Between 11th and 26th February the South Bank centre is running the Imagine Children’s Festival with many of the activities being free (yippee!). On Sunday I went along to see some creative activities at the Clore Ballroom in the Royal Festival Hall where Indian mythology was being explored with music and dance (Kathak Stanzas) and there was lots of fantastic drawing happening around some crowded tables nearby for the David Shrigley’s inspired art workshop.
There’s a hefty booklet outlining all the activities that are planned and a few particularly caught my eye:
• Octopus and the wheels of steel – DJs and poets with beatboxing and hip hop (free, various dates)
• MacKenzie Crook – Storytelling by the loveable actor from The Office and Pirates of the Caribbean (£8/£4, 15th Feb)
• Become a superhero – Artists and storytellers help you make a mask and cape (free, 16th February)
• The trial of Dennis the Menace – A show about Beanotown in crisis (£12/£6, 17th-19th February) – there were also some fabulous Dennis and Gnasher items for sale in the shop there as well
• Funharmonics Family Concert – The Jungle Book (£10-£18, 19th February)
• London Children’s Bookswap (Free, 25th February)
My daughter’s school is arranging a visit to see Lenny Henry in “The Comedy of Errors” at the National later in February and yesterday there was a version by the Mulberry School for Girls from East London.
http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/imagine-childrens-festival
And don’t forget that there’s lots of other great things to do nearby – from playing with the wooden sculptures at Gabriel’s Wharf, watching the river (there were some sand sculptors there on Sunday on the beach), Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge or, if you are brave (old enough) there’s the Clink Prison Museum and at London Bridge The London Dungeon (but mind the queues).
It’s always a challenge to find things to do at half term – so if you still need some inspiration, check out a previous blog for more ideas http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/blogs/showblog.php?post=776
