Paignton festival celebrates the life of young Hendrix

A festival took place at the Torbay Party Barn in Paignton on the weekend to celebrate the life of a two-year-old boy who tragically passed away in 2022 from a rare heart defect.

Hendrix Fest saw party-goers dance the day away at Stantor Barton Farm in Marldon, with live music, pig racing, fireworks and plenty of kids’ activities. There was also food and refreshments from local artisans and sellers.

Live music was provided by the likes of Headrush and Razz Lee, as well as a fireworks display from Skyburst, last year’s British fireworks champions. The event was sponsored by James Stark Sports Massage Therapy, Rev Comps and Wasteaway SW.

The £10 entrance fee went towards supporting ‘Marching on with Hendrix’, a charity established to support bereaved families going through child loss.

Now in its second year, the event was set up by Lauren Boswell and James Washbrook, who tragically lost their son Hendrix in February 2022 to hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare life-limiting congenital heart defect.

Hendrix was born at 38 weeks on 24 January 2020 in Bristol, and he was immediately rushed to intensive care to receive vital treatment. He received his first open heart surgery at just one week old and a second at four weeks.

After being taken home, Hendrix lived happily at home for 18 months with his family.

“We were told he was going to be weak and tired all the time,” James explained.

“But instead, he was full of life, laughing, giggling and smiling. He threw himself headfirst into everything he did.”

But on February 4 he was unexpectedly taken ill and rushed to Torbay Hospital. Tragically he died in the arms of his parents on February 10, 2022.

In spite of their heartbreak, Lauren and James Washbrook wanted to keep Hendrix’s memory alive.

They said: “We knew that we wanted to help others who are in the same situation as us. So it was a no-brainer when we had the opportunity to create Marching on with Hendrix.”

Marching On With Hendrix gives centralised support, advice, and guidance to bereaved parents immediately after the loss of a child.

Lauren and James continued: “When Hendrix passed away in Bristol Hospital, he was just two years old. We, as his parents, expected to find access to support and advice easy, but it simply did not exist. We knew we had to bring Hendrix home for a time before his funeral but had to fight and search to see how this could be done.

“There was also nowhere to access or find signposting for specialist bereavement counselling; we could not even find essential advice about what support was out there regarding arranging a funeral and that most funeral directors, crematoriums, and cemeteries offer a child’s funeral free of charge with just the ‘extras’ being charged for.

“We, as a charity, would love to change this for families who are going through the worst time of their lives.”

From this, HendrixFest was founded to have fun in the memory of Hendrix, all while raising money for the charity.

“Me and Laura both love music,” said James, “Hendrix took after us, you could play him any song and he’d be dancing around. So it just felt like the right thing to do. Hendrix would want us to have a big party.”

Find out more about Marching on with Hendrix here.