The event is free for all the family, and visitors can witness a spectacular event including showcase performances from top West End shows and musical acts and experience a wonderful array of interactive exhibits from many of London’s top museums, galleries and cultural institutions.

The event takes place this Saturday and Sunday (19-20 June) from 11:00 to 18:00.

Feel free to bring a packed lunch or you can enjoy a little something from De Montfort Hall’s foyer. After eating you’ll trail down to the Belmont Hotel for ‘genie-rus’ amounts of ice-cream, then return to De Montfort to watch Disney’s Aladdin.

Don’t wear your best clothes but do dress as a genie if you can (especially adults!) as there is a prize for the best boy and girl genie. The trail will take approximately five hours in total, beginning at 11am. Genies from seven plus can join in and tickets cost £5 each – baby genies in arms go free.

For more information please visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk, call 0116 261 6893 or email admin@sparkfestival.co.uk

Take your partner by the hand for a unique musical experience as Boka Halat presents their Afro Ceilidh at The Y Theatre as part of The Spark Children’s Arts Festival. Families can enjoy the fantastic fusion of European, Asian and African beats as Boka Halat lead us on a merry dance.

Boka Halat means ‘mutual inspiration’ and their approach is all about bringing together musical traditions to create new songs, new beats and new music. Five musicians come together to play their original songs and then lead the audience in a ceilidh with a difference. Square dancing, line dancing, whatever shape your dancing is – the Afro Ceilidh will make you get up and move your feet.

A great fun event that children and adults will love with wonderful live music, Boka Halat’s Afro Ceilidh is suitable for children aged 8 plus and will be at The Y Theatre on Friday 11th June at 19:00. Tickets cost £4 for children and £6 for adults. To book please call 0116 255 7066.

For more information please visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk, call 0116 261 6893 or email admin@sparkfestival.co.uk

Join The Spark for an evening of hip-hop dance, poetry, lyricism and theatre for children at Curve. Igniting Hip Hop features leading artists taking kids on a journey deep into the heart of hip-hop culture and its African Roots.

On Saturday 12th June Curve will host an exciting event which will showcase the work of students who have worked with inspiring artists to put together their own performance piece. Young people from Leicester and the region are working with acclaimed choreographers Donald Edwards and Miguel Pereira and performance poets Charlie Dark and Dreadlockalien.

Moat Community College in Leicester is working with Olivier Award nominee Donald Edwards and Charlie Dark to produce Igniting Hip Hop. An internationally-acclaimed dancer and choreographer, Donald now lives in Leicester. Charlie Dark is a leading performance poet who travels the globe experimenting with lyrics and music. The project has been led by 2Funky Arts, in partnership with The Spark.

The line-up also includes Dance4 and their International Young People’s Commission from leading Portuguese choreographer Miguel Pereira. The artists and students have been working to the brief to create a narrative through hip-hop dance. There will also be a performance from 2FunkyArts’ ILUVLYRICS youth group, featuring poetry and MCing.

Igniting Hip Hop at Curve will be an exciting adventure into the world of hip-hop dance and lyricism, and a wonderful opportunity to see the work of some of the best artists in the business. The performance begins at 19.30pm. Tickets are just £5 each -to book call Curve on 0116 242 3595.

For more information please visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk, call 0116 261 6893 or email admin@sparkfestival.co.uk

We Built This City places children in the role of architect, empowering them to construct their ideal city, and during the performance they will make buildings go up, pull them down, redesign them, extend, walk through, jump on, and reconstruct them. We Built This City is not a play… it is play. Polyglot Theatre bring their tour to Waterloo Terrace at the National Theatre for LIFT 2010.

Forget playing ‘Sim City’ at home alone, now children can realise their urban dreams in three dimensions with scores of other budding young architects in We Built This City.

Presented by one of Australia’s leading children’s theatre companies Polyglot Theatre, We Built This City invites children and families to construct a city from thousands of cardboard boxes.

Under the watchful eyes of professional building experts and accompanied by a live DJ, the only city limits here are in the mind, as participants are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild and create edifices as tall, wide and outlandish as they can. But whilst We Built This City is pure fun on one level, its interactive and collaborative nature also points out how the urban environment contains many interconnected lives, finally emphasising the impermanence of everything around us when the installation is eventually crushed flat by its creators.

Early next month TARA Studio will be transformed into a heroic world where gods, and demons grace the stage in The Demon’s Revenge.

Meghnad was the much feared son of the Demon King of Lanka, Ravana. He contested gods, kings and demons with his terrifying power. Ravana had total faith in the supremacy of his son and believed that if Meghnad was fighting with him, he could never lose in battle.

Ravana’s sister Surpanakha was treated cruelly by the human King Rama and his family, who were living in exile in Lanka. To get her revenge on Rama, she persuaded her brother to abduct Rama’s wife, Sita, for her stunning beauty. A great war between the demons and the humans ensued.

Both the humans and demons prayed to the same God, Shiva. Shiva decided to side with the humans and suddenly Meghnad’s almighty power was no longer enough.

Based on Michael Madhusudan Datta’s epic version of the Ramayana story in which Ravana, not Rama is the hero. The show will be accompanied by live musicians.

