The town’s popular Children’s Festival is returning this month with over 30 activities for the whole family to enjoy.
Organised by family support charity Purple Elephant, the festival on Sunday 19th July will focus on families taking part together, welcoming the whole town and surrounding villages from 10am to 2pm.
As many as 3,000 people are expected to take part in activities, including building dens in the Welshmill Woods, bushcraft, whittling and nature activities. Other outdoor action in the park includes joining in the adventure play area, having your face painted, plus decorating and eating biscuits, as well as a visit from Jellyfish Theatre with their show ‘The Dragon Wagon.’
The pump track in Welshmill Park will host BMX workshops, and in the Market Yard there will be accessible basketball and boccia, as well as archery, multi-skills sports and inclusive circus skills and hula hooping sessions.
The organisers have also arranged a youth club hang-out, a sensory room, a reading tent with books to take home, a mystical toadstool trail, a children’s yoga session, a baby area and a re-visit from Twinnies Petting Farm bringing alpacas, mini ponies for grooming, pygmy goats, lambs and rabbits.
Inside the Cheese and Grain there will be a selection of activities for creative craft lovers, along with science workshops, Fimo modelling and a glitter tattoo station. In the venue’s professional recording studio, Young People Frome will be helping budding musicians to create and record their own music sessions bookable at the information point outside the Cheese and Grain on arrival.
Appearing for the first-time and located on ‘The Other Side’, Wiltshire Outdoor Learning Team will erect a giant climbing wall, with safety harnesses and supervision from its team who will be bringing their full harness with hoist to allow assisted climbing for those children who need this support. With even more planned for the day, including music for toddlers, magic shows and theatre performances, local families are encouraged to book their start to the summer holidays now.
Entry to the festival remains free with a ‘give-what-you-can’ donation at point of booking and onsite on the day.
Family Support Manager at Purple Elephant, Sue Willis, said, “We want to make it easy to celebrate childhood and for the whole family to have a great day out, so as well as being as accessible as we can make it, the Children’s Festival has no selling onsite, with the exception of food and drink. With nothing extra to pay for, parents and carers are not put under ‘pester power’ and, of course, festivalgoers are welcome to bring picnics or visit Fair Frome’s pay-what-you-can tasty wrap-making stall. The most important thing is just to be there and have fun.”
The Purple Elephant team wishes to thank the local volunteers who give their time to make the event possible, can also offer specialist support workers on site and fast-pass assistance to children with additional needs.
Booking links, plus details and a map of each activity’s location, are on the charity’s website. For questions, including access or support needs, please get in touch via email.
Full information at www.PurpleElephant.org.uk
