Take the stress out of bringing your children to Grahamstown with the Children’s Arts Festival, which offers a creative arts programme specially designed for primary school pupils.
You can drop your children off at St Andrew’s Preparatory School (the venue for the Children’s Arts Festival) at 9am for a day of activities, and collect them at 5pm.
Each day includes an age-appropriate National Arts Festival production, arts-related workshops and lunch.
The Children’s Arts Festival has a boarding programme, a day programme (for Grades 3 to 7) and a pre-primary (half or full day) programme held in the interactive pre-primary school grounds.
National Arts Festival performers facilitate drama workshops and there are also marimba, gumboot dancing and creative movement workshops to get the kids exploring their rhythm.The hand-craft workshops include techniques such as painting, beadwork, leather work, paper-craft, mosaics, carnival masks and calligraphy.
The Festival also always has a few surprises in store – last year they welcomed Gruffalo and Mouse to the primary school, while the older kids enjoyed a slapstick physical theatre workshop with the hysterical cast from the UK production of Police Cops.
In 2015, Aussie beat-boxing world champ Tom Thum visited the children to give them a demo and, last year, they were enthralled by 13-year-old violinist, Pendo Masote.
Giant puppets, stilt walkers and even Joey the Warhorse have been seen wandering around the grounds of the Children’s Arts Festival – it’s the place to be for little people.
Booking is essential as the programmes fill up quickly. Visit childrensartsfestival.co.za or phone Cindy Renard or Victoria Ter Morshuizen on (046)622-2148.