The arts are starting to re-emerge and there are a host of activities for children during the school holidays and beyond. Here are six that you and your little people will love.

1. AWESOME Festival is an explosion of concerts, circus, ballet, opera, marching bands, workshops, exhibitions. Head into the Perth Cultural Centre between 28 September – 2 October for a family adventure. Be warned tickets are selling fast (venues are running at 50% capacity due to COVID restrictions), but there are plenty of free outdoor events too. Check out Seesaw’s festival overview here.

2. Fremantle Arts Centre runs courses for kids during the school holidays. They tailor their programs for children aged 5 – 12 and there’s something for everyone including pottery, cartooning, canvases, mosaic, animation, clay…

3. A trip to the State Theatre Centre is always a thrill. CDP Theatre Producers have three shows for kids that come with great reputations: 91-Storey Treehouse (6-11 Oct), Magic Beach (7-11 Oct) and Room on the Broom (21-25 Oct). This is a company that specialises in bringing favourite children’s books alive using the magic of song, humour, storytelling and scary fun. They will take your child to a place of wide-eyed wonder and belly laughing delight.

4. Barking Gecko Theatre Company’s Helpmann-award winning production Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories has charmed audiences across the country and around the globe and is returning to Perth (31 Oct – 21 Nov). Bambert is an impossibly small man with an enormous love for writing. Tucked away in his quiet attic, his only companions are the characters he has created in his stories. And then one day, Bambert decides to set his stories free, to send them out into the world on little balloons in the hope that they will find a home… This exquisite theatre production uses puppets, actors and an exquisite set to remind us that stories can change the world.

5. Book early for the West Australian Ballet’s Nutcracker (21 Nov – 13 Dec) as this magical ballet always sells out. Be transported with Clara to the world of brave toy soldiers and dancing sugar canes in this 19^th century English setting of Tchaikovsky’s classical ballet.

6. The Art Gallery of WA has a host of different events including a school holidays Family guided tour. But my top pick is Balga Waangkiny (Balga Talking) Yarning Together (26 Sept – 11 Oct). Noongar artist Sharyn Egan provides space for connection and mindfulness where you can sit quietly, untangle your thoughts, share stories, and weave feeling into an accumulating installation inspired by grass trees. She says “When making sculpture, out of meadow grass and wool it’s very relaxing, the mind goes quiet and time disappears. When people sit down to create together, especially families, it’s like a regrouping, with everyone working towards the same goal.” Sounds like the perfect way for families to connect during the school holidays.

Pictured top: Girls participate in grass weaving during Balga Waangkiny at the Art Gallery of WA. Photo by Rebecca Mansell