Belfast Children's Festival is back and celebrating its big birthday event with hundreds of events for all the family across the city.
Clocking up 25 glorious years, the festival which will take place fully in person will host countless exciting activities across ten days in Belfast, from March 3-12 2023.
Belfast Children's festival celebrates all that is excellent in children’s performance through spoken word, music and song with this year's festival set to delight children of all ages with an abundance of creative treats planned.
Read more: Festival celebrating the people of North Belfast back for second year
Recognising the cost-of-living financial pressure on families and communities, this year Belfast Children’s Festival has held ticket prices at £5 and £10 per ticket.
The Festival is also allocating a limited number of tickets to support local communities including those from areas of social need, to ensure as many families and communities as possible can access the festival.
From Little Murmur, a true story of a young person who one day realises they have been misspelling their own name featuring ground-breaking projections, an extraordinary soundscape, to PRISM, a story of Inter-dimensional travellers who have been stuck in an empty void dimension for far too long - the event lineup will spark their creative juices.
Replay Theatre Company will celebrate 35 years of creating artistic adventures for young people with a new production, Mirrorball, the story of Belfast drag queen Cherrie Ontop.
Young at Art Director, EibhIín de Barra said: "We are so excited to launch Belfast Children’s Festival 2023 as we mark the significant milestone of turning 25 this year!
"25th Anniversaries are often called ‘Silver’, so after the difficult last few years, and indeed the challenging times we are currently finding ourselves in, we want to bring you the ‘silver lining’ to those clouds with the brightest, boldest and sunniest selection of theatre, dance, music, art and interactive events, including a massive range of free activities for all the family as part of our Big Belfast Birthday Bash.
"So, whether you are young, or simply young at heart, come and celebrate with us, This year we are working with Belfast City Council’s Lord Mayor to provide a Big Belfast Birthday Bash at City Hall and sites in the Cathedral Quarter.
"There will be music and performances as well as free events and activities for all the family to enjoy."
The 2023 festival will also showcase stimulating and thought-provoking new works by local company Maiden Voyage Dance working with Erik Kaiel from the Netherlands and artist Michael McEvoy as well as visiting performances from Belgium, Netherlands, UK and Ireland.
Roisín McDonough, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Northern Ireland said: "The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to support Belfast Children’s Festival bringing younger audiences and their families amazing creative experiences.
"A leading children’s arts festival on these islands, it attracts the best acts from around the world.
"As Young at Art celebrates the 25th birthday of its flagship festival, we can reflect on the fact that they will have been responsible for introducing thousands upon thousands of children in Northern Ireland to the wonders of the arts.
"We all know how influential our early experiences are on the people we will become, so it’s heartening to think that those who first visited the Belfast Children’s Festival back in the late 1990s may now be returning with their own children, who will embark on their own life’s journey, similarly enthused and enriched by the arts.”
In addition to 10 new shows, the Festival will return with a full Irish Language offering including Máire Zepf, and Rothar and festival favourite, Babaithe Cultúir.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tina Black welcomed the launch of the festival, adding: "We’re excited to be supporting Belfast Children’s Festival once again in this, their special milestone 25th anniversary year; and their first significant full international programme since 2020.
"A cornerstone of our city’s cultural experience for children, we’re proud to have supported the Belfast Children’s Festival over the years, and see it grow in reach, innovation and impact.
"Belfast really values its vibrant festival scene, which celebrates local talent, showcases the work of our emerging artists and, most importantly in the case of Belfast Children’s Festival, inspires our next generation of creative talent."
READ NEXT:
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
