Sydney Children’s Festival 2011

Overview

In some parts of the world it's getting harder and harder to get children into the more interesting places. British parents had so much trouble getting their kids to culture they set up a Kids in Museums campaign, with a wonderfully practical manifesto. They'd have no such problems this October, as kids take over the vaulted lobbies and the sombre spaces of CarriageWorks for the Sydney Children's Festival.

A decidedly messy festival, children will get stuck into compost bins, play with clay, meet roaming dinosaurs and manufacture heads. A living library, full of Scarry-like people you can borrow and ask about their lives and what they do, will be available for children to interrogate. There's plenty there for grown-ups too, but it's really the same stuff that appeals to the kids: zoo animals, dinosaurs, goth-ish marionettes and asking firefighters if their job is well good. If you don't have kids, then do friends or family a favour and borrow some and get along. The festival runs from September 27 to October 9, and most of the events are free.

Image by novemberkilo.