Picture this. You’re standing in an open field at dawn, watching hundreds of colorful balloons float skyward while your kids gasp in wonder. Or maybe you’re dancing together to live music while sampling cherry pies and watching street performers. Family festivals create these moments. They’re where traditions get born and memories stick around for years. Let’s be real, finding activities that genuinely thrill both a restless seven-year-old and their exhausted parent isn’t always easy. These festivals make it happen. From massive music gatherings with dedicated kid zones to cultural celebrations where everyone learns something new, we’ve rounded up festivals that understand what families actually need. Ready to discover where your next adventure might take you?
Glastonbury Festival
This iconic family friendly music festival features a dedicated Kidzfield with play areas, obstacle courses, and craft activities, with children under 12 entering free. Held in Somerset, England, Glastonbury has earned its reputation as one of the world’s most legendary music events while still catering brilliantly to families. The festival is full of so many different acts and secret happenings there’s never a chance of being bored, and its kids’ area is a family friendly festival in itself inside the main festival site. Think of it as several festivals rolled into one massive, muddy, magical experience. The Kidzfield alone could keep little ones entertained for days with everything from storytelling to circus workshops.
Camp Bestival
Camp Bestival is hailed as the family-friendly festival of choice by families all across the UK, priding itself on ensuring that it’s equally geared towards and suited for both parents and children. Taking place in Dorset, England, this festival isn’t just tacked-on kids’ activities as an afterthought. Known as a paradise for little ones, this festival offers circus skills workshops, arts and crafts, and performances by children’s TV stars, with the dedicated CBeebies tent being a major attraction for young attendees. A recent winner of the Pure Fun award at the Family Traveller Awards, there is plenty to keep the family entertained. The atmosphere buzzes with families who genuinely want to be there together.
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Let me tell you, there’s something about watching the sky fill with hot air balloons that hits different. Every year, thousands of visitors travel out to New Mexico for music, food, and the enchanting scene of 500 hot air balloons floating up in the world’s largest hot air balloon festival. The 2024 festival registered 551 hot air balloons including 106 special shape balloons, with 667 pilots and an estimated 838,337 guest visits. Children 12 and under can attend for free, making it an affordable event for families. Honestly, watching those balloons lift off during the Mass Ascension at dawn is worth dragging yourself out of bed at ridiculous hours.
Latitude Festival
There’s a huge array of family-friendly activities for both children and parents at Latitude, and it’s no wonder the festival won Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards. Set in the beautiful Henham Park in Suffolk, England, this festival gets the balance right between proper entertainment for adults and genuinely engaging stuff for kids. Activities and entertainment for kids, teens and families are spread across three exciting areas, with a stunning Kids’ Area arranged around the Latitude Lake where children are entertained with fire shows, pizza-making, traditional woodland crafts and exciting science experiments. There’s even a dedicated teen area, because let’s face it, teenagers need their own space too.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Fringe is the world’s biggest arts festival, and for three weeks in August, the city of Edinburgh comes alive with artists and performers from all over the world, running from August 2 to 26 in 2024. There’s quite a few free shows to choose from, including free listed children’s shows and shows from the general programme that are listed as family friendly. The festival features international street performers and buskers, mingling with Fringe artists and other festival favourites to provide a fun and varied family-friendly experience. The street events alone provide entertainment that won’t cost you a penny.
National Cherry Festival
In the summer, Michigan celebrates its abundant harvest of tart cherries with the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City from June 29 to July 6, featuring carnival rides, live music, food vendors, cherry wine and beer tents, pie-eating contests, family-friendly activities, and a Cherry Queen pageant. The festival perfectly combines wholesome Midwestern charm with genuine fun. Your kids can watch pie-eating contests while you sample local cherry wine. It’s that kind of place where everyone finds their thing. Plus, the setting along Lake Michigan makes the whole experience feel like a proper summer celebration.
