Hackney,
16
May
2016
|
14:57
Europe/London

Free fun & activities at the Dalston Children’s Festival 2016

festivalimage1.jpg

Children will be spoilt for choice with exciting things to see and do at the free Dalston Children’s Festival 2016.

Taking place across two weekends of Saturday 28 May and 4 June during the half term holiday, the Dalston Children’s Festival is the perfect way for Hackney’s under 18’s to be entertained for free whilst giving families the chance to discover the fun to be had in Dalston all-year-round.

With creativity and play at the heart of the festival, Dalston’s vibrant artistic and play communities will have activities on offer both indoors and out.

Some of the many highlights of the festival include:

  • Art, craft and cooking workshops at the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden with local artists and chefs.
  • A portrait-drawing workshop led by the Art Hoppers in Dalston Square, with a selection of portraits drawn at this event being reproduced on the windows of Dalston CLR James Library later in the year.
  • Children’s music workshop using sticks, chairs, djembe drums and improvised instruments to learn West African rhythm patterns at the Vortex Jazz Club.
  • Traditional canal boat painting workshops and boat trips around Kingsland Basin.
  • A performance of Kirikou by the Hackney French Youth Theatre and a screening of the film Kirikou et les Hommes et les Femmes (u) (subtitled) at the Rio Cinema.
  • Dalston Square will be transformed into a giant Play Street playground.
Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture, Hackney Council
This is a fantastic free event for Hackney’s families and children in the centre of one the borough’s most creative and diverse areas. With the help of many local community groups, businesses and artists, the festival will provide a great start and end to the half term holidays whilst giving the borough’s young people the opportunity to take part in creative play and activities they may have never experienced before. Families from across Hackney should head to Dalston and enjoy the wonderful activities on offer throughout both weekends – it’s not to be missed!
Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture, Hackney Council

The Dalston Children’s Festival is a community-led event and has been organised by the Dalston Children’s Network (DCN), a collective of organisations that have an on-going offer for children and young people in Dalston, and is supported by Hackney Council.

For more details about the Dalston Children’s Festival 2016, please visit the website or pick-up a flyer from Dalston businesses, restaurants, cafes and the Dalston CLR James Library.

You can also follow the Dalston Children’s Festival on Twitter using #dalstonchildren or on Facebook.