Perth Awesome Festival 2014

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The Perth Cultural Centre was bursting with texture and colour as the Awesome Festival spreads it's magic abound.

This year's International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things is spectacular! There's loads of activities for the kids that inspire and spark imaginations to create and construct masterpieces all of their own.  Just look for the inflatable structures around the Perth Cultural Centre, and you'll find a creative outlet, show, or demonstration for the kiddies.  Pick up a complete program list and schedule of events at the Ticket Booth across from the inflatable "Awesome" sign in the Urban Orchard.

We started our day at the free "Play Space" activity where the kids worked together to build a life sized "mable track."  My 11 year old son would have been happy to stay there all day as the Chief Building Foreman, but I coaxed him away and promised we would come back later in the week.

Just behind the free play space, we entered the enormous pink inflatable structure into a "Storybook." Imagine walking into the pages of a children's storybook, and being able to touch, explore, and discover the story in real life!

For just $5 entrance, your child can create their own storybook adventure by collecting treasures and experiencing things like the Key Corridor, crawling through the Teddy Tunnel, and tossing puffs of clouds in the Dream Room! They were given a Storybook pouch to keep their treasures and completed storybook in.  

In Storybook, we walked through "Narnia's" Wardrobe.

We crawled through Teddy Tunnel

We threw whisps of clouds!

and sat on pillows fit for a Princess!

Before heading on, we collected our treasures into our Storybook pouch which included the key to Happiness!

Hagen loved his Story Book pouch full of treasures that he wore around his neck the rest of the day!

Next, we headed to Activity Central for hands on crafts including badge making and creating a box to add to the Awesome Festival Float.  Both activities were free, and the kids really got into it.

 

 

There are several Awesome Festival Activities inside The State Library of Western Australia, including "Laser Beak Man" and "Galloping Tales".

Laser Beak Man was one of my favorite things to "take in" at the Festival.  The free exhibit is worth stopping and having a look.  The young artist, Tim Sharp, has Austism, and used only crayons, ink pen, and paper to create his amazing drawings.

"Everyone is Beautiful" by Tim Sharp

Tim Sharp's artwork was not only colourful and wonderful to look at, but the drawings were so clever and each one had a double meaning, and made me giggle.  Laser Beak Man appeals to all ages, and my whole family loved his drawings.



You can take a break in a little hut on a big and watch Laser Beak Man drawings that were turned into an ABC3 production of Laser Beak Man.



Next, we had tickets to Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones, a show performed by Jeff Achtem.



This puppet master will amaze you with his ability to bring shadow puppets to life in such an amusing way.  He had us all laughing!  This was my 13 year old daughter's favourite part of the day by far!

Duration

50 minutes

Age Range

7 and up

Form

Theatre

Tickets

Buy Online

Cost

$15 general admission/ $52 family of four

After the show, my kids purchased a shadow making puppet kit from Jeff himself, so they can create their own shadow puppet magic at home!

Just out the back door of the museum, in the back corner of the Cultural Centre, we found a big, inflatable tent, and a "hidden gem".  

It was a another hands on activity where the kids were able to make crowns and decorate them with jewels.  



They were even able to dip their hands into large treasure chests and hand pick the jewels for decorating their crowns.

Never too big for making crowns at the Awesome Festival!

The Perth Cultural Centre is a perfect setting for the Awesome Festival.  It's a great place to hang out with the family, take in some art and culture, and just "hang out".  We had an awesome day!

On our way out, my daughter stopped into The Better Beginnings Books To Go tent.  She remembered it from past Awesome Festivals, and wanted to do it again.  

The kids get to publish their own book, and once they are done, they keep one copy for themselves, and leave the other there on the bookshelf for others to enjoy.  

After some frog hunting in the Urban Orchard, our day was complete and we headed home.  There were still many activities that we could not fit into one day, so we plan to return later in the week for some more fun.  

The Awesome Festival runs through 13 October at the Perth Cultural Centre.  For a complete list of activities, click HERE.

Highlights from Our 12 Hour Day at The Perth Royal Show 2014

Our family had the most Amazing Day at the Perth Royal Show this year!  We were on a mission to complete the entire Yellow Brick Road, see the Racing and Diving Pigs, Watch Titan the Robot, Pat the Bunnies, Visit the Lego Max, and watch the Horse Power and Fireworks display.  I'm happy to report that we fit it ALL in!  It took us nearly 12 hours, but WE DID IT!

