With the sun shining down, we couldn't wait to head to Victorious Festival for day 2 of fun and games. Knowing that the weather was going to turn on Sunday we got to the festival as soon as gates opened with a plan of staying until the end.
Armed with the timetable lanyard (that had been lovingly marked the night before with our must watch artists!) we couldn't run into the arena quick enough.
Set across Southsea Common in Portsmouth, Victorious Festival utilises the pavements and pathways to separate all the areas. It's one of the reasons I love the festival so much, as it's already so accessibility friendly by it's layout alone! We decided to spend the morning in the kid's area before seeing some of the music acts.
Within the kid's area, there is a fantastic range of free activities put on by businesses in the local community. Each year we try and see everything, but I swear even more gets added the next time we turn up! We spent ages going back in time with the Mary Rose Museum where Max learnt archery and we got to see some fantastic artefacts that were pulled from the ship.
I'm always blown away at how much there is to do, of course the activities such as rock climbing and tennis always have a constant queue. but we love chatting to the local businesses and finding new places to visit when we are in Portsmouth. We found a fantastic new game cafe in the heart of old Portsmouth that we can't wait to check out (especially as the boys spent ages playing on their games at the festival!) and we got chatting with our friends at the local theatres about some of their upcoming shows.
Every year Max always asks us to head to the Ready to Rock tent. It's a fantastic local music school that aim to teach kids music. The real School of Rock if you want to think of it that way! Max had a fantastic time learning the drums and bass guitar this time. And some of the students put on regular shows throughout the day for people to listen and enjoy. As I keep on saying, the community spirit here is fantastic.
With a great selection of things to do, from theatre shows to big music acts, we love to see who's on the kid's stage. This year the main headliner was Andy and the Odd Socks, a festival favourite for us! We met up with our friends Elaine and Elliot from Entertaining Elliot and headed to the front to enjoy. With bales of hay scattered around and space at the front for the kids to sit, it's a fantastic way to give the little ones a bit of freedom.
Max and Elliot had a fab time running between the front and us as they enjoyed some of their favourite songs. I honestly don't know how Andy and co do it as just watching them is exhausting! Of course they put on a brilliant performance and it was a great way to top off the kid's area. After watching Andy we spent ages playing on the free bouncy castles and the circus equipment before the kid's area closed at 6pm.
We also spent quite a lot of time enjoying some of the brands that were at Victorious. Whilst there are a few, I don't feel like they are too imposing and they don't take away from the community feel at all. Whilst L'Oreal were on hand to find our festival hair, Tetley Cold Infusions gave you a refreshing sample (the passionfruit one was amazing!). We also tried our hands at the HP Sprocket and I'm fully convinced I need one in my life. Of course each time we passed, we tried a new Coca-Cola zero flavour with their free can samples!
Before we get stuck in with the music, we always tend to tuck into a hearty lunch. With something to suit everyone, and most of it fairly affordable we like to try new things each time. Our favourite's were definitely the mac and cheese from the Tenth Hole and chicken and rice from the chicken balls stand! Of course Max had to try one of the bubble waffle ice cream sandwiches and we can't go to a festival without having some churros either. With food dotted all over the festival it's easy to please each tummy.
Whilst the day time for us is predominantly spent in the kid's area, we like to spend the evening chilling out and watching music. Whether it's standing on the premium viewing platform and watching Brian Wilson and the Cribs or heading to another stage to see a local artist. We honestly love the variety of things on offer for us to watch. We've found some fantastic favourite artists over the years from some of the local stages and we always love listening to headliners whilst swinging on the hammocks.
This year instead of watching the headliners (Paloma Faith and Paul Weller) we took to the Seaside stage which is one of my favourites to watch Scott's cousin's band play. With tough competition they drew a great crowd and we had such fun dancing to them whilst the ferries went past in the background. For whilst it's called the seaside stage, it's so close to the sea you can smell the salty air. It's one of the reasons why we love the festival so much, not only do you get to watch some amazing music, but it's in such a fantastic location that you will want to come back again and again. And we couldn't wait to brave the rain for day 3.
Note: We were gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own.
ah thanks for the mention! I'm just getting round to writing up our day! x
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