Tuesday 1 – Saturday 5 June 2010
Tickets:£9.50 / £6.50 concessions
Address: TARA Studio, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES
Website: http://www.tara-arts.com
Booking: 020 8333 4457

The first week of The Spark coincides with National Family Week 31st May – 6th June. The average family spends just 45 minutes a day together according to a poll commissioned by National Family Week last year. National Family Week encourages families to take part in events such as The Spark Children’s Arts Festival to spend more time together.

The Spark Children’s Arts Festival offers families so many opportunities to have fun together during its first week throughout half term and plenty of ways to get stuck in and try something different. From Babyfest at De Montfort Hall on 31st May to Olga Volt the Electric Fairy at Curve on 2nd and 3rd, Drum by Oily Cart at Embrace Arts at the RA Centre from 2nd – 4th June there are wonderful events for everyone to enjoy and each is interactive in its own way. There will be free events at The Spark’s Open Minded Play Spaces in Leicester’s parks ranging from storytelling, to playtime picnics and sculpture and art activities and plus a special visit from the Queen of the Fairies herself at Aylestone Meadows on Wednesday 2nd at 14:30.

During the Spark Festival the Belmont Hotel is offering special deals to families planning to attending one of the events. A family room is available to book at the price of just £99 per room per night for two adults and two children sharing. To take advantage of this great deal for Festival Friends, contact Steve Burton at The Belmont Hotel on 0116 254 4773.

For more information please visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk, call 0116 261 6893 or email admin@sparkfestival.co.uk

Babyfest is back as part of this year’s Spark Children’s Arts Festival in Leicester and this year is even bigger and better. Bring out your babies on bank holiday Monday 31 May as De Montfort Hall hosts a day of play-centred activities for your little ones.

This year’s Babyfest will feature a Play Garden from the Pre-School Learning Alliance with all sorts of creative play. Even the littlest little ones are catered for, with special activities for newborns and babes in arms. Out in the gardens is the old favourite Messy Marquee, with paint, jelly and rice krispies galore – naturally! New for 2010 are two Music Marquees where babies can strut their tiny stuff all day long. The Chill Out Room is the place to take it easy and recharge those little batteries. There’s even baby shopping, food stalls and a tea room! Babyfest has it all. It’s baby bliss and toddler heaven. All the cool kids will be there! With a line-up including magical storytelling and fun soft play, Babyfest really is the only festival to be seen at this year!

Babyfest is at De Montfort Hall on 31st May from 11am until 4pm. Babyfest is for 0-4 years only. Wash down facilities are provided but dress for mess! Buggies will need to be parked in the foyer at the Hall in a supervised buggy park. Tickets are £10 each or £32 for a family of four. For more information or to book call 0116 233 3111.

The Spark Children’s Arts Festival returns to venues across Leicestershire between 31st May and 13th June. Visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk for more information.

On Saturday 8 May young people from across Cambridge will Takeover The Junction. The day and evening will feature workshops in Comedy, Spoken Word with Luke Wright, DJ workshop, sound and light engineering, and visual arts. The evening features a showcase of local talent, such as drama and dance, youth bands, young DJs and a headline set from Shy FX.

This event allows The Junction to engage with young audiences in a way that they never have never before, giving young people ownership of a venue and allowing them to create a youth programme that mirrors the Junction’s own programme. Thus helping to develop audiences, nurture talent and give vital information on how to meet young people’s expectations.

Check out: www.takeoverthejunction.com for more info.

Families in Leicestershire can look forward to two weeks of festivities just for kids as The Spark Children’s Arts Festival returns from 31 May to 13 June. This year’s Spark promises to stir the region’s imagination with an exciting programme to thrill, delight and inspire children of all ages. Venues across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will play host to a wealth of national and international theatre, music, dance, puppetry and art designed specifically for children.

Last year The Spark got families chalk drawing on the pavements at Highcross, painting the grass red at De Montfort Hall and tightrope walking in a Big Top at Regent College. For 2010 The Spark is bringing internationally acclaimed acts to Leicestershire with some visually stunning performances to mesmerize even the very young. World class companies including Oily Cart, Spoontree Productions, Horse and Bamboo, Barebones and Shona Reppe will delight young audiences during the festival.

Modern classics such as The Gruffalo at De Montfort Hall and Funny Bones at Curve, sit alongside traditional favourites including The Princess and The Pea at community venues and Treasure Island at Loughborough Town Hall. This year’s festival is more diverse than ever – don’t miss Boka Halat’s world music and their amazing Afro Ceilidh.

With engaging arts events to stimulate the whole family, The Spark offers so many opportunities to spend quality time together, go somewhere new and do something completely different. 2010 will see an innovative outdoor production of Grimm’s Fairy Tales at the Botanical Gardens and Leicester Cathedral will be hosting its first ever Spark event. The Spark programme is brimming with unique ideas for family days out with lots of ways to get stuck in and have a go – such as the Spin performance poetry workshops at The Y and a Sculpture Day at Cross Corners – plus many events are free!

The Spark is also delivering the festival right to your doorstep with performances at small community locations and larger venues alike. Many schools in the region are looking forward to Spark performances in their very own classrooms too.

For more information please visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk, call 0116 261 6893 or email admin@sparkfestival.co.uk