Spark Festival News
The Spark Children’s Arts Festival is delighted to be naming two new Play Spaces in city parks with free celebrations of music, games, storytelling and puppetry.
The two new Open Minded Play Spaces – one on Aylestone Meadows and the other on Braunstone Park – have been designed for younger children and families, as landscaped areas that blend in with the natural environment. As well as places to play in, the Spaces are also suitable for small-scale performances or as outdoor classrooms. They have been developed in consultation with local children and residents, as part of Leicester City Council’s Play Improvement Strategy, funded through the Big Lottery.
There will be a naming ceremony at the Aylestone Meadows Play Space will on Friday 9th July – between 4.30pm and 5.30pm with music, games in the meadow and a special appearance of the Apple King puppet.
The Braunstone Park ceremony will be held between 12pm and1pm on Saturday 17th July, with lots of stories and games. Come along to celebrate the official naming of the new Spaces - everyone is welcome! Visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk or call 0116 261 6893 for more details.
Our competition to win one of two £50 Mothercare vouchers if you are a fan of the Spark Facebook Page closes on Monday 28th.
To enter beome a fan of our page at www.facebook.com/SparkArtsFestival
Complete the sentence "My family enjoys the Spark Festival because...." and post it to our wall. Closing date 28th June. (Not open to Spark employees.)
The leicester Mercury and The Spark Childresn's Arts Festival are calling for families to send in photos of their youngsters having fun during the two week event.
People who submit pictures are in with a chance of winning two great prizes. First prize is a family meal for up to four people at Carluccio's in Leicester. The second prize is free return tickets for two adults and two children anywhere on the East Midlands Trains network.
Maybe they will get marvelously messy at Babyfest, get loud and lyrical at the Spin poetry workshop or build beautiful birds, bugs and beasts at the sculpture day at Belgrave Hall.
Whatever your children get up to, The Mercusry would love to see your sparky photos.
The closing date is June 16th. Entries must be of your own children, and sent with permission that they may be reproduced in the pages of the Mercury and on an internet slide show on the website.
Send your entries to picturedesk@leicestermercury.co.uk marked "Sparks Photo Competition".
We're delighted to announce the five winning writers of this year's storywriting competition - The Adventures of Little O. They are Josh Patel, Kulsum Hafeji, Siena Fernandes, Hadia Hussain and Callum Ferguson, congratulations to them all! We had 127 entries altogether and 19 of these were shortlisted for our judges. The panel included author Bali Rai and two competition winners from last year, Noah Hopley-Jones and Louisa Smith. There was a lot of lively discussion, only a few arguments, and we had a really enjoyable afternoon reading some fabulous tales. Little O has taken on many guises, including a (rather small) superhero, an astronaut, a milkman, a knight, a fish, a letter, a doughnut - and (we loved this one) an orange. The stories will be recorded by Speakeasy Theatre actors at Takeover Radio on Friday and broadcast during the festival. Well done to everyone who wrote in and make sure you keep on writing!
This year The Spark Children's Arts Festival presents a new programme of arts performances for the very young. 'First Spark' features performances and events for pre-school children and babies from some of the leading theatre companies in this field. The Spark returns to Leicestershire from 31st May until 13th June with two weeks of theatre, puppetry, dance, music, poetry and art all especially for children. First Spark reflects The Festival's focus on the early years for 2010. With work which is often experimental, blurring the boundaries between performance and play, First Spark will take young children on a magical sensory journey.
Live performance art is a powerful emotional and learning experience for young people. The Spark Children's Arts Festival brings some of the best companies in the world creating work especially for children to the region. First Spark performances will engage the very young with vivid, colourful productions which are highly interactive and playful. The Spark is delighted to present Oily Cart's 'Drum' at Embrace Arts at the RA Centre. Drum is a multi-sensory show for babies and children from 6 months old to two years. Drum is an innovative performance which features drum beats and shadows to mesmirize the very young. Oily Cart's highly acclaimed theatre style uses stunning visual effects and original live music to address the senses without relying on verbal language or traditional narrative.
