QPAC’s next big flood – Children Out of the Box

Out of The Box – Festival for Children

It’s hard to believe that Out of the Box has been running for twenty years but indeed, 2012 marks the twentieth birthday of the biennial festival for children. From June 12, QPAC and the entire cultural precinct will be overrun by crowds of excitable small people and their various keepers – a crowd of more than fifty thousand is expected this year! It’s a wonderful event for Brisbane and a great week dedicated to sparking children’s creativity and imaginations.

Of particular note this year – the National Year of Reading and the first year without the QLD Premiers Literary Award – the centrepiece of the festival will be a new work based on The Flying Orchestra, a children’s book written and illustrated by Queensland author Clare McFadden.

Directed by world renowned puppetry artist Peter Wilson (The Red Tree, How to Train Your Dragon, King Kong), The Flying Orchestra uses innovative puppetry and design to create enchanting visual theatre that the whole family will enjoy.

But this week is not just about paying for fun – amongst the hefty program of paid theatre and workshops there are also buckets of free events to keep the less financial amused from Polygots intriguing Sticky Maze, the irresistibly sounding Chalk the Walk (who can resist a stick of chalk and free reign of the QPAC concrete tunnel) and the delightful sounding Odda-Tour-eum at the State library there is no end of interesting ways to fill in the day.

For a full list of all the performances, workshops, symposiums and free events check out the website http://www.outoftheboxfestival.com.au/– you can book tickets online as well.

The message is clear this week – if you’re a kid or a kid keeper get Out of the Box, but if kids make you nervous and jittery – get out of town, they’re about to take over!