A grand day out at the 2017 Awesome Festival!

Louise Leadbitter from AWESOME Arts gives Scoop the lowdown on two fun-filled days out at the 2017 AWESOME Festival.

Ages 6 and under

10am: Start your day with a delightful performance from two loveable Polar Bears! Polar Bears Go Up, presented by Wesfarmers Arts, at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, is a non-verbal theatre performance that will make you feel like you’re being tickled for an hour!

The Polar Bears are moving up in the world. They’ve lost their balloon and they need to get it back. It’s time to get up, step up, climb up, jump up. One thing’s for sure, the only way is up!

11.45am: Take a break for lunch and sit around the Wetlands Stage listening to WAYJO’s Jazz for Juniors. Your little one will be grooving at this free concert while you sit back and relax. 12:30pm: It’s time to get hands on! Visit Better Beginnings Books to Go (ages 2 to 5) and create your very own book to take home, for FREE! You can even publish your work for others to enjoy, adding to the growing library of books made by families from all over Australia. 1:30pm: Once your bright young thing has become a published author, head across to Imagination Playground in the Urban Orchard to burn off that excess energy! 2pm: Before you head home, wander through the State Library of Western Australia and have a look at The Life and Times of Scarface Claw, an exhibition of Dame Lynley Dodd’s new picture book Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! and explore the process she goes through as an author and illustrator, from the first dot on the page, to the final drawings. Total cost: $25.50 per ticket, or $81.60 for a family of four for Polar Bears Go Up, all other activities listed free.

Ages 7 and up

10am: Head long to the State Library of Western Australia and explore The Life and Times of Scarface Claw, an exhibition of Dame Lynley Dodd’s new book Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! and get to grips with the process she goes through as an author and illustrator, from the first dot on the page, to the final drawings. 10.30am: Keep your eyes peeled in the Perth Cultural Centre for the Lollipop Ladies by Roundabout Theatre!

Be led across randomly appearing zebra crossings, revolve around spontaneous roundabouts made of unsuspecting people, obey bizarre street signs (or suffer the consequences) and make sure you don’t step on the cracks!

11am: Head to the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia to catch Swamp Juice by Bunk Puppets. Using shadow puppets made from bits of rubbish, acclaimed offbeat performer Jeff Achtem presents a gurgling adventure about life in a swamp – with an eye-popping 3D finale! 12pm: Have a wander through the Perth Cultural Centre and find the Cardboard Challenge exhibition. Created by schoolchildren across Perth, this project was all about ‘What do you think the world needs more of?” Their cardboard creations had to reflect this brief, and include at least one moving part, using only recycled items. Join in the challenge by creating your own cardboard creation to add to the exhibition! 1pm: Why not take a break for lunch and sit on the stairs near the Wetlands Stage, watching the Festival goers walk by? 2pm: Head over and contribute to our Fragile Ocean Homes installation with the Western Australian Museum and artist Lex Randolph. With many of the coral ‘cities’ and sponge ‘gardens’ around the world being affected by climate change, it’s more important than ever to recognise their significance, function and beauty. Using wool, fabric and other natural found objects, contribute to our coral reef installation and help us to create something beautiful at the 2017 AWESOME Festival. 3pm: Head across to Deep. This brain-bending optical illusion-based performance will blow your mind! Total cost: $25.50 per ticket, or $81.60 for a family of four for Swamp Juice, $10 for Deep, all other activities listed free.

Find out more about the 2017 AWESOME Festival