Ipswich Festival has a huge line up for the children of Ipswich.
The fun kicks off at Riverlink Shopping Centre on Thursday, 11 April, with Wiggles favourites Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog dropping by for a meet and greet.
Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol Show will also be on stage along with face painting, balloon twisting, glitter tattoos and rock climbing on throughout the day.
The Ipswich Art Gallery has a full-body interactive exhibition, Playing with Light, that explores the role light plays in life and the world.
There are over 22 interactive exhibits such as a giant kaleidoscope, ‘painting’ with infrared light and laser light displays.
The exhibition runs until 28 April from 10am to 5pm each day. Cost is $5 per person and free for children under two years.
An explosion of fireworks and jetpack stunt performers Thursday night at 7pm will make the Bremer River sparkle. The best vantage points are from the David Trumpy Bridge, Bradfield Bridge and Riverlink Shopping Centre.
Friday Live for Kids is a day of action-packed children’s entertainment to delight children from babies to primary schoolers on Friday, 12 April.
The day will feature song, dance, magic and music kicking off at 10.30am in Timothy Molony Park.
Ipswich City Council Kid’s Arena will be a special area with workshops for children to create personalised Festival sunglasses, handmade Rainbow Wand, trendy character pencil case, bug brooches, dragon hand puppets, plaster painting, slim fun, wearable art and music instruments.
Triangle House is the local mother daughter business who are the creators behind the workshops.
Triangle House’s Caragh Dickson said they found inspiration for the activities from researching festivals like Coachella.
“We are super proud to be working at Ipswich Festival. We are always creating things for the children to do that you won’t see anywhere else,” Ms Dickson said.
The Kids Arena will be inside the Heritage Bank Festival Village at Timothy Molony Park on Friday, 12 April from 10.30am, Saturday, 13 April from 10.30am and Sunday, 14 April at 11am.
Council will be offering a complimentary ‘tag a toddler’ child locating service on Friday and Saturday at Kids Arena to put your mind at rest.
On Saturday night, 13 April, Ipswich will line the Brisbane Street to watch the annual Festival Parade of Light. The theme is “Our Backyard”.
The street parade of giant lanterns and magical floats will be marched down the street to a variety of community bands.
The best viewing will be between Waghorn and Bell Streets on Brisbane Street.
Fire on the River program at Riverlink
10am: Wonder Park Carnival movie screening at Limelight Cinemas. Kids ticket includes a free small popcorn and fairy floss
10am – 5pm: Roller Skating, Laser Tag & Rock Climbing Wall
10am – 6pm: Download the Riverlink App to collect a free glowstick on the day
12pm: Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol Live Show
12pm – 5pm: Face painters, LED balloon twisters, glitter tattoo artist
1pm and 2pm: Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol meet and greet
3pm, 4pm and 5pm: Meet the Wiggles favourite characters – Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog
6:15pm – 6:45pm: Pre-Fireworks entertainment including inflatable cosmic horses, LED stiltwalkers, hula hoop shows, glow jugglers and fire artists
At 7pm, the colourful explosive fireworks will light up the night sky to launch the Ipswich Festival celebrations. Keep your gaze fixed upwards as gravity-defying jetpack stunt performers soar high above the water all choreographed to a pumping soundtrack.
Best vantage points are David Trumpy Bridge, Bradfield Bridge and Riverlink Shopping Centre.
Friday Live for Kids program at the Kids Arena, Timothy Molony Park
10.30am: Disco Rainbow Sparkles Show: This all-singing, all-dancing duo combine funky tunes and rocking music with story-telling, to delight children everywhere.
11.30am: Meet Fusion 122, an outstanding performance team of the very popular Ipswich Young Orpheus Singers.
12.15pm: Laugh along at Mondello the Magician’s Silver Magic Show, full of audience participation, interaction and comedic routines.
12.45pm: The Fabulous Lemon Drops provide action-packed musical entertainment featuring upbeat, original music with a message. A show for the whole family.
1.30pm: The Cheeky Monkey Club has a lovable cheeky monkey with an inquisitive and adventurous spirit. Come along to sing, dance, imagine, play and learn as you go on an adventure together.
2.15pm: Be inspired by the three Curly Cousin characters, Miss B, Coco and Sunshine, with their rich harmonies, exotic instruments, audience participation and puppets.
3.15pm: Rollo The Clown: Watch spellbound by Rollo’s entertaining act of magic, balloon artistry and hilarious routines.
3.45pm: Rock with Bravo: Dance and bob through the ages of Rock in this fast paced show as ‘Bravo’ and his team dance up a storm.