First, we picked up our Yellow Brick Road Showbag. It contained a map and a passport that we had to get stamped at several different stops.  Our favourite stops on the Yellow Brick Road Route were: The Sports Stop, The Face painting at The Creatures Great & Small Pavilion , and planting a Sunflower at Greenfinger's Garden.  We also liked the stops that involved free food and samples such as the free popcorn at Centenary Pavilion , the 4 pieces of fruit at the Orchard & IGA Fresh from WA Pavilion, and the discounted banana smoothies and cheese toasties at Brownes Dairy Pavilion.  Yum!

The kids had a blast at the Sports Stop playing cricket, footie, and soccer.

Next it was a quick visit to The Lego Brick Zone.  We met a Lego guy, played a little Lego game on the Wii, and had some fun building Lego creations.  There was a competition starting as we left, but we didn't stick around... we had places to go!  The Lego Brick Zone is open 10am-6pm.

A photo with Lego Guy, Max.

Just outside Lego Zone, we ran into Bubbleman. He scoots around the Royal Show blowing bubbles... so keep an eye out for him!

After collecting a few samples from the IGA Pavillion, we got a front row spot for the Titan the Robot Show.  A crowd quickly gathered into a circle and Titan entered to entertain us.  The kids were captivated by this huge, walking, talking, robot with a crude sense of humor.  He's loud, he's funny, and worth fitting into your Perth Royal Show schedule!  Showtimes: 12:45 pm, 2:45pm, 4:45 pm (F2 on the map).



Next stop was The Creatures Great and Small Pavilion for some animal cuddling and Free facepainting as part of the Yellow Brick Road.  My three kids especially loved the little chicks and holding the various types of bunny rabbits.

Just outside The Creatures Great & Small Pavilion were the

Diving and Racing Pigs.  Don't miss them!  The show was short, but tons of fun!

Showtimes: 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm, 3:30, and 5pm.

Another favourite spot for my kids was The Scouts WA Challenge Zone (H3 on map) where there were loads of free activities for the kids including mountain climbing, laser tag, rock decorating, and face painting.

Mission accomplished!  These two were determined to collect every stamp at every station, and they succeeded!

The day ended at The Main Arena watching the BMX Freestyle Air Raiders and the FMX Freestyle Motocross jumping while we waited for Horse Power (7:30 pm)  and The IGA Fireworks Spectacular (8:30 pm).  Both were worth the wait, and the day ended in a BANG!

The kids were weary but happy with their Showbags!

A Review of The Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Production: Farm

The Spare Parts Puppet Theatre productions have become a bit of a tradition that me and my kids look forward to.

The productions are artsy, in depth, stir up emotions, and make us wonder.

Farm is playing at the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre 27 September through 11 October.

Suitable for ages 5 and up, the story portrays a young girl living on a farm in rural Western Australia with her mom and dad.  The story runs through many emotions including anticipation, excitement, heartache, love, disappointment, sorrow, hope and determination.

There is very little dialogue in this production, but the story comes to life with the help of music, creative use of lighting, shadows, smoke, and even bursts of "fire".

As always, the amazing way the cast manipulated the props on stage kept us wondering what would happen next.  The creative use of dance to portray the animals and the elements such as a big red kangaroo, wind, fire, and rain were amazing.  Our favorite scene was one in which the big red kangaroo came to the farm in the middle of the night and destroyed the crops.  The kangaroo's costume and the way it bounced around the stage had us mesmerized and on the edge of our seats.

There was a lot of research involved in the making of  Farm, including the cast and crew living and breathing real life on a rural farm in Western Australia.  They went on research missions and lived on a location, fully immersed in life in the Wheatbelt farming community of Merriden.  The small community and The Spare Parts Puppet Theatre developed lasting friendships as a result of bringing Farm to life on stage.

Come and see all of the "people" scattered across the lawn outside the theatre created by the children of Merriden. 

Farm is a cultural experience not to be missed these School Holidays!

Book tickets online here 

or call 9335 5044

The Spare Part a Puppet Theatre is located at 1 Short Street, Fremantle, across from the train station.