WHAT with south Essex being such a music loving area and all, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement about the huge line-up of bands and artists performing on the main stages of Village Green.
But don’t forget, aside from all that and the party atmosphere in general, this huge arts event is family friendly and has a fantastic programme of activities and attractions for the kids, who all go free aged 10 and under.
This is the last weekend to get your fingers out if you want to take advantage of the Early Bird ticket at just £10 per adult, or £5 for 11-17 year olds, up until midnight on Monday May 2.
There are also Early Bird family and group booking deals. After the Early Bird deal ends, the ticket prices rise, although children under ten remain free. Visit villagegreenfestival.com to book.
At the time of going to press, there are lists of acts still being confirmed for the colossal affair, which takes place in Chalkwell Park, on Saturday, July 9.
Here is a little taster of those on the programme so far:
THE ATLAS MOVEMENT THEATRE – STREET THEATRE
This interactive theatre company is going to be putting on an “interactive show” called Postal Service. The group specialises in street theatre, storytelling and outdoor performance.
THE BUTTERCUP CLUB – CHILDREN AND ADULT MESSY PLAY
The Buttercup Club will be bringing an element to the festival that all tots love more than just about anything - messy play. The Buttercup Club first opened in January 2003. Twelve years on and you can bet the team behind it know how to work wonders with a container of spaghetti and the mind of a three year old.
The group says: “We have evolved and learnt through the years the importance of sensory play, and were awarded a prize last by Essex Mums for Best Independent Toddler Group.”
CRAFT CLUB – YARNBOMBING
Craft Club - who were the Guinness World Record Holders 2014 - will be returning to Village Green again this year with their unique brand of ‘yarnbombing’ for all the family. The word from the Village Green organisers is the group will be installing a “BIG yarnbomb” (and yes, they did emphasise the magnitude of said yarnbomb with the use of capital letters) and will have a marquee for you to pop along to and crochet/knit something up yourselves. What fun!
ESSEX WILDLIFE TRUST – ARTS ACTIVITIES IN NATURE
The Essex Wildlife Trust love hedgehogs and birds and all sorts of wildlife, and the kids can get lots of information on how to look after them in their own gardens and suchlike. If you need a review, my own sons had me sign them up to the trust's membership, thus receiving the monthly magazines and activities they can get involved it, and have ever since been requesting that we adopt a couple of prickly creatures to live at the end of the garden. All good stuff. Great for the kids and adults learning.
THE HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY OF SOUTHEND – HUNGARIAN CRAFTS, DANCING, FILM, CAKES AND ERM....WHIPPING?
“The Hungarian Community of Southend are delighted to be coming to Village Green”, says the group. The community has been running for two years now, with the aim, it says of “contributing towards community well-being, promoting cohesion" and is "all about organising several thematic events where we can keep our national traditions, educate our children and promote our culture and national heritage to the local community”. The group adds: “We are offering a number of really cool activities at our stall, which we will showcase during the festival. If you would like to taste a bit of Hungary, please come along to our stall where you can find hand-embroided and hand-painted pieces of Hungarian folk art by Krisztina Design, national costumes, folk-craft activities for children, Hungarian Folk-dance on the stage and dance workshops.
“The unique bull-whip cracking show will be a great attraction. There will be short films screenings within our tent about our community activities, and Hungarian short movies.”
You can also sample the delights of the Hungarian Chimney Cake (Kurtoskalacs) at the stall.
IZZIE MAJOR – THE TIP
Kids will love Izzie, because she is a bit like Stig of the Dump, only she lives in a skip. This colourful character will be performing theatre and telling her story to the delight and amusement to small and big people, from her curious home.
PLUTO JUGGLING - CIRCUS SKILLS WORKSHOP
Pluto Juggling is a circus skills workshop which teaches and sells everything from the world of ground circus skills. This will be its third year at Village Green.
JACKSON DIEGO STORY EMPORIUM
This group is split into four sections over the festival; Imagine, Storytelling, Poetry and Creating. It invites children and families to join it to “explore stories in many different forms and be inspired to create their own”.
The 4words zone promises to provide opportunities for families and young people to experience stories with storytellers, children’s poets, authors and artists in tents and to spend time sharing stories together in the story corner. Guests include James Carter, Joshua Siegel, The Storycycler, Archie Kimpton, Duncan Rendall, Justin Coe, Tiny Tales Storytellers and J.D. Irwin.
METAL ART SCHOOL - BASKETBALL COURT
The newly opened Metal Art School takes over the basketball court with a series of activities including printmaking, drawing workshops, collage, dance, debate, and go for an arts award.
T3G AND THE WRINKLY – INTERACTIVE STREET THEATRE
T3G and the Wrinkly is a street theatre company. They say they “perform commedia dell’arte with, or without masks, according to the occasion”.
For the Village Green occasion, they will be performing a masked spectacular all over the park.
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