The young and the young at heart are in for a big day when the first contemporary music and arts festival for children – Little Day Out – is held in Ipswich on Sunday 18 July as part of SPARK Ipswich.
Community, Culture, Arts and Sport Committee Chair Cr Andrew Fechner said families would have an absolute blast at Little Day Out and other festival events.
“Ipswich has never seen a children’s event like Little Day Out before, with exceptional music and arts experiences and a strong focus on sustainability,” he said.
“Little Day Out has so much to offer including nature play, mural painting, circus skills workshops and a silent disco.
“We want people of all ages to join the festival fun at SPARK Ipswich events across Ipswich that celebrate our city’s culture, people and places.”
The bespoke music and arts celebration at Ripley Town Centre is aimed at children under 10 and will have a focus on sustainability and be bursting with music, hands-on arts experiences including a 7m paint by numbers street art mural, roving entertainment, a silent disco, food and fun.
Seventeen-year-old North Ipswich artist Hanna Jones, who is a former Queensland Youth Week art competition winner, has designed the event’s colourful look and feel.
Little Day Out will be held across two sessions – 9am to 11.30am and 1pm to 3.30pm – and headlining the main stage is Regurgitator’s POGOGO Show which promises a witty and silly musical mash-up of funk, pop and rock.
Party Playground will deliver a high energy, super fun cabaret show. The Feral Cats of Tokyo bring their electrifying concert by children for children, and Circus Ipswich will showcase the talents of the city’s youngest circus stars.
Little Day Out is $5 per entry. Children aged three to 10 years receive a festival t-shirt or colour-in tote, while stocks last. Children two years and under do not need a ticket.
Little Day Out is presented by Ipswich City Council and Ripley Town Centre, and is supported by the Queensland Government, Ipswich Junior Grammar School and Quest Springfield Central.
Artwork by Hanna Jones.
Sekisui House Australia Project Director Taku Hashimoto said he is proud to be part of the innovative event that has a special focus on music, arts and sustainability, and will help to bring generations of the Ipswich community together.
“It’s fantastic to partner with SPARK Ipswich for Little Day Out as the event aligns with our key principles of ensuring happiness, connectivity and sustainability in our communities,” he said.
“We are looking forward to hosting what will be a must-attend event at Ripley Town Centre. It is wonderful to see a large regional event like Little Day Out, Ipswich’s first contemporary music and arts festival showcasing sustainable practices and demonstrating the Ipswich region’s leadership in this area.”
Little Day Out is just one highlight of a jam-packed family-friendly SPARK Ipswich program, which runs from 8 to 18 July. The full program is available at SPARKipswich.com.au
Other events families will not want to miss include:
SPARK After Dark (8-18 July)
Rug up and grab your smart device and headphones, and head out to the Ipswich CBD to experience SPARK After Dark.
The Bremer River becomes centre stage for Refraction – an art, light and water installation defined by the refraction of light through liquid to create an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colour. Refraction’s soundtrack will be playing at the Riverlink Amphitheatre and on the Riverheart Boardwalk. Or can be fully experienced by bringing a device and headphones and tuning into the web-based audio experience.
Best viewing is from Riverheart Boardwalk, Riverlink Shopping Centre, David Trumpy Bridge and Bradfield Bridge.
Just a short walk from Refraction, SPARK After Dark’s deLight will transform the iconic St Mary’s Church at Woodend into a canvas showcasing local artworks through projection, reflecting the culture of Ipswich, its people and places. Different artists will be profiled each night of the festival.
In the Nicholas Street Precinct, University of Southern Queensland engineering students will blend science, art and tech when they take over the façade of the new Ipswich City Council administration building with pixel – an LED light activation created through vector equations and matrices.
SPARK After Dark events are free.
SPARK After Dark is presented by Ipswich City Council and is supported by The Queensland Government and Riverlink Shopping Centre.
SPARK on Tour (8-11 July)
SPARK Ipswich is hitting the road, taking the festival fun to small halls across the region.
Enjoy side-splitting fun when Chores, a performance for all ages, visits Brassall, Peak Crossing, Goodna and Rosewood. It is about two excitable brothers who are definitely, probably, maybe, just about to, do the chores their mother has asked them to do.
The magic of circus will be shared in workshops by Circus Ipswich Workshops. SPARK on Tour events cost $5 per person, $15 for a family of four and $20 for a family of five.
SPARK on Tour is presented by Ipswich City Council and Stockland Providence and is supported by the Queensland Government.
Splash Test Dummies (8 July)
The Dummies are back with some splish splashing circus to drown audiences in tears of laughter.
They will perform a brand-new hour of circus-filled hilarity for the whole family at Ipswich Civic Centre.
It will include edge-of-your-seat stunts, acrobatics, juggling and slapstick comedy. Splash Test Dummies costs $22 per person.
SPARK Ipswich delivers 14 events across 11 days. The full festival program is available at SPARKipswich.com.au
SPARK Ipswich is delivered through the generous support of the following partners:
Foundation Partners: Ipswich City Council and The Queensland Government; Major Partners: Tourism and Events Queensland, Ripley Town Centre, Riverlink Shopping Centre and Stockland Providence; Support Partners: Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre (BEMAC), Ipswich Junior Grammar School, QMusic, and Quest Springfield Central; Media Partners: Bishopp, 9News Queensland and The Queensland Times; Programming Partners: Ipswich Art Gallery, Studio 188, Ipswich Civic Centre, Ipswich Catholic Community and Ipswich Libraries.
SPARK Ipswich is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
