Spellbound Fairy & Goblin Festival

On Sunday the sun was shining and we set off down to Plymouth for the Spellbound Fairy and Goblin Festival for a day filled with fairies, storytellers, crafts, music, face painting, and much more…

The Soapbox Theatre

The Soapbox Theatre was created by a husband and wife team, Iain and Jacqueline who are both experienced theatre practitioners and community artists. They took over a semi-derelict World War II mustard gas decontamination unit (hmm I had to google it too) in Devonport Park, Plymouth. Huge efforts have been put into raising funds to develop this site through crowdfunding, grants, and the local authority. The passion and enthusiasm for this going forward is visible on both Iain and Jacqueline’s efforts to make this a festival to remember.

Iain explained the plans for the future which include a roof-top stage and amphitheatre which sounds like an amazing space for children and families to experience both watching shows and taking part in workshops and projects. Workshops and classes are available for all ages and capabilities making this a valuable asset to the local community.

The Festival 

The programme for the day was jam-packed full of activities and we wanted to experience as much as possible. We did what we usually do on a day out, and took a wander round to work out what we would like to do first, second, third, and so on.

The whole entire place, which was fenced off for the safety of the children was decked out with colourful lanterns strung from the trees, flags, and windsocks in bright colours. It was the perfect spot for the festival as it was set amongst a fairy village with houses, caravans, and a washing line full of fairy clothes.

There were tents set up all around for us ‘big people’ with various activities. The Big Top had various shows including The Fallen Cedars, Jazz singing, Elfic the Jester and his antics, and an amazingly fun Samba band who marched through the park and led a parade around the site.

First, off we watched a puppet show which including a smelly creature, a man and a walrus. It captured all the kid’s attention, especially with the mention of bird poo and bottom burping.

We saw Isabella Necessity Bicycle Storyteller whilst sat atop tree stumps.

We were amused by Elfic the Jester with his juggling antics.

There were various stalls selling all sorts of fairy paraphernalia. We bought a plant pot fairy house to make at home complete with Tinkerbell.

We tasted gorgeous fruit lollies and sat on the grass and had freshly cooked fire-baked pizzas (Chicken, pesto, and mozzarella).

Isabelle and I made fairy wands and a dream catcher using all kinds of tubing, ribbons, pipe cleaners, shells, string, pom-poms and glue. Whilst we were in the craft tent, Goblins were running amock and threw bits of mud and grass at us. They were dancing around, going through the bins, and generally causing trouble.

Isabelle was ‘Fairy Tested’ to determine if she was a genuine fairy or not with a special wooden dragonfly. She passed the test of course!

We both queued up for face painting but when it was our turn I felt mean taking up the make-up artist’s time whilst there were so many children waiting. I so wanted a glittery eye. Boo!

There were lots of areas for little ones to play including the Petite cafe and a soft play area.

Children and adults all lined up for the ‘Best dressed Fairy’ and ‘Best dressed Goblin’ and prizes were given to all.

We stayed until the end and we’re really pleased that we did. The Crooked Tempo  Samba band played through the park and led a parade through the site with much bum shaking taking place.

What we thought

The Festival gets a huge Fairy Wands up from all of us. The day was filled with lots of fun and activities which were all included in the ticket price.  The choice of food was extremely reasonable and very tasty. The atmosphere was very relaxed and everything was family-friendly. We even bumped into some family members so we had a bit of a catch-up sat in the sun.

Oh and did I mention that we go to meet the Fairy Queen herself.

Upcoming Events

Whilst the Spellbound Fairy and Goblin Festival has been and gone for this year, there are lots of activities, shows and workshops to take part in with the Soapbox Theatre so do make sure that you pop over to their Facebook Page for more details.

We’re lucky to have lots of lovely places to visit here in Devon. If you’re planning a visit or you’re looking for somewhere new to take the kids then have a look at our Devon Days Out for some inspiration.

*Please note that we were gifted tickets to the event in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.