The Summer Party 2012 bathed in sunshine

We first went to the Croissant Neuf Summer Party (CNSP) last year and it shot straight to the number one spot in our festival calendar. So we are genuinely excited to be starting our two week festival road trip there! There are four of us in our party and we are meeting another family, and we all have different things that we enjoy in a festival and CNSP answers them for us all. It takes place in a real "get away from it all" area situated in the heart of a jaw-droppingly beautiful location that radiates peace and tranquillity.

Getting our wristbands is a bit chaotic but everyone is very friendly and helpful and we are in no hurry. Any stress at the Box Office is quickly forgotten thanks to the extremely well organized stewards in the live-in vehicle fields who marshal the pitches strictly while matching the best pitch for the best vehicle – something that will help us all come Monday if the ground is a bit soggy. We are lucky enough to get a pitch with the most incredible view, even the children are impressed!

The setting of the arena still amazes us – the stalls and stages are partly encircled by trees on one side that have lovely wooden letters spelling Croissant Neuf sign dangling in a Hollywood style on them. Turning round, we get more of the amazing view we have from our camper van. Off to one side is the path that leads through the woods to the healing fields and hill fort. There is a new addition this year in the arena, maybe to support the buccaneer theme, in the shape of a wooden pirate ship construction that provides seating in front of the bar and a great place for small people to let their imaginations run wild.

CNSP has won awards for its green credentials and is totally powered from natural energy. When you look around the site and remember that there are no electricity generators, it is truly amazing and should serve as inspiration to other festivals with similar aspirations. Rubbish is taken care of responsibly, the beer glasses are compost-able, and the bins offer several recycling opportunities and are emptied regularly. Although environmental consideration is an integral part of CNSP, it is put across in a wholly natural and unobtrusive way that promotes the feeling that caring for the environment is not something outside of anyone's capabilities.

The atmosphere at CNSP has the air of a party. One of the first events is the Pub Quiz in the Stagger Inn bar. It's worth describing the Stagger Inn as it's pretty unique as a festival bar. Set up in a barn, it has been designed to offer the same facilities as a traditional public house including a reasonably-priced selection of locally brewed beers and ciders, and a huge comfy seating area made up of settees and beds. Entertainment is taken care of with a piano, table football, a pool table, and a dart board. Some of the festival acts pop by occasionally to provide live music and a Ceilidh even takes place on the Saturday night.

The quiz itself draws a big crowd and it gets quite hilarious as lots of groups who haven't met before join forces. Come the finish, we actually do alright this year – considerably better than last year anyway.

It's my second time at Croissant Neuf and I have given a lot of thought to what makes it different. It quite clearly does have something that other festivals don't, and it's hard to point to one thing. I can't speak for everyone there but I personally home in on the feeling of shared experience that gives it one of its real differentiators. The festival organisers have put a massive amount of effort in to everyone sharing the experience of the weekend with new people.

In a lot of festivals we go to, the centre of the arena is nothing more than a place to sit to watch a band or a thoroughfare to walk from one stage to another but a lot of thought has gone in to Croissant Neuf turning that space into something else. In the central part of the arena, there is a games area, a fire circle where people chat and play music quietly late into the night, as well as a fire pit that provides warmth and a place to rest. A beautiful fairy-lit garden provides serenity, and an enormous dining set is there "just because". All of these places give everyone the opportunity to sit down, chill out, and get chatting. At any point in the day or night, you can look round CNSP and see groups of people making new friends and growing lasting friendships; it truly is a summer party!

For the children (and some adults), games such as the Mushroom Cup football tournament, the Silly Olympics and a Treasure Hunt are organized throughout each day in the arena. There are also plenty of other activities like trapeze workshops, theatre shows, circus skills, face painting, crafts, and the ever-popular crazy bikes. Although our children are older now, I particularly like the thought put in to the needs of the much younger festival goer as I can remember all too well that taking a small family to a festival can be really hard work. There is an area where really small children can play in safety with age-appropriate toys, somewhere where nappies can be changed and babies fed in the warm and dry if necessary, and I even spot a buggy park in the Croissant Neuf big top which strikes me as a great idea. Small details like this can make all the difference to parents of small children at a festival.

There are more events planned over the weekend that bring people together – we have already taken part in the pub quiz and the fancy dress. On the Saturday evening we are treated to a truly spectacular acrobatic act around the trapeze in the arena which has us and the children captivated. Sunday morning brings with it the opportunity to attend the Sunday Service – a church service with a difference which brings tears of laughter rolling done our faces. We are persuaded to go along by a sign that offers us the chance to repent our sins and commit one free – we know we are in for a treat!

