After a glorious spring, summer 2025 is set to be a scorcher - so why be anywhere other than the sunny south coast?  With some fabulous festivals on the horizon, Upton House Food, Drink & Music Festival and Poole Harbour Festival, there’s plenty of outdoor family entertainment ahoy.

The don’t miss days out in Dorset:

THE BIG ONE: Poole Harbour Festival

Dates: Friday 25th - Sunday 27th July 2025

Back for its 9th year, Poole Harbour Festival, will wow with a whopping 60 live music acts across six stages.

Headlined by none other than UB40, Feeder and Happy Mondays!  Poole Harbour Festival delivers ingredients for a fabulous, family friendly summer by the sea.

The rest of the line-up is also impressive - with We are Scientists, The Hoosiers and Vengaboys, Dub Pistols taking to the stage.  And, let's not forget the throwback dance vibes this festival brings - with appearances on stage 3 from DJ Sash!, Judge Jules, N-Trance, Baby D, Tidy Boys, Dave Pearce and Brandon Block.

Plus there’ll be plenty of kids' activities, entertainers, circus skills workshops, performances, family tents and funfair rides!  Family ticket prices start from just £75 for 2 adults and 2 children.

If you don’t live locally, or want the full outdoors experience, there are off-site camping tickets available too, weekend parking and drinks bundles all bookable in advance, it's the weekend that Poole is now famous for!

The festival opens 5pm on Friday 25th July and noon on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July, closing at 11pm Friday and Saturday, and 8pm Sunday.

Tickets can also be purchased using Klarna’s pay in 3 interest free installments, so you can spread the cost to make it a more pocket friendly weekend to remember for the whole family!

For more information and to book your tickets, please visit Poole Harbour Festival.

THE LOVELY LOCAL ONE: Upton House Food, Drink and Music Festival

Dates: Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd June 2025

Set to the picturesque backdrop of Upton House and Country Park, Poole, the event boasts being the south’s best food, drink and live music festival.

There’s plenty of free kids entertainment from Count Backwards, Mad for Animals, Jamie Jambo and Mr Merlin, as well as funfair rides and attractions.

The food offering is jam packed with street food stalls, craft beer, ales and ciders, gin and cocktail bars - with plenty of veggie and vegan food options too.

You can enjoy all the culinary delights on offer at the festival, while listening to your fave tunes, delivered by a mix of tribute acts (Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and more) as well as some of the well known, big local talent - such as Chris Payne, Sixteen String Jack and Mother Ukers.

You can bag yourself a discount by pre-booking your tickets online before the event, and are from as little as £23 for a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) with under 5's going in for free - they’re a bargain!

For more information and to book your tickets, please visit Upton House Food and Music Festival.

THE ROARINGLY GOOD VALUE ONE: Jurassic Fields Festival

Dates: Friday 8th - Sunday 10th August 2025

A family of 4 can bag a 3 day festival + camping ticket for under £200 if purchased before 6th July at Super Early Bird prices.

Jurassic Fields Festival offers a three-day live music event from Friday 8th - Sunday 10th August at West Bay Fields, near Bridport, with on-site camping pitches and FREE shuttle bus services to local areas are available.

The festival is an absolute bargain, for a full bill of chart topping headline acts Reef, The Hoosiers, Space, Republica, Toploader, and Artful Dodger, plus plenty of kids entertainment and rides.  Tickets from - Adult day £25, Weekend £53, Kids 5+ £9 and Under 5’s Free.

A roaringly good value gathering for family and friends by the Jurassic Coast!  Grab your tickets or find out more on Jurassic Fields Festival.