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home » festivals » Croissant Neuf Summer Party » Croissant Neuf Summer Party 2011
Olympics and Show of Hands Presents amongst the highlights of Saturday at Croissant NeufCroissant Neuf Summer Party 2011 reviewTuesday 23rd August 2011 Saturday starts a bit slowly at the new van as we get to grips with cooking a fry up in our new kitchen arrangements. It all works out well in the end, and we get in to the arena set up for the day!
For a relatively small festival, there's an impressive selection of children's entertainment and craft workshops on offer, and we make a mental note to come back later in the weekend. It's nice to see that baby and toddler entertainment welfare is catered for too at Croissant Neuf. Keeping really little people amused in a safe and fun environment can be a challenge at a festival, and Croissant Neuf provides an area especially for them. I would also like to commend the provision of a special tent for feeding and changing nappies which is a lovely touch to help parents have an easier time of it at a festival! Back to the music, we can't help but stop by Croissant Deux to sample The Boy and the Flatpack Band. Their songs are jolly, and we're very tickled with their stage decorations. They're obviously having a great time, and their enthusiasm is infectious so we decide to grab a cup of tea, and sit down to join them. We're soon singing along too. When it's over we follow the sound of laughter back to the kids' big top where Clown Bert is doing some very funny things with a spotty broom and a water sprayer that has his audience in fits of giggles. The afternoon beckons with The Olympics in the centre of the arena and a Show of Hands Presents show in the Croissant Neuf big top. Our ten year old opts for watching the Olympics, while we opt for the latter. One of the beauties of this small and intimate festival is that we can allow a little bit of extra freedom so once we've all arranged a mutual meeting point, we go our separate ways.
Soon it's time for Steve Knightley and Phil Beer of Show of Hands to bring their special guest set to a close. Tracks such as 'Stop Copying Me', 'Youngstown', 'Countrylife', and 'Santiago' always go down well, the big top is crammed. Part of the reason that Show of Hands really appeal to me, is that they always accompany their music with little funny tales in between, and I love the story about the organ keyboard in memory of Phil's mum. The set also includes 'AIG' (Arrogance, Ignorance, and Greed) and I wonder how it went down when they tell us they played it at Canary Wharf!
Usually at this time on a Saturday most festival sites are looking rather the worse for wear and I suddenly realise that I can't spot any rubbish in the entire main arena at Croissant Neuf. Not just a lack of litter on the floor, I realise that the bins are clear too. I have to hand it to the Croissant Neuf organisers and volunteers – they really are doing an amazing job at conserving the area in all its beauty! We decide it's time to head back to the van and enter in to the Croissant Neuf spirit by getting dressed up as cowboys. In keep with the Wild West theme, there's a hoedown later on that we'd like to try, it sounds like a great laugh.
We're a bit overawed by the end of it all, and although we stop by the hoedown, the children have lost their energy, and we decide to return them to the van. Once again, the gentlemen head back out when the children are in bed to sample the adult Cabaret. review by Fiona Tayler photos by James Tayler 
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