It appears to be festival season in Dorset at the moment and a couple of weeks ago we went to the very first Blandford Food Festival.
Promising a vast array of local food producers and exciting activities for the kids to take part in, they were also raising money for Naomi House, which provides care and respite for life-limited children.
The drive to Blandford from Wimborne is beautiful, especially this time of year and hubby insisted on taking some pictures whilst the road was clear.
When we arrived we were impressed to find that the organisers had organised plenty of free parking for visitors, just a short stroll from the event itself.
As we crossed the bridge over the River Stour we saw a fairground to our right and a crowd gathering in the road, so we wandered over to see what was happening.
The local fire service were holding a demonstration and the kids were transfixed as they showed what would happen if you put water on a pan that was on fire.
Once the demonstration was finished we headed into Blandford town itself and the kids soon saw themselves walking the plank after being transformed into pirates.
These balloon costumes were fantastic and everyone was admiring the parrots on top of their shoulder. It did make negotiating the crowds slightly more challenging though.
The streets were packed with food and craft stalls as well as bands, lone musicians and old-fashioned fairground rides. There was a wonderful atmosphere as people mingled and chatted to each other as they wandered along.
We did a full circuit of the town before heading to the river’s edge where there was more fun to be had.
We saw men dressed in period costume preparing and firing Muskets………….
We looked at cannons and chilled out taking in the beautiful scenery…..
We even saw some Birds of Prey up close………
before settling down for a story and trying out some awesome circus skills…….
The firm favourite were the ribbons, although we did attempt some Hula Hooping, stilt walking and juggling.
Once we had had our fill of learning circus skills we headed back to the car, but not before stopping to chuckle at this sign on the bridge.
Lovely review! Will be sad to leave Blandford when we move in July
wow..what great pics. I love the balloon hats!
Wow, do not damage that bridge! Looks like a fun-packed day out 🙂 #CountryKids
Love the parrots!! Great idea re the fire demonstration – think they should be done more often, to all children (but not in a way that might give them nightmares…!). Gorgeous colourful pics, looks like a great day out x
That looks so much fun! You have so may things going on near you 🙂 I also agree with your husband, the country lanes en route to Blandford are so picturesque and one of the things I love most about this country!
wow Kara this looks like an amazing day out! i love that the fire brigade do demonstrations thats so important!
What a fantastic festival – I so jealous that you live in Dorset, if there is anywhere else in the UK I’d live it would be there – we love it! x
Looks like a great day out and action packed festival. Too many these days are all stalls and not enough action but this one looks a lot of fun. Love the balloon costumes and have always enjoyed seeing birds of prey up close. Bet the kids were exhausted at the end if the day!
A great festival for a wonderful cause – I hope they raised a lot of money. It must have had a real community feel and with the sun shining a brilliant place to be for some family fun. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
My eyes was shock to see so much colors as its been raining in the past days. My eyes are use to teh gloom now. Your post is nice to read on agloomy day. The brightness of the sorrounding & the smiles of the people are just what i need on a rainy day =) #CountryKids
What a wonderful day out . looks really enjoyable.
looks like a fantastic day out!
Looks like a really fantastic afternoon. We have this sort of festival near us, but I’ve never been to one.
This looks like so much fun. I love the birds of prey. You go on so many fab days out x
This really sounds like a brilliant day – kind of thing I’d really enjoy. I especially love that sign on the bridge!
Lovely! I especially like the balloon parrots!
This looks like so much fun! We don’t have anything like that around here. Your pics are amazing xx
Oh this looks amazing! I would have loved to have seen the falconry display. Looks like you all had a fantastic day! 🙂
That looks like a fantastic day out for all the family. Loving the balloon costumes.
That looks like a lovely local festival with plenty to do.
Wow this looks fab been to a few some good and some not so good but this one looks very nice .x
Stunning pictures, that all looks like so much fun especially the birds and the balloons 🙂 #countrykids
This looks like so much fun, F would have loved the birds of prey! This has reminded me to try our local food festival coming up. x
Such a lovely pictures of the birds. It is never easy to take a good shot of them