The Colours of Water by Italian company La Baracca will be performed at City Children's Centres from 7th until 10th June. The play is a spell-binding interaction of colour, light, water and sound performed by two actors using simple props and just a few words. Suitable from 6 months to three years, The Colours of Water sees the characters trying to catch a rainbow and later invites children into the playing space to explore the water and props themselves. The wonderful Belgian dance company Nat Gras presents Sheeptight an interactive dance theatre performance for children aged two to four at The Peepul Centre on 1st and 2nd June. When the moon appears there are still lots of jobs to do, such as washing faces and telling stories. At the end of the performance, children are invited into a sensorial playground featuring materials linked with the story. Toddlers can play with a soap slide, a mini forest of books and a moon projector plus make up their own dances. At Curve The Seasons of Pallina from Teatro all' Improvviso will delight children aged two to eight years with a captivating visual journey of a little red ball (pallina). From 9th to 11th June, children can enjoy this innovative company which uses movement and vigorous music to immerse the audience in a vision of a child's colourful imagination.
There are so many events at this year's Spark for under fives. The brilliant Babyfest returns to De Montfort Hall for a full day of fun – it's a mini-festival for mini-people! With a Play Garden, messy marquee, two music marquees and a chill out room plus shopping and eating it's a baby's dream day out! Curve will host a fantastic 'creative movement hour' called Turned on its Head on 2nd and 3rd June at 10.30am. Perfect for wriggly bottoms and dancing feet aged 18 months to four years, the session will give parent and child the move around and engage with the space. Sliding on behinds, jumping, rolling and tumbling or just standing still – all little movers and groovers are welcome. There are also popular names and well-known tales such as The Gruffalo at De Montfort Hall plus Banyan Theatre's puppetry performance of The Princess and the Pea for ages two to four at smaller local venues.
Festival Director Ellen Bianchini looks forward to this year's First Spark programme:
“ I'm very excited about this year's Festival and in particular the First Spark programme for the early years. When young children watch live performances they are stimulated in so many ways and First Spark will be a wonderful experience for little ones. The companies coming to this year's Festival create powerfully engaging yet fun and playful performances and we are delighted to welcome them to be part of The Spark 2010.”
The Spark Children's Arts Festival launched its brilliant new brochure on Friday with a spectacular afternoon of free puppetry fun for kids at Highcross Leicester. Visitors to Highcross found the Lower Mall transformed with 'Puppetry Applenty' to mark the arrival of this year's Spark brochure. Hundreds of people picked up their copy of the new brochure packed full of arts events for children.
Highcross hosted a fantastically fun afternoon of puppetry performances and workshops between 12.30pm and 5pm on Friday. Children enjoyed traditional marionettes, sock puppetry, booth shows and innovative performances for one at a time. The wonderfully quirky Pushmi-Pullyu delighted youngsters as it wandered around Highcross going nowhere fast! But the highlight of the day was the incredible giant puppet 'Little O' which children had been making and decorating since Wednesday. She was brought to life for a magical musical parade around the Lower Mall, followed by a crowd of children and families. Keep an eye out for 'Little O' because she will be travelling to Spark events during the Festival. She will be making her first appearance at Babyfest at De Montfort Hall which kicks off The Spark fun on 31st May - bank holiday Monday.
The Spark's Festival Director Ellen Bianchini was thrilled with the launch event:
“The launch was a great afternoon of fun for all the family and a wonderful way to announce that The Spark is back for 2010. This year's Festival is more exciting than ever and now that the brochure is available children and their parents can start planning their Spark.”
SPARK FESTIVAL LAUNCHES EXCITING NEW BROCHURE & BRINGS A MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER TO LIFE
'Little O' is coming........
The Spark Children's Arts Festival is launching its fun-packed brochure at Highcross Leicester this Easter, with free activities across three days. From 7th until 9th April, Highcross will be alive with 'puppetry aplenty' to launch this year's Festival.
