From the world premiere of Erth’s A Mazing giant labyrinth, to CIRCA’s international smash hit 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes and Imaginary Theatre’s mesmerising performances of children’s literary hit Tashi; the second annual Sydney Children’s Festival at CarriageWorks gets set to amaze, awe and inspire children from 5 – 12 years old, and their families like no other this October!

A must-do school holiday experience, Sydney Children’s Festival brings out the artist in every child. Admission to the Festival is free and runs from Monday 5 to Saturday 17 October. With oodles of free activities, workshops, exhibitions and some ticketed events, the Festival is geared to engage the senses, stimulate the imagination and ignite every child’s passion for creative arts.

Following a hugely successful debut in 2008, where over 10,000 children and their families joined the fun and creativity; the two-week October Festival commences with an Opening Concert and Party on Saturday 3 October, followed by Circus inspired week one from Monday 5-10 and Storytelling themed week two from Monday 12-17.

The feast of activities on offer encourage kids to grab their thinking caps while the masters of music, art and performance teach amazing new skills, and fun ways for kids to express themselves through theatre, circus, visual arts, storytelling, music, film, creative sustainability and dance. Kids can get their face on film, get hip with a hula hoop, be swept up in a story, fly, fall, or learn to flip… and make a mess in the mass of art and craft found in every corner of CarriageWorks.

The Festival is CarriageWorks’ inspired vision to deliver exceptional creative performing and visual arts activities for children in Sydney. The 2009 Sydney Children’s Festival is set to deliver on this promise. A full festival program will be revealed in late August on the Festival’s website www.sydneychildrensfestival.com. Sign up for regular alerts to keep ahead of program of activities and special events.

KEY FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

· Opening Party (Sat 03.08.09, 2:30pm-7pm) with specially assembled Sydney Children’s Festival Choir & Kids Dance Party
· World Premiere of A Mazing giant labyrinth full with peculiar things to poke, prod, play with and peek through! From the makers of last year’s sell-out show The Petting Zoo.
· 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes – CIRCA’s international smash hit, for children and their families.
· Imaginary Theatre’s Tashi, performances based on popular kids books by Anna Fienberg.
· Legs on the Wall workshops by world famous Australian physical theatre company
· Kids Community Garden Project, hosted by renowned sustainability teacher and horticulturalist, Lizzie Rose
· Traditional Indigenous music program with free interactive activities.
· Giant public mural project and visual arts workshop program
· Circus drop-in room for kids to learn acrobatic tricks, hula ‘til their heart’s content and run wild with circus mayhem

Festival Opening Party kicks off at 2:30pm with an exciting family concert starring the Sydney Children’s Festival Choir – exclusively assembled to perform new music by choral masters Carl Pannuzzo and Penny Larkins; live music from young Indigenous Australian folk/jazz duo Microwave Jenny; and many other special guests.

From 4pm kids and their adult friends join the Festival’s first-ever afternoon Kids Dance Party (or baby rave), and rage into the early hours of the evening until 7pm. The ultimate Festival kick-start for kids to burn off energy, and for parents who miss their clubbin’ days is complete with a live DJ spinning the latest tunes, old skool dance music anthems to get everyone under the disco ball, dance instructors, lighting, and projections. Babies, children and parents hit the dance floor together, with red cordial on hand, a chill-out zone, pram parking and more.

Crazy circus inspired Week one kicks off on Monday 5 October, with CIRCA’s 46 Circus Acts in 46 Minutes, where the impossible happens! An international runaway hit and breathtaking, heart stopping show, intrepid acrobats battle the clock as they bend, fly, juggle and balance with dazzling skill. Set to upbeat music, this is circus without the boring bits!

Week two brings alive the magic of storytelling, with popular tales told through mesmerising stage performances. Headlining with Imaginary Theatre’s Tashi, a magical adaptations of Anna Fienberg’s vibrant stories about a boy’s awesome adventures, designed especially for 4 – 10 year olds, a world of pirates, princesses, demons and giants unfolds.

Running throughout the Festival, highlights also include: Erth’s Amazing Room! Where kids can leave their adult friends at the door and enter the most amazing room ever: a 30 minute maze for the senses, inhabited by artists, performers and surprise guests. Each day of the Festival, indigenous artists or elders welcome kids into The Yarnin’ Circle to engage in a good old fashioned chin-wag; swap and share legends, parables and personal experiences; play games, tell jokes, and hear Dreaming stories.

CarriageWorks inventive Living Library introduces ‘books’ as real people with remarkable tales to tell; and Storytelling Corner has loads of inspiring and renowned children’s authors reading extracts from their books.

The Real Thing – a giant kaleidoscope that explodes into a multiplied world of weird, warped and beautiful shapes, colours and patterns, allows kids to watch in awe as they discover optical illusion. And the magical Wishing Tree – a very special tree that needs children’s hopes and wishes to grow, starts with a leafy bed of treasures to fold, decorate and hang; and blossoms throughout the Festival into a beautiful sky high canopy across the CarriageWorks foyer.

While Gardening Workshops show kids the basics of tending a garden, growing edible herbs and plants, getting friendly with a beanstalk, making portraits of cheeky garden creatures, and special secrets to encourage butterflies, frogs and lizards to hang out at their place.

Circus Zoo Drop in Room, Circus Skills Workshops and Legs on the Wall Acrobatics Workshops will get kids bodies moving with daredevil fun and games. The Taste Trail, for all junior foodies and their adult friends, presents an adventure across tables and taste buds, around the Eveleigh Farmers Markets with Master Chef Tom Kime, ending with a delicious healthy lunch! And aspiring artist can be challenged and inspired by Bess O’Malley’s (Program Manager at Pine Street Creative Arts Centre) unique series of Visual Arts Workshops.

Located conveniently in the old Eveleigh Rail Yards on Wilson Street, Redfern; CarriageWorks is just a hop, skip and a jump from Redfern Station, and is easy to access by bus as well. With free onsite parking onsite at 229 Wilson Street, opposite Queen Street, and free activities running all day, the Sydney Children’s Festival is the best holiday fun for kids going this October.

Sydney Children’s Festival 2009| Festival Information

FESTIVAL DATES 5 – 17 October
OPENING PARTY Saturday 3 October
OPENING TIMES 10am – 4pm, Monday – Saturday. Closed Sundays.
ADMISSION Admission into the Festival is free. Events are free or ticketed via www.ticketmaster.com.au
VENUE Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, NSW, 2015
(Nearest Train: Redfern or Macdonaldtown)
MORE INFO www.sydneychildrensfestival.com | www.carriageworks.com.au | 02 8571 9099

Editors Notes: Check out the website to keep up-to-date with new free activities, workshops and performances. www.sydneychildrensfestival.com