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The staff of Bristol Zoo Gardens are a hardy bunch. Whilst almost everyone else in the South West furiously ran for cover as the clouds gathered and the rain fell, they were busy staging their annual festival, Boogie for Brizzle.

With big-name Bristol natives such as The Scrub, Kid Carpet and Glitzy Baghags all on parade, as well a whole host of other activities to enjoy, the 2007 event, held in aid of the Mad for Madagascar campaign, looked certain to get Bristol back in its festival stride.

Even the dismal weather in Bristol on Friday couldn't dampen the party atmosphere, and after a slow start, the event started to warm up, thanks to something just a touch on the wild side.

The Bristol duo, known to their friends as Pete and Rich, entertained the crowd for almost an hour with their incredible combination of acrobatics, fire and the pink rubber Marigold of death (don't ask), and were certainly the surprise highlight of the day.

"We do the show all over the world and in seven languages, but sometimes it's really nice to come somewhere where no-one really knows what is going to happen and just go for it," said Pete, once he'd got his trousers back on.

As the sun began to dip, it was time for the bands to take to the main stage. Thankfully for The Glitzy Baghags, saxophonist Joe arrived just in time to join them, having valiantly fought his way down the monsoon-ravaged M5.

"I'd have been better off in a boat," was his only comment when asked by snickering band-mates how his journey had been.

The funzone

The Baghags took the crowd "into the funzone" with their gypsy-tinged skiffle; megahit-in-the-making 'Hasselhoff' turned the stage into a jam packed dance-floor as kitchen sink player (yes, really!) Simon invited "all those having a dance at the front to come on up".

As the Baghags finished their blistering set, the heavens opened and the crowd rushed for the nearest shelter available. Thankfully, that turned out to be in front of the Other Stage, where a troupe of seven break-dancers span, flipped, and generally defied gravity to the pumping sounds of The Chemical Brothers, entertaining everyone until it was again safe to venture outside.

As he warmed up the crowd with a craftily remixed version of the infamous Bristol Carpet Factory radio advert, some of the older patrons looked mildly distressed at the arsenal of sound being fired in their direction, but the hardcore fans surrounded the stage and raved enthusiastically.

Amongst the highlights of the set was one of Kid's "most famousest hits", the cleverly constructed neo-ballad Your Love, which brought wry smiles to many faces. After some hi-jinks with a karaoke machine and sterling work by Bill the sound man to keep the feedback demons at bay, Kid Carpet left us with his 2008 Eurovision entry Can't Stop The Pop, and in a swirl of bleeps and a volley of handclaps was gone as quickly as he'd come. Except with ten times more applause.

Whilst the festival headliners, two-tone ska heroes The Scrub, set up on stage, compere Matt Barnard "filled two minutes" with his party piece trick.

Hastily stripping down to Union Jack boxer shorts and a string vest, Barnard drank a pint of lager... with a two-foot pipe... whilst it was balanced on his forehead... whilst juggling three flaming clubs.

I was penciled in to do this trick alongside him, but I forgot my equipment - so sadly, he had to go it alone. I think that was definitely for the best.

Perfect end

As the fire alarm blared on the main stage thanks to Barnard and his torches, The Scrub set about igniting the crowd's spirit too; their infectious old-school ska was as sharp as their suits and ties, and the perfect end to a great festival.

Justine Haydock, head of marketing at the zoo, was delighted with how the festival had gone: "I'm really pleased! Obviously the weather has had a bit of an impact because there's not thousands of people here, but it's been just lovely".

From the plate spinning to the posing pouches and from the flamenco to the flaming torches, Boogie for Brizzle had everything that a great festival needs, and I will certainly be back to boogie on down at Bristol Zoo next year.