For quieter moments, we find it hard to choose what craft activity to do next. After we missed out on making lanterns last year, we really want to get one done this time but both times we round everyone up to do it, we find that it's too busy but we have a nice time making sun catchers from the bead stall and creating monster masks.

However, we do take part in the procession itself. We have been to many festivals where the procession is given over to show case the craft workshops of the weekend aimed at the children. However, with the lantern procession at CNSP it really does encompass the whole party as it appeals to the entire festival and the main arena is empty and silent as the procession wends its way up to a magical tree enshrouded area at the top of the fort. There we are treated to an extraordinarily dramatic show of fire performance. We have been to a lot of festivals and I always love a fire show but it tends to be pretty standard. However, the show provided by the fire troop at CNSP this year; I would pay money to take my children to see it again. It really was awe-inspiring and I take my hat off to the team who staged it!

We make a discovery in the shape of Yam the Cassava's Creole food stall. It has come very well recommended to us as providing some of the most delicious food available at a festival but we've not made their acquaintance ourselves until this weekend. We enjoy their food so much that we eat there every day and our children nearly fall over at the sight of the delicious homemade cakes that are available. Their amazement increases when they see the size of the portions of cake that they receive at a very reasonable price. We also purchase several Pan de Mania pizzas over the course of the weekend. The Café had inspired us with its promise of Ploughman's lunches sourced from local suppliers, but when we get there, we find that we can't have any which is rather disappointing.

We make the obligatory trot around the stalls to check out what is available as this festival's must-have accessory (which seem to be cuddly monkeys from the circus stall). In our family, we always have to add to our fairy dust collection and our daughter is delighted to meet the people who actually make it. There is the usual selection of clothes, jewellery, and accessories and some slightly more unusual stalls in the shape of a guy who sells some lovely paintings and a gorgeous book stall.

Musically, we are treated to some family favourites and some new talent who we've not seen before. As well as the Croissant Neuf and Croissant Deux big tops, we have some impromptu offerings that take place in the bandstand, and there is a new stage called The Verge which is run by the Biggles Wartime Band. I really like the idea of The Verge; it's a small venue where the audience can sit in comfort on armchairs and settees, and the performers are so close it's like having a band in your own living room. We see a couple of acts in there, and it's really good fun.

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that I find one new act per festival that I take home with me. And this year's CSNP gives me two. I am very familiar with some of the acts that are performing anyway, such as Seth Lakeman who puts on a great show, the Biggles Wartime Band (who do a shanty-style rendition of Jilted John's 'Gordon is a Moron'), Luke Concannon from Nizlopi (who writes the most lovely message about freckles to our daughter in her autograph book), and RSVP who are a west country Bhangra dance group. I persuade our eleven year old to leave the games in the arena to accompany me to the RSVP dance workshop and he gets in to it so much that we have to attend the evening performance well as – it has to be one of the highlights of my weekend as we learn to dance Bhangra-style by "screwing in lightbulbs" and "picking up tenners", and we're both grinning from ear to ear by the time their set finishes.

We have a similar experience with Fitty Gomash who is the first of our discoveries for this year's festival. We 'pop in' to the Croissant Deux tent, and end up stopping for their whole set. Being rather short in stature, we leave while the pole circling activity takes place as it gets rather nuts, but we are determined to download some of their music now we're home as we really had a great time. We are disappointed that we miss their Ceilidh at midnight in the Stagger Inn but the children are just too tired to stay up any more.

My complete surprise is Lazy Habits who, on paper, wouldn't particularly appeal to me. Their music is an unusual combination but thanks to their interaction with the audience, and their infectious love of what they're doing, it does really work for me. It seemingly works for lots of people as they draw quite a crowd, and we all love it! I'm disappointed that I don't get to see Kamilla Lovett, and Jimmy Davis and the Barefoot Apostles, as I enjoyed their sets when I've seen them before, but I am delighted to catch some of The Ten Pound Suit Band!!

CNSP really does have something extra that lots of festivals don't manage to get right. It is obvious that the team of people who run it are experienced in all aspects of putting on a festival, and committed to ensuring that all the people who go along have a great time. If you are looking for a festival that combines traditional festival values with a great vibe, I urge you to go to the Croissant Neuf Summer Party. One thing is for sure, we would love to be back next year!!

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