Just So Festival: a magical weekend in Cheshire
Just So Festival is an annual festival for children and their families set in the sprawling landscape of Rode Hall, Cheshire (near Congleton). Imagine a farmland that’s been bewitched by Roald Dahl and Lewis Carroll, decorated by Cath Kidston and soundtracked by Kate Rusby, Fats Domino and the Muppets and you’re halfway there.
It combines theatre, live music, craft, clowning, storytelling, dance, food, film and magic to create a wonderful celebration of childhood and imagination. Last year we enjoyed a midnight feast, pillow fights, mushroom-making and stone balancing. There were nature trails, art installations, circus skills and even pirate and cowboy training. We bounced about to ska with beers in our hands (the grown-ups are looked after here too – don’t you worry about that), watched jugglers and conjurers, guzzled ice-cream, ate pizzas, watched cartoons, munched too many Swizzels and stayed up way past our bedtime. That’s not to mention the wild rumpus at the culmination of the weekend: a final gathering of the six tribes we had all chosen to align ourselves with over the weekend (Owls, Fish, Stags, Foxes, Frogs and Lions) creating a glorious tumult of cheering, chanting, banging, crashing and ringing. The Owls won last year but the FOXES will triumph this year, mark my words…
ALL of this is happening again next weekend (August 15-17) and incredibly there are still a few tickets left (some for the whole weekend and a few Sunday tickets too). The festival caters for tiddlers, older children and big grown-up kids in equal measure. If you don’t believe me, just watch here.
Preview and images by Chris Payne
For more information about the Just So Festival, follow this link: www.justsofestival.org.uk
Editor's Picks
- Image Gallery: The Female Form Through Time, Discovery Museum, Newcastle
- “Our first night is bound to be emotional.” Anthony Prophet, co-owner of The Bowdon Rooms in Altrincham
- Book Review: This Is How We Come Back Stronger – Feminist Writers on Turning Crisis into Change
- Image Gallery: Jade Magenta Williams, A Smart Price way of life, PAPER, Manchester
Advertising and Sponsorship Opportunities
Is your organisation interested in supporting quality journalism about culture, life and enterprise in the North of England?
For advertising and sponsorship opportunities contact Northern Soul’s Founder and Editor Helen Hugent at helennugent@northernsoul.me.uk.
Sign up for Northern Soul newsletter
The Northern Soul Poll

Recent Tweets for @Northern_Soul_
From the archives: The Single Life: What made you love pop music? Northern Soul writers share their seminal songs northernsoul.me.uk/the-single…
Rawtenstall ginnel by Helen. #ShowUsYourGinnels #GinnelWatch pic.twitter.com/cSk08mdFm5
Today is Charlotte Brontë’s birthday. Happy birthday Charlotte! pic.twitter.com/iuCz0lQWM4
Click the link for more information and to view our full gallery of images from the exhibition.
Instagram filters were not the first tool used to distort and manipulate the female form. A new online exhibition by Newcastle’s @Discovery_Mus charts how women’s bodies have been artificially changed from the Victorian period to the 2000s. @TWArchives northernsoul.me.uk/image-gall… pic.twitter.com/0gTwKHaQBx
0 comments