Sydney Children's Festival | BIG

Our friends over at BIG will be at the Sydney Children's Festival today..... say hi to them at the Lawn library from 12pm.  Join them in making a tiny inside/outside portrait or create a response on a side by side postcard.

Also on todays list of fun things to do at the festival includes Hula hooping, KAPOW!, Paper, Torch Torch! workshop, Disco - Au Go Go  ++

The festival runs until the 28 September at the Seymour Centre.

Bring it on - 2010

Toumani and Symmetric Orchestra (Youri Lenquette) Paris

Lots of exciting theatre, music, art and film for kids and their families in the New Year.

The Kids in the House program has another eclectic mix of Australian and International performances for all ages to enjoy...the usual baby proms, Little Big Shots and other highlights include Helena and the journey of the Hello...from Terrapin Puppet Theatre directed by the talented Frank Newman, Hansel and Gretel from Danish Theatre Company - Gruppe 38 (we caught their beautiful production of The Little Match Girl), Salt Bush ( A journey through Aboriginal Australia) and so much more...check out the program for full details.

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The Sydney Festival also has a great program in January...Music Alive: Zeeko, One Small Step by David Hastings, The Arrival inspired by Shaun Tans beautiful book and a big favourite amongst families... Circus Oz

Exhilarating performances within the festival include> Toumani Diabate , The Manganiyar Seduaction, Bale de Rue...

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Masterpieces from Paris Exhibition opens at the National Gallery of Australia and runs until April 2010.

Showcasing 112 Post Impressionist masterpieces from artists including Van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Cezanne, Seruat and more, all from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

The gallery is also hosting a wide range of childrens activties to compliment the exhibition.

Check out the programs, see a few shows and enjoy what is going to be an exciting year.

Helena and the Journey of the Hello Highlights

2009 Sydney Festival - Jan 10 -31

Tickets are now on sale for the 2009 Sydney Festival. The majority of the family events take place in Riverside, Parramatta. If you wanted something closer to the city you can check out Kids in the Garden at the THE FAMOUS SPIEGELTENT or get the kids up early for Dawn Chorus.

Other family highlights include:

Dan Zanes and friends : all ages - Jan 11-12
Join Dan Zanes, former lead singer of rock group The Del Fuegos, his Brooklyn-based band and eclectric music guests as they perform irresistible grooves inspired by all kinds of music from folk roots to early rock ‘n’ roll. Having incited a pint-sized Beatles-like mania throughout the USA, now Dan Zanes brings his rousing family gig to Sydney.

The tragical life of cheeseboy: 8 year and over - Jan 11- 12 + Jan 13-15
Inside a magical travelling theatre tent, discover a storyteller who shares an enchanting and timeless tale.

The Promise: 6 year and over - January 28-31
The Promise is a spectacular fusion of circus and puppetry – dive into a young boy’s imagination while he travels to the far-flung edges of the world with his toy elephant and favourite book. Sparked by a tragedy, he leaves behind the dusty Australian outback, finding new friends and adventure along the way.

Sydney Children's Festival | CarriageWorks 27 Sept - 11 Oct

Sydney Children’s Festival is Sydney’s first official arts-based Festival for kids. It’s spans all artforms with contemporary and indigenous dance workshops, puppetry, visual arts and cartooning workshops, photography competition for kids, art exhibitions by kids, and a range of free, interactive installations and activities around CarriageWorks, plus two massive weeks of performances, special events and talks by popular children’s authors.

The focus of the festival is all on the child as artist and audience – it focuses more on encouraging the child to participate, rather than simply entertaining. Many aspects of the festival also focus on shared experiences between parent and child.

Festival highlights include
MEET DINOSAURS At The Petting Zoo meet Erth’s awesome prehistoric creatures, from cute baby dinos to teeth-gnashing giants. Ancient life-like dinosaurs are alive and mostly friendly (!) in this fun, educational and unique performance event that will delight children of all ages.

THE MEGAPHONE PROJECT
An installation of 24 megaphones...They are large, move, make a sound and a re very red, but they need you to make them come to life! Find out what happens to your voice when you lose it, and follow the sound trail of the big red megaphones as they migrate through the space.

WORKSHOPS
Hip Hop with Nick Power - Contemporary dance with Kate Champion - ATYP Documentary and Television reporting - Cartooning with Matt Ottley - Circus and Aerial skills - Visual arts workshops with Bess O'Malley from Pine St

COMPETITION
Calling all budding photo-journalists! The Festival are searching for the most talented up and coming snappers to win the chance to be an Official Festival Photographer… win a workshop with leading Australian photographer, Lisa Tomasetti, and your images exhibited at the festival.
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27 September - 11 October 10am - 4pm Mon - Sat
CarriageWorks 245 Wilson Street Eveleigh http://www.carriageworks.com.au/
To see a complete schedule of the festival visit the Official Festival Website.

Ipswich Art Gallery Holiday Workshops - QLD

Ipswich Art Gallery is holding a number of free workshops for kids these school holidays. The workshops will cover circus skills, drumming, recycled art and relaxation/meditation. You do not need to book your attendance at the workshops which span the period of 30 June - 11 July. See this page on the Ipswich Art Gallery website for more details.

Au Revoir Parapluie - Sydney Festival

I took my five year old son to see Au Revoir Parapluie. There are no matinees so we went to an 8pm show. Fortunately there was no interval and the show finished well before 10pm. He was entranced.

I wished that I could have taken him to the previous show Bright Abyss as this was a funnier show. There were similar performance traits in Au Revoir Parapluie as there were in Bright Abyss however from my memory in Bright Abyss it was done for comic effect and in Au Revoir Parapluie it became more dance orientated. Beautiful and fascinating to watch but not so funny.
There was some humour and my son eagerly retold these elements. He was also fascinated by the large hooks and thick ropes that adorned the stage. And enamoured by the sword play that occurred.

He asked a lot of questions during the show so I apologise if anyone reading this was there on the same night and sitting near us. I was unable to explain to him why so many shuttlecocks fell to the stage at the end nor was I able to answer a lot of his questions and my suggestion that sometimes things were just beautiful to watch and didn’t always make complete sense was not entirely satisfying.

The staff were very accommodating of the younger members of the audience. My sister supplied my son with ear plugs which were very effective in dulling down the sound which is usually too loud for him but I did wish I’d bought a booster seat with me.
All in all it was a successful night out and as I rolled his sleeping body this way and that to get his pyjamas on I felt I was seeing elements of the show in my own life and I went to bed feeling nourished which is surely what good theatre should be about (sometimes?).