VillaGaiety has announced plans for SPARK, a brand new one-day family festival for the Island community celebrating creativity.
Taking place on Bank Holiday Friday 29th March (Good Friday) SPARK will be the first iteration of a festival for children and their grown-ups at the Villa Marina and will see all areas of the building animated with events including live performances, workshops and interactive experiences. The theme for this year’s festival is magic.
With a programme of events taking place throughout the day from 10am until 6pm, SPARK’s headline act will be Morgan and West; a duo of internationally renowned magicians performing their Massive Magic Show for Kids in the Royal Hall. Aimed at children aged six upwards, the show is described as ‘one hour of non-stop fun for all the family’ which has toured extensively worldwide.
Other highlights include Musical Adventures with Singing Jo & Co, Manx Family Concerts Present a concert of Room on the Broom, Pop-Up Art Tank Workshop from Kensington Arts, Encanto Sing-Along at Broadway Cinema and Pop in and Play Sessions at Dragon’s Castle.
Completing the line-up, local theatre company Hello Little People will be introducing Magic Unlocked: The Live Radio Experience from their pop-up studio in the Villa Marina. A free, drop-in experience hosted by Michelle Jamieson & Chloe Shimmin, young people will be interviewed about magic with coverage broadcast throughout the building and live to an audience of families, interviewees and festival go-ers.
Sarah Wilson-White Head of Culture and Arts commented ‘SPARK is about young people and their grown-ups experiencing and celebrating creativity together – from singing, painting and watching live performance – there’s something for everyone at the festival and we can’t wait for audiences to try something different and make some great memories together at VillaGaiety’.
Tickets for ticketed events start from £3 and there will be a variety of food vendors and ice-cream on offer in the gardens, allowing people to come along and enjoy the outdoor space.
The one-day programme of activity will be relaxed for audiences to move around in their seats and leave performance spaces as they need to. The 3.30pm performance of Room on the Broom will also include a Sign-Supported English Interpreter who will provide a form of sign language that follows the spoken word to help make the story and songs included as accessible as possible.
More information about the full SPARK programme and how to purchase tickets can be found at villagaiety.com/spark