Mulberry Tree Festival Camp - June 14 & 15, 2008

For more pictures click here: Camp Gallery.

"It was the whirl of bodies passing and the shrieks of laughter that caught my attention. I was just settling down in my camp chair congratulating myself on a job well done having put up our tent when my son whizzed by along with some other children from his school. I watched in dismay as their child size wooden wagon cart went straight into the side of my neighbour’s tent. There was a shout of ‘Hey! Be careful. Not here please!’ and away the kids went again oblivious to all but their enjoyment. I was at the first Mulberry Tree Festival.

The idea for the festival occurred some 6 months previous when two parents of the Mulberry Tree Steiner Early Years Kindergarten, Jackie Tolfree and Yvonne Welsh over a glass or two of wine decided that the ideal fundraiser for the school ought to be a camp festival. Both ladies are veteran festival goers and thought lets have a go ourselves. They knew what they wanted, something small-scale, family-orientated, organic, eco-friendly and manageable. Above all it was going to be a festival for the children, all the events and activities would be for them – we parents would come a low second. The festival is also a fund-raiser for the school, however that goal was a secondary consideration to the kids enjoyment and community building.

The Mulberry Tree Festival was held in Wotton-Under-Edge where Jacqui and her family live. They knew the ideal venue, a lovely campsite up in the hills above the woodland surrounding the market town (Conygres on the Old London Road). Jackie’s husband Mark Tolfree runs a landscaping company, Gabriola Garden Designs, and was instrumental in organising how the campsite would be partitioned and equipped. The campsite, now the festival grounds, had a large central area where the children could play freely, beside this was an area set aside for the camp fire. There were also many marquees hosting the activities, a kitchen tent where Café Mulberry became the main focus of the parents and a sandpit – newly built just for the festival.

Before the trip out I had been obsessing about the weather. I still remember my camping days which were when I was a Boy Scout, so quite a number of years past. My thoughts then as is now, that camping and rain are not good bed fellows but inevitably they seem to sleeping with each all too often. Mud, more mud and damp soggy everything is not something I relish – especially now that I am a father with a son that believes every waking minute must be filled with activity. The forecast was ominous. Although we are officially in early summer, conditions were spring like and changing constantly. The forecast ranged from light rain to thunderstorms. Thankfully they were completely wrong. The sun was shining radiantly on the Saturday morning of the festival. The festival would start at noon continue throughout day and night and conclude the next day at noon.

There was suppose to be bag pipe music piping us in as we entered the site according to the programme. Luckily the bag pipe lady was delayed so it was a gentle introduction into the festival and campsite. Most of the festival goers are parents and friends of children who go or use to go to the Mulberry Tree Kindergarten in Cromhall village, South Gloucestershire (www.mulberrytree.org.uk/welcome.htm), a kindergarten founded on the principals of Steiner education. The emphasis at the kindergarten is to provide a peaceful unhurried approach to learning where play is seen as an important part of growing up and be celebrated. Our son Hugo, age 4, has been attending the kindergarten since February and loves it there. As soon as I opened the car doors out Hugo shot as he immediately spotted the sand pit and his friends playing there. That left my wife; Reiko and I time to wander around the festival grounds freely.

Throughout the day there were planned events and activities. Most of these were for the children. Many of the event organisers are parents of the children. The children could choose to take part or not, and just PLAY! And play they did. The activities though were lots of fun too. There was flag making using old sheets, materials and washable fabric paints. Looking at the programme I could also see puppet making, theatre skills, a nature walk, face painting, craft-making using recycled items, a parade, bread-making, story-telling and singing around the campfire later for the evening. For the grown-ups there was head massages, a bag-pipe workshop, felting, yoga and meditation.

Around 1:30 the bag-pipe lady arrived in full Scottish kilt regalia and piped everyone in. I later learn that her name is Mandy and that she teaches people to play bag-pipes in and around the Bristol area. Mandy was the start of many interesting people that we would meet at the festival. The festival was now officially open. The children, all 70 of them, age from 1 to 14 were now engaged in flag or puppet making else they were running around like maniacs. That left us to put up and furnish the tents.

Café Mulberry was the unofficial centre of the festival. For almost 24 hours Yvonne Welsh and Ute Christopher worked tirelessly dishing out coffee, tea, home-made cakes and even beer. Later that evening there would be a BBQ but we were there to have some tea and cakes. Sitting under the canopy, wind chimes tinkling sipping tea content in the fact that the kids were happy and all was well with the world. Well at least my little bit of it. This was the lovely pattern that the rest of the day would become.

Later that afternoon we managed to get Hugo way from the wooden cart, with which he and his friends were terrorizing our fellow campers, and onto the nature walk. Chris Wheeler, whose children used to attend Mulberry Tree, led the walk through the pretty woods explaining to anyone who would listen about the fauna we came upon. The children were also suppose to collect flowers and leaves as the ‘King of the Woods’ needed to be adorned. The king would turn out to be a scare crow in the shape of a large white sheet draped over a wooden cross.

And so the fun continued. As dusk settled a large bonfire was lit. After a filling and delicious BBQ we sat around the fire. The meat was sourced locally from Wotton Farm Shop in keeping with the eco nature of the festival. Maryanne and her daughter Katrina were to lead us in song. Their specialty is Celtic singing. It was to be communal singing but alas after a few beers the lyrics defeated most of us. The children seemed more interested in seeing who could lob more firewood onto the fire. Mother and daughter provided a wonderful musical accompaniment to this spectacle.

Just before night closed in candle lit hot air balloons were released into the night sky. This is a magical time of day made more so by these floating glowing balloons rising upwards and away as darkness fell. The children were entranced and so were the adults. It had been a long, tiring and wonderful day. For the children it was a welcome excuse to go to bed as it was for many parents. Some of us though stayed late into the night sitting around the fire drinking the local brew as we listened to Jackie’s husband Mark and his friends Simon and Martin jamming. They are all pub band regulars and so we got the Beatles, Stones and Eric Clapton standards just as though we were in a pub. But this was much better, the stars were out, the fire warming and no one had to drive home, what better way to end the night.

The next day was more subdued, at least for the parents. The children were their usual manic selves. A long and leisurely breakfast ensued for the parents followed by yoga and mediation for the flexible amongst us. The festival ended as it started, mellowly, people slowly packed and left unhurriedly back to their homes. The children were still doing what comes natural and that is play! The festival kept to its ideals and provided time and space for the children to enjoy just being.

I caught up with the organisers Jacqui, Yvonne and Mark and congratulated them. I asked if the festival would be on next year. Jackie’s answer was yes; in fact she had already booked the site. The Mulberry Tree Festival looks like it will become an annual institution. The festival is open to parents and friends of the Mulberry Tree Kindergarten. However didn’t Glastonbury also start with a few family members and friends? Stay tuned and let’s see what happens in a few years time… My family and I have already marked our calendars for next year. Maybe I am a camper after all."

Danny Wong (Hugo's dad)

Camp Gallery