ABSTRACT
This chapter explores feelings, barriers and family conflict that might arise if the family's needs and expectations are not met, and hence their ability to attend festivals becomes limited. It provides a brief discussion surrounding the literature on families and festivals, including family time, motivations for attending festivals, and the role of children in the decision-making process as well as the potential positive and negative impacts of festival attendance upon family quality of life (QOL). The chapter presents methods for data collection and analysis, and discusses major themes around the question of how has family QOL changed as a result of attending festivals and events? It specifically focuses on the potential negative impacts upon the family's QOL through barriers to entry due to high ticket prices, conflicts arising within the family due to overstimulated children, and a lack of opportunities for family bonding. The chapter concludes with a set of practical recommendations for families, festival organisers, and other stakeholders.