From Wednesday 7th until Friday the 9th April during Easter half term children can come along to the Lower Mall at Highcross outside Debenhams for free puppetry fun. On Wednesday and Thursday, between 12.30pm and 5pm children will be able to help construct and accessorise a mysterious giant child puppet with the help of leading puppet maker Sue Pyecroft and her team. 'Little O' is coming... Friday 9th is The Spark brochure launch, and to celebrate, Highcross will host puppetry workshops and performances throughout the afternoon. At the end of the day we’ll bring 'Little O' to life to lead an exciting parade at 5pm.
At The Spark launch on Friday 9th children can enjoy puppetry in all shapes and sizes. The quirky Pushmi-Pullyu will be amusing passers-by and proving that two heads aren't always better than one! The wonderfully bizarre two-headed walkabout 'ridden' by two comic jockeys will be going nowhere fast around Highcross on the 9th.
Sock Snatcher performances and workshops will delight children throughout the afternoon. Join 'Lefty the Sock' in a heroic search for his missing 'sole' mate. Treasure Trove's Puppet Treasury will thrill kids with colourful, engaging shows using a delightful mix of glove, rod and hand puppet plus traditional marionettes. The incredible Rock Bottom performance from Clydebuilt Puppets will amaze children as one by one they get to peer into a tiny magical underwater world which comes alive before their eyes.
Highcross is supporting The Spark Children's Arts Festival as Launch Event Partner.
Sam French, marketing events co-ordinator at Highcross, said:
“The Spark brings together some of the best performing artists from across the country and Highcross is thrilled to be working with the Festival again this year. Highcross is a big supporter of the biggest cultural initiatives in Leicestershire and we hope as many children as possible will be able to get involved and enjoy our three-day puppet party.”
In addition to its role as launch partner, Highcross is building up to The Spark event partnership by encouraging all budding artists to draw or paint their favourite puppet in a competition to win a Nintendo DS. Children can enter by downloading an entry pack from www.highcrossleicester.com and submitting their very own masterpiece at Highcross’ Customer Information Desk before the workshops start on 7th April.
Families can drop in or stay for the afternoon at Highcross with so much free puppetry fun to enjoy.
This Saturday is World Children's Theatre Day and to mark the event, The Spark Children's Arts Festival is announcing a new programme of arts performances for the very young. 'First Spark' is a special programme for pre-school children and babies featuring some of the leading theatre companies in this field. The Spark returns to Leicestershire from 31st May until 13th June with two weeks of theatre, puppetry, dance, music, poetry and art all especially for children. First Spark reflects The Festival's focus on the early years for 2010. With work which is often experimental, blurring the boundaries between performance and play, First Spark will take young children on a magical sensory journey.
World Children's Theatre Day celebrates live performance art as a powerful emotional and learning experience for young people. The Spark Children's Arts Festival brings some of the best companies in the world creating work especially for children to the region each year. First Spark performances will engage the very young with vivid, colourful productions which are highly interactive and playful. The Spark is delighted to present Oily Cart's 'Drum' at The Richard Attenborough Centre. Drum is a multi-sensory show for babies and children from 6 months old to two years. The innovative performance features drum beats and shadow play to mesmirize the very young. Oily Cart's highly acclaimed theatre style uses stunning visual effects and original live music to address the senses without relying on verbal language or traditional narrative.
The Colours of Water by Italian company La Baracca will be performed at Children's Centres from 7th until 10th June. The play is a spell-binding interaction of colour, light, water and sound performed by two actors using simple props and just a few words. Suitable from 6 months to three years, The Colours of Water sees the characters trying to catch a rainbow and later invites children into the playing space to explore the water and props themselves.
The wonderful Belgian dance company Nat Gras presents Sheeptight! or 'Schaapwel!' an interactive dance theatre performance for children aged two to four at The Peepul Centre on 1st and 2nd June. When the moon appears there are still lots of jobs to do, such as washing faces and telling stories. At the end of the performance, children are invited into a sensorial playground featuring materials linked with the story. Toddlers can play with a soap slide, a mini forest of books and a moon projector plus make up their own dances.
