Family Festival Fun Day at The Courtyard
Family Festival Fun Day at The Courtyard
Herefordshire’s Family Festival is back, and this year’s theme is Circus Spectacular! Join The Courtyard for a day full of fun, with storytelling, dancing, dress-up, music and more. This year’s Family Festival will bring families together with free and low-cost activities, workshops and performances. Expect lots of inclusive events with everyone to join in with. Fancy dress is encouraged!
What’s on during the day:
Jewellery Making (age 14+). Come and try out jewellery making! Create a silver ring alongside contemporary jewellery designer-maker, Nicola Lillie. In this class you will be introduced to the basics of jewellery making and come out with a finished piece of jewellery to wear for yourself or give away!
Little Play World: a pop-up role-play village suitable for children aged 0-8 years. Children love to play at being ‘grown up’ and here they can become builders, hairdressers, police officers and more! Let your child’s imagination come to life. For our younger visitors, there will be a dedicated baby area set up.
Sewing Fun. Create your own magicians wand and performers award in this StitchwithKate sewing workshop. There will be a range of pre-cut shapes and embellishments for you to choose from and you will learn how to stitch on shapes and sew around edges. Suitable for the absolute beginner to more advanced stitcher. Ages 3+ welcomed (with the support of an adult to help hold felt shapes for the younger stitchers).
Mr Bamboozle’s Magic Show. Come and be enthralled! “How did he do that?” “How did that disappear?” “How did that float?”” How did that get from here to over there?” With a slick and well-practised slight of hand, Mr Bamboozle will appear to bumble his way through his forty-minute show as though he’s forgotten everything, even what his name is! Don’t be fooled- he knows exactly what he is doing, but just loves the comedy of keeping you on tenterhooks. In-between his Magic Shows, Mr Bamboozle will be walking around The Courtyard Family Festival doing some fun balloon modelling!
Orchestra of the Swan Family Concert: Carnival of the Animals. Join us for an enchanting family-friendly concert featuring the acclaimed Orchestra of the Swan, our Orchestra in Residence. Adding to the magic, the performance will be accompanied by a collection of charming poems written by the best-selling author Michael Morpurgo.
Circus Family Rave. In true Family Festival style this circus themed rave will be full of bubbles, balloons and all of your favourite tunes, so bring your crew and we’ll get you dancing. Dressing up encouraged from everyone! Suitable for all ages, ear defenders for tiny people are recommended. Remember the family that raves together, stays together!
Biscuit Decorating. Back by popular demand, no Family Festival would be complete without our favourite drop in – biscuit decorating! Join Jan who will provide plenty of toppings and sprinkles galore so you can decorate your own circus themed biscuit. (Gluten free options available).
Circus Skills with Citrus Arts. Play games and learn various ground-based circus skills like juggling, tightwire, plate spinning, hula hooping and so on. Engaging, physical and inclusive!
Performances. Join us throughout the Family Festival fun day on The Courtyard Lounge (First Floor) for incredible free performances from: The Courtyard Youth Theatre, Jigsaw Inclusive Dance, HCA, Starlight, Ludwig Theatre Arts, Laura Gale Dance & Drama and more!
Dress Up Corner. Explore a world of imagination at The Courtyard Costume Store’s pop-up Dress-Up Corner! Try on a variety of fun costumes and accessories, from dazzling outfits to quirky hats. Whether you’re feeling adventurous, silly, or fancy, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Perfect for all ages—come dress up & snap a photo!
Face Painting. Looby Lou is back and will be spending the day painting all things circus spectacular.
Party Plaits. Visit Party Plaits by Leanne and get a clip in braid or Glitter Tattoo at The Courtyard’s Family Festival fun day!
Sensory Room. Come and explore our magical sensory space, the perfect place for little ones and their families to take a break from the bustling Family Festival! Discover a safe haven where the whole family can unwind and relax, with mindfulness stories and imaginative play throughout the day.
This year’s Family Festival Fun Day has something for everyone!
More about The Courtyard:
Fancy some food? The Café bar offers salads, quiche, light bites and cakes, along with hot and cold drinks.
The Courtyard in Hereford offers something for everyone, with films, live shows, live screenings, clubs, classes, workshops and even parties! Looking for things to do with the kids? Check our website for our Courtyard Family Saturdays events. These may be live shows, workshops or films – all suited to our younger audiences. These start at 11am on Saturdays, and we run a free pre-event activity for the children from 10.30am.
There is always something going on in school holidays too. Check our website for details!
