Brimming with diversity. Paradise gardens is a heaven not just for the mary jane lovers out there but purveyors of underground and urban world.
Amongst this utopia is an absolute huge and diverse line up that caters to all tastes including entertainment such as fire spinners, urban culture, glass blowing demos, classics cars, skate parks and rave tents. Not to forget the CBD, Hemp & Lifestyle trade stalls and world food strip.
This festival is perfect for the free spirits and open minded (Over 18's only)
The UK's biggest Hydro and Urban Lifestyle show returned for it's second year in 2022, running from the 1st to the 5th September in Hockwold, Norfolk. Spread across 40 acres of peaceful countryside there's something for everyone at Paradise Gardens.
This year I signed up to be a part of the paradise gardens crew and experienced a behind the scenes of the UK's biggest Hydro and Urban Lifestyle show. A huge shout out to the organisers and the production team who worked super hard making it possible for this amazing five day show happen!
Although dubbed a Urban and Hyrdo Show, Paradise Gardens is a safe utopia that caters too all types of tastes, not just Mary jane lovers. Festivals and shows that celebrate the urban lifestyle including CBD, THC and Hemp are fair and few in England. Whereas if you were to travel to places such as, Spain you'd find the famous festival Spannabis, Founded in 2002. Or to Amsterdam where you’ll find the The High Times Cup, Founded in 1998. Over in Prague, Czech Republic you'll find the Cannafest, Founded in 2009, and across the pond in the USA you'll find The Emerald cup, Founded in 2003.
So, in essence here in the UK we don't have any big festivals or shows that celebrate CBD, THC Hemp and the urban lifestyle. But slowly, that's beginning to change and Paradise Gardens is one of the first and they’ve set the standards high.
What is Paradise Gardens?
Set in 40 Acres of paradise, this show is a real rural heaven. The beautiful Norfolk countryside creates the perfect backdrop for this festival. Camping under the extensive view of the stars at night in this part of the country is an experience like none other.
Being spread across four enormous fields, you’ll be coming home with some toned thighs for sure! This year the layout was a little different compared to the year before as there were two additional fields added this year due to the success of the show last year.
There were three types of tickets available. Individual day tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Full weekend camping tickets, and VIP tickets. Due to the lack of transport links my recommendation would be to spend that little bit extra for the full weekend camping which also means you can turn up on the Thursday so you have enough time to set up camp.
The first field was the entrance and parking. The second, was dedicated to quiet & disabled camping. The third field held the main arena which included the main tent, skatepark, classic car show, CBD and Traders market and the Street Food Vendors. Finally in the last field you could find VIP camping, live-in and normal camping and the dance tent.
The nearest shop is a good half an hour drive away so make sure you become prepared!
What was on at Paradise Gardens 2022?
Ali Bongo, The Main Sponsors of Paradise Gardens 2022
The main sponsors of Paradise Gardens 2022, were Ali Bongo. Their spin the wheel was definitely the highlight of the event (and I'm sure it was many others). For only £1 a spin, you could have unlimited spins. Plus there was simply no way you could lose! Each section meant you won; a rolling tray, lighter, grinder, t-shirt etc. People were loving it and dropping £20 a go!
If you haven't heard of Ali Bongo before they are the UK's #1 premium headshop located in Norwich. They've been serving as the UK's leading headshop for the last 25 years so they really know their stuff. If you ever need any smoking essentials head over to Ali Bongo who will have everything you need.
Paradise Gardens had so much on offer to get involved in. You could spend your day with a a few hours shopping in the urban traders markets. Get talking to other members of the community and get involved at each stall. Or wander over and take a browse around the classic car section and whilst your there why not try an infused iced slush from the tastebudz team.
Or, simply chill out on the spacious open field and watch the entertainment, including the decent size skatepark. When you get hungry (or once the munchies kick in 😉) take a stroll along the mouth-watering street food section.
Street Food Strip 🌮
The Street Food Strip held a multitude of selection including your basics; burgers, hot dogs and chips. So for someone fussy like myself, keeping yourself fed here at PG was not a problem. They had such an wide and extensive variation of food including Greek and Indian cuisine. All food, as expected were festival prices so make sure you bring enough spending money with you.
My first ever time trying a Gyro was from the lovely greek traders at paradise gardens and it was the most beautiful things I've tasted and I'm a hard person to please when it comes to food! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't craving my next Gyro.
Urban Traders Market 👣
Conversations were happening and there was a lovely buzz in the atmosphere, The urban traders market was lively and it was where the action was during the day. Each vendor had their own designated space for setting up their stall and were given full creative reign. We saw some stalls include decked out seating areas to encourage passers by and customers to sit down, have a conversation and relax.
