But, anyway I am here to talk about Curious and the fun and weirdness that we had in the beautiful Gibberd Garden. I've made a promise to myself that I'm not going to gush about the gardens this year, I'm pretty sure the majority of my blogs about this event are just me raving about the location so I'm going to try to avoid that as much today.
Every year I go to Curious Yellow, it is life-changing in some way, redefining how I see myself or my relationships. This year was no different and everything changed for me in the few days that we spent hidden in gardens.
The excitement in the lead up this year was SO REAL I almost couldn't stand it. I actually gave myself several anxiety attacks in the preparation because I couldn't believe it was finally here, after counting down for exactly 365 days.
When we finally arrived, the spot our friends who got there first had picked was perfect, and this year we came down the lane instead of dragging our camping supplies through the gardens which meant we had no idea what installations, tents or stages were in the main arenas until we were fully settled.
We heard some amazing music from Bare Jams and The Turner Brothers but my favourite set of all was Sweetcornbread in the Once In A Blue Moon cafe. Despite three days of pretty heavy drinking and misbehaviour (especially on the part of my bass-playing boyfriend below on the left) they absolutely smashed the fence out of their Sunday afternoon set and had the whole audience dancing to their fun music. It was about twenty thousand degrees in Once In A Blue Moon tent (check out this post for more about their beautiful festival set-up) so I didn't get too many good photo, which makes me sad because they looks so freaking awesome and I'm not even just saying that because I date one of them.
In a weekend full of wonderfulness, there were a couple of other things that stood out that I really have to mention. The incredible LCD screens in the smaller dance arena were controlled by a fabulous device call the Naztek which anyone could stick their hands in to create crazy digital patterns surrounding the DJ booth. I absolutely LOVE things like this, being able to interact with the set-up is really fun and brings a whole new dimension to the dance arena, especially at a smaller festival where everyone gets to have a turn - check out a video by clicking here.
I also had a great time at the little open mic event held by some people local to us here in Hemel. Set in the folly, a little stone tower that I've always felt was a bit under-used, a variety of performers got up to sing. There was good, amazing and one or two who perhaps could do with a tiny bit more practise but where nonetheless, awe-inspiring for getting up and braving the small but raucous crowd. My friend Rachael singing Ballroom Blitz and our friends Dave and Ian deserved their applause for sure!
Song discovery of the weekend for me was this track by Asif Avidan which I heard covered in a pretty jaunty and joyful way by Bare Jams and then looked up afterwards and found the original for, it's a real corker, this guys voice is insane.
The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of whiskey, music and happiness, hiding in the undergrowth with some new found friends (thank you Grace and Georgia for concealing me when I needed some quiet time as well as the disposable camera photos!!) and wishing that time would pass as slowly as possible so we didn't have to go home!
In comparison to other years I would say the set up was better, more professional, the stage looked great and so did the bars. There were none of last years issues with the generator and there was something going on all the time. The main attraction for me is always getting to roam and explore the Gibberd Gardens on my own and with people new to the location and it didn't disappoint - if I ever have a reason to have a big outdoor party there isn't anywhere else I would consider, I really love this place so much.
I look forward to next year, as usual, but I'm not able to share a ticket link currently. I know that there have been some issues with getting things booked for next years party and the team behind Curious are currently trying to raise funds to be able to continue putting on the event - here is a link to their Just Giving page.
Thank you to Greg, Daniel, Charlotte, Liz and everyone involved ♥
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