Beautiful Days Festival
Beautiful Days has a friendly 90s festival vibe, with something for every generation, and you’ll be surrounded by music, theatre and fun, as always with The Levellers opening and closing this lovely festival. Held in Devon, England, this festival attracts families who want authentic festival vibes without sacrificing kid-friendly amenities. The atmosphere feels refreshingly relaxed. Festival Kidz have been staunch followers of Beautiful Days for many years, and for first-timers it proved to be everything they had hoped for. It’s the kind of festival where your toddler can dance in the mud while you catch a legendary band.
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras is a wonderful, vibrant carnival that takes place in New Orleans each year, and today it is a family-friendly carnival with floats, entertainment and exceptional food, providing a whole lot of fun and a great way to experience the inimitable Louisiana ambience. Yeah, Mardi Gras has a reputation as an adult party, but during the day it transforms into a genuinely family-appropriate celebration. The parades feature spectacular floats, marching bands, and those famous bead throws that kids absolutely adore. Mardi Gras is one of the United States’ biggest annual festivals, and while you’ll find cities that celebrate all over the country, New Orleans is the place to be.
San Diego Comic-Con
The San Diego Comic-Con sparks the excitement of over 100,000 fantasy fans, dressed in creative cosplay and homemade costumes, to enjoy everything comic book and pop culture, and as the largest comic convention in the United States, the San Diego Convention Center regularly fills to capacity. This isn’t just for hardcore collectors anymore. Families dress up together, kids meet their favorite characters, and everyone geeks out over the latest releases. The cosplay alone provides free entertainment as you walk the convention floor. Sure, it’s crowded and overwhelming, but that’s part of the experience.
Dia de los Muertos
At midnight on October 31, Mexico’s most colourful and most famous festival, El Día de los Muertos officially starts, and this is one of the most popular family celebrations both in Mexico and around the world, a festival with deeply rooted traditions that go back to pre-Hispanic times, when families come together to honour and remember those who have died, as the popular belief is that the deceased have permission to visit friends and relatives on earth. It’s honestly one of the most beautiful festivals you’ll ever experience with your family. The colorful altars, sugar skulls, and marigold flowers create a celebration of life that’s surprisingly joyful rather than somber. Kids learn about honoring ancestors while enjoying face painting and traditional foods.
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival
The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival has earned a special place among Scotland’s most beloved festivals, thanks to its blend of top-tier headliners, eclectic music line-ups, and a wide variety of entertainment such as comedy, cabaret, spoken word, dance, drag, wrestling, and an extensive range of children’s activities, making it an ideal choice for families. Set in the Scottish Highlands, this festival embraces Scottish culture while keeping things accessible for . The mix of entertainment means there’s genuinely something for everyone in your crew. Headliners include Paul Heaton, Supergrass, and Texas, giving parents solid musical acts while kids explore dedicated activity areas.
Provins Medieval Festival
Provins Medieval Festival is held for one weekend in June every year in the UNESCO world heritage site of Provins and celebrates all things medieval, with the festival being a two-day event of epic medieval proportions where people dress in costume, bands play music from the period, and market stalls, activities and food all from a bygone era whizz you back to the medieval age. Kids have a ball trying out calligraphy, archery and medieval ball games, with stadium shows available where you can witness jousting events, birds of prey and war games from the middle ages. Provins is located one hour from Paris by train, making it an easy day trip with incredible memories.
Wychwood Festival
After experiencing an amazing Wychwood 2023, families decided to return and 2024 was just as good if not better, with the weather being kind and after being greeted by upbeat, happy volunteers and stewards families settled in quickly on site, with Wychwood having 3 stages, a healing garden, a huge children’s area and a few traditional fairground rides, plus ethical branded, vintage clothing and crafts stalls plus a wide variety of food and drink vendors. This really is a great family friendly festival, ideal for first time festival goers or families who just want to visit for a day, and it’s compact but contains everything a large festival has to offer. It strikes that perfect balance between intimate and exciting.
The Big Feastival
The Big Feastival is perfect for families, bringing together music and an array of Michelin star chefs live on stage, with plenty of wild workshops, theatre shows, a circus school and the chance to meet some furry and feathered friends at Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park, plus the Hidden Hollow for den building and bushcraft workshops. Here’s the thing, most festivals make you choose between good food or good music. The Big Feastival gives you both. Your kids can learn circus skills while you catch cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs. It’s held on Alex James’s farm in the Cotswolds, so the setting itself feels like stepping into a storybook.