At Curve The Seasons of Pallina from Teatro all' Improvviso will delight children aged two to eight years with the captivating visual journey of a little red ball (pallina). From 9th to 11th June, children can enjoy this world renowned company which uses movement and vigorous music to immerse the audience in a vision of a child's colourful imagination.
Festival Director Ellen Bianchini looks forward to The Spark 2010
“I'm very excited about this year's Festival and in particular the First Spark programme for the early years. When young children watch live performances they are stimulated in so many ways and First Spark will be a wonderful experience for little ones. The companies producing theatre for young children which are coming to this year's Festival create powerfully engaging yet fun and playful performances. World Children's Theatre Day celebrates the work of these brilliant artists creating performances especially for children.”
The Spark Children's Arts Festival launches next month and local businesses are on board to support Leicestershire's annual arts fortnight especially for children. Business support is stronger than ever with new and longstanding partners alike recognizing the importance of bringing the arts to children in the region. This year's Spark Festival will run from 31st May until 13th June with two weeks of theatre, dance, puppetry, music, singing, art and poetry for children. With a programme of world-class international and national artists, businesses are proud to support this year's Spark.
For the second year running, Highcross Leicester is The Spark Festival's Launch Event Partner. Following the success of last year's Urban Canvas pavement art, this year's launch will be a three-day puppetry feast beginning on 7th April during half term. The fun-packed new brochure will be launched on Friday 9th April at Highcross with 'puppetry aplenty' for children of all ages. Free puppetry workshops and performances from 12.30pm throughout the afternoon will culminate in an exciting parade at 5pm as a mysterious giant puppet is raised. 'Little O' is coming.....and so should you!
Longstanding partner, Taylor Bloxham Ltd, has again produced this year’s fun-packed brochure, brimming with arts events for all the family. The award-winning partnership between The Spark and Taylor Bloxham as Print Partner continues, producing an exciting brochure in an environmentally friendly way. Santander is for the third year running, Key Business Partner for The Spark's At Your School programme, bringing the arts directly into schools across the region. 23 schools will enjoy live performances of theatre, puppetry and music over the next few weeks. The Belmont Hotel will again be the Festival’s Official Hotel, providing accommodation for visiting artists and offering special deals for families attending Spark events. The Belmont will also be hosting a fun ice cream workshop during the Festival.
The Spark's Open Minded Play Spaces project with Leicester City Council to provide new areas of play and inspiration at city centre sites has been supported by Lafarge Aggregates and The Tesco Charity Trust. Lafarge has donated generously from its Landfill Communities Fund for the Braunstone Park Play Space and provided boulders from its Mountsorrel quarry for scrambling on. The Tesco Charity Trust has funded an artwork project for Braunstone which involved local adults and children in creating a new design for the pathway.
Takeover Radio is once again The Spark’s Media Partner, broadcasting details of forthcoming events and interviewing artists from the Festival. UK performers' trade union Equity is back as a Festival Partner, while J.P Boden and Company Ltd and Mothercare Group Foundation show their support as Festival Friends.
Development Manager, Tricia Kelly is thrilled with this year's support from the business community:
"Once again, The Spark is delighted that it has maintained great relationships with fantastic partners and also bought new partners to the Festival for 2010. We've all been faced with a really tough economic climate and have still found fantastic ways to work together to the benefit of the community and in order to provide excellent ways to continue the development of young people. We feel confident that our partners are with us because they want the organization to carry on providing exceptional, high quality, inspirational and exciting arts activity to young people and their families. I am blown away by how much extra they offer to do in order to make things even better for Festival participants and thank them very much for their extraordinary input".
The brochure for the Spark Festival 2010 will be launched to the public on Friday 9th April at the Puppetry Aplenty event at Highcross- more news of this to follow!
The brochure will be posted to our mailing list on 31st March- so join the list now to receive your copy in advance. (Use the link on the home page)
