due to it's size and the amount of parents with kids and pushchairs parked in this zone I wasn't sure if it's the right place to stay. Having said that we did come back a few times when it was less busier to investigate and take part in few activities.

There was a tent for nursing and changing, tents with a soft play section, baby ballet, which you could visit throughout the day, Tumble Tots, story telling etc etc. Some activities seemed similar to one another but nonetheless were a great fun.    


Tip: want to try it all?! come prepared and early, have a plan of action

Next we went to Circus zone, to the right of it you can park a stroller queue up for the performance and that's what we did. The waiting wasn't long and we were given good seats not far from the exit in case we need to escape without being noticed. I think it was a highlight of the day for us. We were so lost when we just arrived to the park but great performance and entertainment made our day.

We saw funny clowns, pretty ladies dancing, and a "Guest star" from Britain's Got Talent 2016- "a bendy archer" Orissa Kelly. 

After that we decided to take a break and have a quick lunch with the usual picnic goodies we brought with us: quiche, sausage rolls & sandwiches. Whilst we were sitting on a grass and enjoying our snacks we were watching the entertainment on the stage, first up was "baby ballet" which was my number 1 thing to see on the day followed by Andy Day, Mr. Bloom, Swashbuckle & the great Justin Fletcher!

Andy's morning show was unfortunately cut short due to mic issues, felt sorry for him as he carried on rapping about different dinosaurs for a short while even without any speaker sound.

After that Mr Bloom took to stage, he did a short repertoire of his usual show songs about veggies.

For those that wished to buy food at the festival, there was plenty of food on offer ranging from hot dogs, pizzas, Indian or the classic fish & chips- all of it was reasonably priced. 

Closer to the exit I have also spotted a designated area for BBQ, for those who are visiting just the park or want to stay away from hassle and bustle it's a place to relax and enjoy freshly cooked meats and veggies.

Between each of the acts on the Geronistage, we visited different stalls ranging from story time and soft play to face painting. 

Crafts zone was one of the most popular areas amongst fairground rides zone. The latter wasn't something we wanted to do as there were people constantly queuing to go on a carousel, so we opted for some painting fun instead. L and daddy queued for a free face painting and I waited in the queue for a pretty henna tattoo. 

Whilst waiting in the crafts zone I have looked around to see what else what was going on, I have noticed a cookery area, a zone where you can make flower chains, paint and create a card or a message and do other crafty things. 

We haven't stayed much in Arena zone neither we visited Woodlands and Library zones but these are definitely on my to do list for the next year! 

As my husband got a little bit tired we left him to relax on one of the benches opposite the stage and L and I visited harp session and watched the show of the Thelmo Parole- street performer and clown, who made lots of adults laugh out loud.

When L eventually fell asleep I decided to go for a little stroll around the venue.  Just when I was about to queue for a walking balloon I spotted a stall just outside Information tent where lovely staff members were giving away free carton juice and sun cream for kids, and that's not all, in just less than 5 minutes I was an owner of a pretty flower made of balloons for free as well!

Tip: Leave your family/other half with your little one, go for a small stroll, that way you may spot something you haven't seen before.

                 
                   

Once I have collected my goodies, I followed the crowd and noticed few more activities not far from massive My Little Pony bus: stalls with honey to taste and buy, bubbles, charities, Tell tails (wearable animal tails for adults and kids), walking balloons (they were a hit), teepees and colourful hammocks to relax, a singing puppet playing different instruments, play area for kids closer to the woodlands, bouncy slide, walking puppets- birds, giraffe and hippo, ladies dressed as a horse wearing springy shoes and tails!

The star of the show was quite clearly Justin Fletcher (aka Mr Tumble).  He received a rapturous reception from the crowd.. no surprise as he was excellent and very entertaining.. clear star of the show!  He did a quick cameo dance and then sang his trademark "Hello Hello.." song.

One good point was that the shows were repeated (so Andy, Swashbucklers & Mr Bloom appeared twice on the stage). This meant we could do most of the visiting stalls etc in the morning/early afternoon and still be able to see the fun guys on the stage.. which was our 'sort of' plan!

Tip: don't put too much pressure on yourself, if you feel overwhelmed by all the activities, there is always a next time!

Disclaimer: We were invited to visit Tatton Park/Geronimo festival as a part of the ambassador programme. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

The post in written in collaboration with guest poster- my other half.