The market had all different kinds of urban trading stalls including CBD, smoking essentials, witchy styled shops, crystal and Henna.
Located near the end of the Urban Traders Market you could find the education stall where Cancard were located. Speaking to them you had the chance to learn and chat about the UK's only legal cannabis card.
They also offered the opportunity to have your flower tested to see what really is in the stuff you smoke!
Live Music 🎶
The live music was mainly at night with two decent sized dance tents. This year we saw the likes of RatPack, Micky Finn, The Ragga Twins and Miss Maggo performing. Last years performers included Mr Traumatik, Congo Natty and General Levy.
Both tents included a bar selling spirits and ciders.
If you love a bit of an old school rave then the dance tent is definitely for you, filled with likeminded people all there to have a good old rave.
Fire Spinners - Piratechnics 🔥
If prefer a more chilled kind of evening, you can sit beneath the Norfolk stars whilst watching the mesmerising pyromaniac performers.
Fire spinning was a beautiful and immersive experience and this was my first time watching. I couldn’t take my eyes off them during the whole performance, they were so captivating. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed, and the pyrotechnics team made the crowd feel safe at all points. Throughout their performance the sound of awes from the seated crowd filled the air as we were all captivated.
Pros and Cons of Paradise Gardens 2022
Being a part of the crew and behind the scenes I was able to be more involved and in turn share some special behind the scene secrets with my followers. If you have any questions regarding Paradise Gardens please do message me either on here or through my socials.
If you are thinking of attending Paradise Gardens next year, here are the pro's and cons and some things that I would recommend:
Tickets
There are two types of tickets available, Day and Weekend Tickets. However, due to the nature of this show and the location, I would highly recommend purchasing a weekend camping ticket. I can imagine nothing worse than trying to find a way home at the end of the night from the middle of a field in the Norfolk countryside. Stumbling over into (hopefully your own) tent sounds like a much more enjoyable experience. It was for me at least.
If you can and have the access, I would also suggest printing out your ticket so you have a paper ticket instead of having it only on your mobile. The service is hit and miss in the middle of the countryside and we ran into a few problems trying to scan the tickets.
Service
As expected, the service in the field is near to non-existent. I would strongly advise making sure you bring cash so you have spending money as you can't rely on apple pay and online banking. Also make sure you don't need consistent access to service for the next 3 days, a 3 day social media break might be what you need?
Come Prepared
As with most festivals, make sure you come prepared with the essentials. The nearest shop to PG is a good half an hours drive and the food sold by the vendors is at festival prices. On site there is free tap water and hot showers as well as an ATM but no electric for the public.
Pros and Cons
There was so much to immerse yourself in and something for everyone at PG. They really tried to accommodate for everyone and create a diverse and welcoming feel - Which some of the attendees felt like the organisers tried to take on more than they could handle.
Due to being spread out over an impressive 40 acres, it unfortunately made the field look a lot more sparse and empty than it should of. This may also be due to the fact there was a lower attendance than last year. That being said there were always enough toilets and showers available and plenty of space.
Amongst the community a few suggestions have been made for next year. The first being that there were obvious signs of issues within the running of the event. This included vendors dropping out, some of the stages arriving late and artists not being tended too.
Some members of the community also mentioned that they struggled moving around from each activity/area. Many people who use CBD aren't able to stand for long periods of time and there wasn't noticeable and suitable seating areas readily available.
One thing I did find really positive about Paradise gardens (and took advantage of myself) is that they are understanding of peoples situations and offer the opportunity to volunteer if you aren't able to afford a ticket to attend the show. It's a requirement of 2 x 6 hour shifts plus a free meal each shift in exchange for a free weekend camping ticket. The crew are lovely and are extremely welcome and its a great way to get more involved in the community.
Add the date in your diary for next year!
I loved my time spent at paradise gardens and will definitely be attending next year in 2023.
For someone with social anxiety, volunteering and attending this show was a big achievement to me this year. I met some amazing people whilst I was there who have boosted my confidence and helped me believe in myself so much more. The community are full of wonderful and welcoming people who don't make you feel left out one bit.
There are certainly some areas the team need to improve on for the future years, but for only their second year and one of the first of their kind, I think and the majority of the community think they have done a wonderful job. I do hope we see the return of Paradise Gardens in 2023.
Once (and if) the early bird tickets have been released, I’ll be sure to let you guys know via my blog and social pages.
Have you attended Paradise Gardens before in either 2022 or 2023? How was your experience and would you attend again next year in 2023?
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