Lovely Things You Said

"The true Big Chill spirit lives on in Festinho" - Pete Lawrence

We asked people who came along last year a few questions about their experience. We knew everyone had had a great time, but we were amazed at some of the lovely things you said. Here's just a sample of the feedback we received (and you can see more of it in the little blue boxes around this website)...

"Would you come back to Festinho again? Please tell us why - or why not!"

"Best festival of the summer"

"It's a natural progression for us from the big chill...love the people...it's what we want to do ;-)"

"Loved it. Tired of the corporateness and seeping capacity growth that inevitably creeps into other festivals and have written off my stalwart favourites as a result (Big Chill, Latitude amongst others). This festival is exactly what the doctor ordered for those of us who believe we still have a good few partying years left in us but don't want it ruined by disrespectful organisers completely exploiting us or self centred attendees who care nothing for anyone else's enjoyment"

"Cos it's effin brilliant :D"

"Best weekend of the Summer - lovely folks, great music and beautiful surroundings"

"Had an amazing time, made loads of new friends. Good food, good music, good fun!"

"Loved it! I have lost all hope for Big Chill and so it's great to find another (better) option"

"It was one of the best festivals I've ever been to! Everyone is so nice and friendly, I've made some amazing new friends just by going and providing a lift share. It's so small and beautiful, it's perfect!"

"We are so excited to come back to festinho next year. It was our first time and we will be coming back and bringing lots of our friends"

"I took a big step in coming to Festinho, meeting and camping with online contacts but never regretted a moment"  

"We feel part of the festinho family and we want to continue to watch it grow and evolve....and we're going to bring more people from oop north too. plus it's our holiday for the year! i can only do camping if there's music involved!"

"It's my new favourite festival"

 "I want to go back! Is it far? Are we nearly there yet?"

 "I am now a complete Festinho Devotee. It is a given now, when I plan my festival budget for the Summer!"

"The best festival there is at the moment"

 "A really great weekend, reasonably priced, friendly crowd, party atmosphere, everyone just relaxing and having fun, lovely grounds and house, good honest food, variety of good music for all tastes. And a safe, fun and family atmosphere"

"You've put a lot of love into it and it shows - a lovely, chilled experience with lots of music to be discovered"

"Festinho is one of my favourite festivals of the year. I'll keep coming for as long as it's alive!"

"Because we all loved it so very very much"

"Had brilliant time my first festival definitely coming again next year"

"Festinho is unique. Where else could you chill out in the middle of a field, listening to music, having fun with friends and family, where people have thought of all the little touches to make it magical. All whilst raising money for a great charity. It is not like all the other festivals full of people just there to get drunk."

"If you had to use three words to describe Festinho, what would they be?"

"Relaxed, beautiful, friendly /  perfect family fun /  varied, vibrant and voluptuous! /  nice nicer nicest /  vibrant, friendly, fun /  Magical, welcoming, easy-going /  FAB FAB FAB /  magical, sparkling escape /  Outstanding. Friendly. Smileful /  Ethical, Intimate, Lunacy! /  Made My Summer! /  Buckets of Good Vibes /  fabulous, magical, love /  Cheeky, freaky, fancy! /  brilliant, fun, memorable /  Good value fun /  Beautiful Happy People /  New found freedom /  Amazing Brilliant Creative! /  hellova hedonistic holiday! /  best kept secret /  the dogs ballcocks /  Fab De Doodah /  Yummy Mummy Daddy /  A Winning Formula /  Brilliant brilliant brilliant /  Perfect family festival /  fun fab and frolicky /  Fantastic Human Experience /  Super chilled weekending /  Fun, Funky and Friendly /  Friendly stress-free festival /  Made with Love /  fantastical, funkalicious, fun".

"What did you especially like about Festinho?"

"The child friendliness of it all, the people, the vibe, the beauty of the site, especially at night and the utter, utter lack of pretentiousness, aggro, attitude, litter, antisocial behaviour and any other negatives that plague other festivals"

"Small size, variety of stages & acts, really nice people, family friendly, amount of thought that had gone into the set-up"

"Loved the chilled out vibe - no heavy security, no corporate-ness, no hideous teenagers. Loved the venue; beautiful. Loved the mix of mellowness and playfulness"

"So intimate and civilised without being posh! Mainly, it's that your punters clearly respect what your doing and it comes back round again, seen by how respectful everyone was of the site and how little litter was left"

"The fact that it supports Brazilian street kids. It is small, intimate and friendly"

"Perfect size. Big enough to have interesting things going on, small enough to run from one side to the other in a couple of minutes in wellies over rough terrain while nursing a caipirinha"

"Obviously the music was mega, especially Ugly Duckling and Shadow Orchestra, but I loved the intimacy and friendliness of the place. For a place so relatively small to be filled with nothing but good natured, fun loving and sexy people... I bloody loved it!"

"It's lack of telling you what to do. It's secret paths and adventures. It's lack of advertising. It's sense of fun for young and old and those dancing about in the middle of life. It's outdoor and indoorness. It's friendships!"

"Wonderful size, at a decent venue. Staff and attendees all a nice bunch. Tickets, food and drinks all very reasonably priced. Over fantastic value for money and very enjoyable"

"Great relaxed atmosphere, nice site, great punters, good DJs and VJs, all my friends are there! And for charity too!"

"An opportunity to share great music in beautiful surroundings with great friends, old and new and a lovely place to take a young baby"

"It's a truly magical experience. nothing is hard work there... it's intimate, safe, friendly, well planned, amazing vibe, excellent"

"You feel like you're part of something that's going to be huge without losing it's soul"

"Atmosphere, friendliness, kids, site, visuals, music, eveything really!"

"The general vibes of the festival were great, the whole weekend was absolutely fabulous, such good acts, music and venue. I would go again tomorrow if it was on"

"The atmosphere, the chilled out environment, beautiful grounds and the attention to detail. It felt like a 'proper' festival where the ethos centres around the music/atmosphere rather than commercialism and money making which seems to be at the forefront of most festivals these days. Also, the knowledge that the money we did spend was going to such a good cause - it was, quite frankly, the best festival I have been to in 20 years (and I go to many!)"

"I liked the small, personal nature of the festival. I was really impressed with the campsite and the fact that nothing was far away - close to the main stages, the car park and the house itself. I was really impressed with that aspect. The atmosphere was great, and I especially liked the clocktower stage DJs and the small stage within the house with comedy and cabaret acts. FANTASTIC! Drinks were reasonably priced, the wine bar was a great place to relax on the deck chairs. Dancing in the woodlands was a highlight for me"

"People and volunteers it attracts are so friendly. I liked Hinwick as there was an air of mystery round the corner and it was not just a huge space filled with stalls and stages"

"I loved the grounds and stately home. I loved how intimate and small it was. I loved how easy it was, short walk to camping, short walk into festival. I loved how friendly it was. I loved the fact that it was not too commercial"

"It was like a massive party we had the privilege of being invited to. The car park was just across the road. Beautiful setting. Had a real family friendly atmosphere. Great Music. Lots of good camping space. Reminded me of Big Chill many years ago"

"Small size. We used to go to the Big Chill from it's first outing in the Black Mountains but it got too big, and we got children, and it all seemed too much. Festinho allowed us to re-live past glories by getting an old gang together and to share the fun with our children. The size of the site and the plentiful facilities (bars, inside loos, showers) made it a breeze"