Three friends who lost a total of 36 stone set up the UK’s first ever weight loss festival – featuring strengthened beds and chairs, larger sized toilets and even plastic surgery consultations.
Donna Musson, 43, Anastasia Morris, 34, and Pamela Phillips, 42, first met at an event after going through different bariatric surgery journeys to lose weight.
After bonding over their respective journeys, they quickly shared in the view that there were few opportunities for those with similar experiences to connect.
From there, they began devising plans for Barifest – the UK’s first weight loss surgery festival – designed to welcome any individuals who have undergone a physical transformation thanks to surgery, weight loss jabs or dieting.
The colourful festival ran from May 15 to 17 in Bath and hosted up to 75 attendees who paid between £60 for a day pass, to £229 for a full weekend of camping.
It was sponsored by Booking Surgery, who offer surgical and non-surgical ‘affordable’ treatments in Turkey.
Pamela, from Wolverhampton, who lost 9st 7lbs in a few months following a gastric sleeve surgery in 2023, said: ‘It can be very lonely, having weight loss surgery and then going back to reality with your normal friends.
‘So Barifest was about bringing people together as a family, and not feeling embarrassment or shame.
‘This is just the beginning and it’s so exciting – Barifest will take over the world!’
Donna Musson, 43, Anastasia Morris, 34, and Pamela Phillips, 42, who lost a total of 36 stone, have hosted the UK’s first ever weight loss festival – featuring exercise classes, karaoke and even plastic surgery consultations
The colourful festival ran from May 15 to 17 in Bath and had up to 75 attendees who paid between £60 for a day pass, to £229 for a full weekend of camping
The event was sponsored by Booking Surgery, who offer surgical and non-surgical ‘affordable’ treatments in Turkey
Her fellow organisers have also declared that this is just the start of their plans to expand the festival, and have since taken to Instagram to announce that it will run again next year.
Several guests praised the festival for being incredibly inclusive – offering smaller food options, strengthened beds and chairs, and even larger sized toilets to ensure it was accessible to all sizes and shapes.
Anastasia, a logistics administrator from Llanymynech, Wales, dropped from 32st to 14st 9lbs after gastric bypass surgery in August 2023.
And Donna slimmed down from 20st 7lbs to 11st 6lbs after a gastric sleeve surgery in May 2021.
Reflecting on the unexpected success of the festival, Donna said: ‘There were people who only just had their surgery – it wasn’t just a field full of slim people.
‘Even me, Pam and Anastasia are all at different stages – I’m at the end of my journey after skin removal surgery, Pam has lost weight and is looking into skin removal surgery, and Anastasia is still losing weight.
‘Food wise, we had lots of options – full portions, half portions and soup – so everyone at any stage of their journey had a choice.’
The event included crafting, karaoke, exercise classes, live music, wellness workshops and ‘boozy bingo’ to boot.
Their headline DJ was Shortee Blitz – who has worked with the likes of Jay-Z and Mariah Carey – and various plastic surgeons who did consultations on-site.
The event included crafting, karaoke, exercise classes, live music, wellness workshops and ‘boozy bingo’ to boot. Their headline DJ was Shortee Blitz – who has worked with the likes of Jay-Z and Mariah Carey
Anastasia, a logistics administrator from Llanymynech, Wales, dropped from 32st to 14st 9lbs after gastric bypass surgery in August 2023
Donna slimmed down from 20st 7lbs to 11st 6lbs after a gastric sleeve surgery in May 2021. Reflecting on the unexpected success of the festival, Donna said: ‘There were people who only just had their surgery – it wasn’t just a field full of slim people’
Pamela, from Wolverhampton, who lost 9st 7lbs in a few months following a gastric sleeve surgery in 2023, said: ‘It can be very lonely, having weight loss surgery’
Describing the entire day as ‘uplifting’, Anastasia added that ‘nobody was judging loose skin so there was no need to feel self-conscious’.
‘If you’ve always been skinny you don’t think about things like whether the chairs and beds will fit you, or whether you can get in the toilet,’ she added.
‘But we truly understand what it’s like, and it was the best weekend making memories.’
Taking to Instagram to share the success of the day, Bari Festival’s post read: ‘Nine months ago Barifest was just a silly little idea and a “shall we?” …This weekend we stood there watching it become a reality.
‘Literal blood, sweat and tears went into this with nothing but love, passion and soul because this community deserved something more and we did it.
‘I genuinely don’t think the three of us will ever get over seeing something we dreamed about come to life like this.
‘ This is only the beginning of something so much bigger. Believe in yourself, because this surgery can truly change your whole life.’
