Thursday, March 24, 2011

Greenbelt Festival / Blog / The Village: Greenbelt, only smaller

The Village: Greenbelt, only smaller

thevillage

As previously announced, we're taking a fresh look in 2011 at Greenbelt's programming for children and families. Greenbelt has always taken pride in offering an experience like no other for every festivalgoer, from babes in arms to nans and grandads, so we're very excited about taking another look at making our festival brilliant for everyone.

So, sound the fanfares, break out the ticker-tape parade, and welcome to… The Village!

Featuring new and improved venues located close to each other around the Arena (The Village Green), we want The Village to provide a range of activities to suit every child – from bookworms to party animals, from the crafty to the sporty – and for the eclectic mix of performance, music, visual arts, literature and worship that you'd expect from Greenbelt to start firing the imaginations of 0-10s.

In short: It's Greenbelt. Only smaller.

Here's what you'll find in The Village…

The Village Playhouse

The Village Playhouse is a brand new venue for 2011, showcasing performance and theatre for children. Blunderbus Theatre Company bring their production of the best-selling children’s book Elmer The Elephant; there's improv fun for all the family with Kepow Theatre Company; comedy magic from Lab Monkey Productions; PuppetCraft return to Greenbelt with their new production The Mousehole Cat; tricks of the mind from Steve Price; and a new home but the same silly fun from The Family Twist with Paul Cookson.

The Village Screen

With children’s films being incredibly popular in the film programme over the last few years, what could be better than a dedicated indoor film venue for kids – showing films, short films, TV favourites and cartoons from early until late. Including timeless classics like the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, Up, Home Alone and the Wallace & Gromit films, plus new films like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and current TV brilliance from Charlie & Lola and Shaun the Sheep.

The Village Green

A new name for an old favourite… last year, it was the incredibly popular Arena, this year it's The Village Green, with all the outdoor exuberance, crazy games, dance workshops, and large-scale activities you've come to expect, alongside circus skills, an outdoor playground and all the Greenbelt community coming together in the name of fun!

Messy Space

Messy Space just got even better, with a partially-outdoor venue to really let the mess fly. Craft, play and worship, lots of space, storytelling, plus all the toys, sand and mess that kids can handle!

Make & Take

For those looking to make something a little more special, we have a brand new venue for workshops and crafts for kids. Learn a new skill, make something beautiful, and take something away to remind you of Greenbelt!

All Round The Site

There’s stuff for kids and families all over the site, including an early evening Youth Group-style event for 8-10s, lunchtime Mainstage gigs to watch whilst eating your sandwiches, plenty of walkabout street theatre, and all of the usual Greenbelt fun round every corner…