With a smorgasbord of free performances, demonstrations, craft activities, workshops and events held across 10-11 May, BIG Family Weekend was an affordable way for families to get a taste of everything the DreamBIG Children’s Festival offers (the Festival itself continues until 17 May).
Most activities unfolded in the Adelaide Festival Centre’s newly renovated and fully accessible Festival Plaza outdoor area; a small handful were held in the Festival Centre’s foyers, banquet room and theatres. This reviewer’s family (including children aged three and eight) stopped by on 10 May and these were some of our favourite free activities.
Massive Maker Space
Hosted by local company Climbing Tree, the Massive Maker Space was designed to ignite children’s curiosity and imagination and encourage problem-solving skills. Filled with child friendly ‘junk’ such as barrels, wooden logs and crates, cardboard tubes, boxes, tires, spools, chair seats, netting and even steering wheels, the space encouraged children to build whatever they could imagine with whatever they could find. It was the perfect space for builders and inventors of all ages. We visited it multiple times throughout the day and each time I was amazed by the creations being built.
Read: Dreaming and celebrating big: Adelaide’s children’s festival DreamBIG turns 50
Designed as a free play space, the event’s lack of structure and supervision became its one downfall during busy periods, as the amount of available building materials dropped significantly, leading to children taking objects from others’ creations mid-build and causing more than a few stressful moments.
The Plants
This unique installation invited families to create their own music with plants. Inside a series of decorative plant boxes, living plants were wired up to hidden sensors and digital speakers that played melodic tunes and sounds when the plants were touched. Each plant had a different sound which varied depending on how you touched it – gently touching a single leaf or stem resulted in a softer, controlled sound while rapid touches or running your hand across the entire plant created a louder, more powerful sound. An imaginative, sensory experience for all ages.
Lolly Jar Circus
This drop-in workshop allowed children to test out their circus abilities with activities such as hula hoops, diablo sticks, plate spinning, juggling and ribbon twirling. There was plenty of open space for children to unleash their inner circus performer but it only held our attention for a short period.
Lucky Dip Tent
The lucky dip tent ran short mystery performances at scheduled times throughout the day. You never knew what you were seeing until you were seated inside. The small tent allowed for an intimate audience of approximately 30 people with floor and chair seating and we were treated to a music show and an interactive story time during our two visits.
DreamBIG Children’s Festival continues until 17 May 2025.
