The National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) has crowned ‘DadFest’ as 2025's Best Small Event.
DadFest is a festival that aims to get dads and their children out and about in nature, hosted in various locations across the UK, and run by The Dads’ Network CIC, a social enterprise based in South Devon. In 2025 it was held at South Cliff Holiday Park in Bridlington, owned and operated by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, for the first time.
The festival offers a weekend full of activities for all father figures and their children, including its highlight event - the ‘World Dad Dancing Championship’, hotly contested by grooving dads, much to the embarrassment of their kids.
Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding of Yorkshire Council's cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said:
“DadFest is a fantastic opportunity for dads to connect with their children, and its wonderful to see The Dads’ Network’s hard work recognised. We look forward to bringing the festival back to South Cliff Holiday Park next year and welcoming more families to this great event.”
Dr. Ian Blackwell, The Dads’ Network CEO added:
“What an amazing evening. As a small social enterprise, it was hugely rewarding to be recognised by the national festival and events industry. Being awarded ‘Best Small Event’ in the country is an immense accolade and reflects the hard work of staff, volunteers and suppliers who supported DadFests in Devon, Sussex, Wales, Yorkshire and Derbyshire during the year.”
Susan Tanner, CEO of NOEA, said:
“The calibre of this year’s winners shows the innovation, passion and talent that continues to shape the UK’s outdoor events industry. Judges remarked that standards across the board had risen dramatically, making this year’s decisions the most challenging yet.”
“Against this backdrop of exceptional quality, the evening’s winners provided a powerful snapshot of an industry setting new benchmarks in excellence. DadFest stood out because of the huge amount of support for this event and the impact it has on the dads and children who attend.”.
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