Last May the geekdaughter and I had a brilliant day out at the Geronimo Family Festival at Tatton Park, which is just up the road from us. I was very happy when I found out the festival would be returning to that venue this year, and even happier when they asked me if I would be an official blogger ambassador for them.

For 2016 the Geronimo team are promising a bigger and better event at Tatton, and have added a new venue of Harewood House near Leeds, making the event more accessible to families in the North of England. Set against the wonderful woodland backdrops of two of England’s premier visitor attractions, Geronimo says it will yet again be delivering an exciting array of acts, amazing experiences and wonderful adventures, including lots of new attractions – all resulting in a fantastic family day out.

Festival Director, Simon Goldman said: “After the huge success of Geronimo at Tatton Park in 2015, we decided to look for another venue to give even more families the chance to enjoy the Geronimo experience. As a father of seven, I know how hard it is to find quality days out that cater for the whole family. With Geronimo, we’ve created a festival that’s going to keep the kids entertained all day long, and create memories that will last a lot longer.

“Expect a line up jam packed with some of the biggest names in children’s entertainment, a brand new theatre and literary zone with award winning productions and a second stage featuring live music. And there are hundreds of other crazy and unusual activities like giant Tortoise encounters, stone carving and a crime scene for kids to solve. This really is the chance to tick off some of your 50 things to do before you’re 11 and three quarters!”

There have already been many exciting announcements about this year’s festivals. First of all CBeebies favourites Mr Bloom, Andy Day, Alex Winters and the one and only Justin Fletcher are all confirmed to appear. I’m delighted to read that the Circus Zone is returning, as that was probably our favourite part of the festival last year. There are also some great sounding new areas coming this year as well – I’m looking forward to the live displays in the Arena Zone, which will include motorbike display teams, a falconry display with owls and live jousting. And then there’s the new Library Zone where I’d like to try the Bollywood or Zumba dancing classes with the geekdaughter.

Most recently Geronimo has announced that they have partnered with Cancer Research UK, a charity very dear to my heart, to raise money for their Kids & Teens division at the festivals. Money will be raised through a series of initiatives including the Geronimo Festival Kids & Teens VIP Area, optional donations on tickets, merchandise, bucket collections and a clothes drive on site.

Geronimo is a festival best suited for children under 12 and their families, and based on what I’ve read so far, coupled with my experience last year, I’d say it’s shaping up to be a great day out.

Geronimo is taking place at Harewood House in Leeds on 1st and 2nd May 2016, and at Tatton Park in Knutsford on 29th and 30th May. More information is available on the Geronimo official website, where you can also buy tickets.

Disclosure: I am an official Geronimo blogger, and will receive a family ticket to the festival in return for blogging about it. All opinions expressed are my own.