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Camping in the Rocky Mountains during the summer is an enlightening experience especially when surrounded by one the jewels of summer – the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and if you manage to snag tickets to this sold out event, Town Park Campground is the Valhalla of camping with permanent bathrooms, waterfalls, and a location so close that you can listen to music from your tent. The mountain setting alone makes this festival worth the trip. Kids run around in a safe, enclosed park while parents soak in world-class bluegrass under Colorado’s impossibly blue skies. Most festivals offer camping which is a great experience for families and it’s a chance for parents to share their love of live music with their children.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
One of the most famous celebrations is the Macy’s department store parade in New York which marks the opening of the festive shopping season, with visitors coming from far and wide to enjoy the bustling atmosphere, and the parade is famous for its marching bands and entertainers, and of course, the enormous tethered balloons of famous cartoon characters. This isn’t technically a festival in the traditional sense, but it’s absolutely a family tradition worth experiencing in person at least once. The energy on the streets of Manhattan during the parade is electric. Seeing those giant balloons floating between skyscrapers in person beats watching on television by miles.
Bearded Theory
Celebrating its 15th birthday in 2024, Bearded Theory has an excellent children’s area including a festival school and teen hangout. Held in Derbyshire, England, this festival understands that teenagers exist in that awkward in-between space. The 2024 lineup included Jane’s Addiction, Future Islands, Sleaford Mods, Roni Size, Orbital and Dinosaur Jr. The festival school concept is brilliant, offering educational workshops that somehow make learning fun during festival hours. It’s proof that festivals can be entertaining and enriching at the same time.
Nelsonville Music Festival
The laidback Nelsonville Music Festival mixes small regional bands, under the radar acts, and national headliners for a weekend of music in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio, and as one of the best kept secrets in Southeast Ohio, the four stage fest brings back fans year after year with its intimate vibe. This festival flies under the radar compared to massive events, which honestly makes it better for families. The intimate setting means you’re not fighting crowds of 100,000 people. Kids can actually see the stage without sitting on shoulders for hours. The Hocking Hills location offers hiking and nature activities beyond the music.
Shambala Festival
Shambala is consistently brilliant and ticks every box as the finest festival for families, and for those with kids, it’s hard to beat as a super easy, stress-free family getaway. Held in Northamptonshire, England, Shambala takes sustainability seriously while maintaining a genuinely fun atmosphere. A community of 350 families gather in the Black Mountains for Starry Village brought to you by the award-winning Shambala team to play, learn, create and enjoy music. The eco-conscious ethos means your kids learn about environmental responsibility while having the time of their lives.
Vivid Sydney
The Tapati Rapa Nui Festival is a vibrant and unique cultural celebration held annually on Easter Island, honoring the island’s rich Polynesian heritage, combining traditional customs, athletic competitions, music, and dance. Wait, that’s about Easter Island. Let me be honest, Vivid Sydney transforms Australia’s biggest city into an outdoor art gallery every winter. The light installations are absolutely mesmerizing for kids and adults alike. Families can wander Sydney’s harbor area watching buildings come alive with projections, interactive displays, and artistic performances. It’s completely free to experience the outdoor installations, making it incredibly accessible for families on any budget. The festival typically runs for several weeks, giving you plenty of opportunities to visit.
Family festivals represent something special in our increasingly digital world. They’re spaces where generations connect, where kids discover new passions, and where parents remember what it feels like to play. Whether you’re watching balloons ascend into New Mexico’s sky, dancing to bluegrass in the Rockies, or exploring medieval crafts in a French village, these experiences stick with you. The best part? Most of these festivals genuinely understand that families need more than just a kids’ corner with face painting. They offer real programming, thoughtful amenities, and atmospheres where everyone belongs. So pick one, book those tickets, pack way too much sunscreen, and create some memories. Which festival caught your eye?
