Rave & Play: How One Mum Built a Dance Floor for the Whole Family
Families Need a Rave Too
Ouseburn Festival brought a lot of surprises this year, but few were as joyful as Rave & Play, a family rave pop-up entertainment experiences hosted by Cake Stories.
Part club experience, part playdate, it's the creation of Newcastle Creative Producer Holly Irving, and it's also a preview of something much bigger heading to Morpeth this August.
Born From a Gap in Holly's Own Life
Rave & Play started as Holly's brainchild while she was pregnant with her first child. She now has two.
Image of Holly Irving discussing the origins for Rave and Play with Tyne for Business host, Ashleigh King.
📸 Image credit: Flamingo Heights Podcast Studio
"The idea was just to create events that were family-friendly, accessible, inclusive, where parents could come and listen to mature music, nothing condescending or cheesy... in an inclusive environment where children can play and families can socialise."
It came from a very personal place. Holly found that after having children, she stopped being able to access the live music and events that had always been part of her life.
Rather than accept this, she built the very thing she was missing.
It's the same instinct that led her to start dance classes for mums before Rave & Play existed. As Holly explains, most parent-and-baby classes are built around the baby, with the parent reduced to bystander. Hers flipped that:
"I wanted to create a mums and baby class where you both got to enjoy it."
Not Just a Party — A Space to Move
Holly's background is in contemporary dance and breakdancing, shaped by years of travel and picking up a whole range of styles along the way.
But Rave & Play isn't a structured dance class. Instead, sessions and events are filled with props (think bubbles, ribbons and pom-poms) designed to lower the barrier to dancing without anyone quite noticing:
"They get lost in that, and then they realise they're dancing before they even know it."
A team of artists work "from the inside out," moving among the families rather than performing at them, which keeps the whole thing interactive rather than a show to watch from the sidelines.
Why the Name ‘Rave and Play’?
Holly's aware the name might raise an eyebrow or two, although she’s quick to reframe it:
"Rave just means a coming together of people listening to music, and that can be any sort."
True to that, the lineup ranges well beyond electronic music, taking in local singer-songwriters and Afro artists alongside DJs and dance music, so there's genuinely something for every family.
What Families Actually Think
Sophie, festival attendee and mum, has been coming to Rave & Play since Holly first started running sessions at The Grove, including bringing her daughter and a group of friends to a Halloween session:
"I love how they're so focused around children but really involve the parents... it's a really good way to expose children to music that they wouldn't necessarily listen to, different to your typical nursery rhymes."
She also points out one of the more practical touches - sessions incorporate a pub on site, so parents can enjoy a drink and relax with other parents while their kids play.
From Pop-Up to Festival: Rave & Play Comes to Morpeth
The Ouseburn pop-up is a taste of where Rave & Play is heading next.
From 14th–17th August, Holly's taking the concept to West Brendridge Farm near Morpeth for a full festival weekend. This is described by Holly as a secluded, accessible farm with a hugely supportive owner.
The festival will run indoor and outdoor stages (a nod to reliably unreliable English weather): an outdoor "tractor stage" for DJs and live bands, and an indoor barn hosting three days of workshops spanning theatre, drumming, singing, dance, and ongoing craft sessions.
It's a natural evolution of the format Holly's been running as day events across Newcastle and with local councils, just bigger, and with the addition of camping.
Holly grew up camping and wanted to bring that outdoor, unplugged family experience together with music and creativity.
Independent, and Built on Ticket Sales
Rave & Play festival is entirely self-funded through ticket sales - there's no sponsorship or external financial backing yet (although they are looking for sponsorship if you’re interested!). Holly is candid about what that means in practice: family, friends, volunteers and artists have all given their time freely to make it happen, though she's clear that shouldn't have to be the case long-term.
"The more tickets we sell, the more artists we can employ and the more things we can put on for families."
With over 20 years in community facilitation behind her, Holly sees the festival as a way of putting that experience directly back into the community she's built.
Key Takeaways
A personal mission: Rave & Play was born from Holly's own experience of losing access to live music after becoming a parent.
Genuinely inclusive: Music spans electronic, singer-songwriter and multi-cultural artists, not just "the boom boom stuff," as Holly puts it.
Community-tested: Regulars like Sophie return again and again, valuing an event that includes parents as much as children.
Bigger this August: The Ouseburn pop-up leads into a full festival at West Brendridge Farm, Morpeth, 14th–17th August.
Independent and ticket-funded: Every ticket sold goes directly toward paying artists and expanding what the festival can offer.
Support Rave & Play This August
If you liked this taster, the first Rave and Play festival event takes place this August with camping, live music, workshops, and a genuinely family-first festival built by someone who knows exactly what’s been missing. Tickets are on sale now.
