Kids
Events are listed by city, then type. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to suzanne@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black.
Glasgow Activities and Fun Doon the Watter Until Fri 16 Apr, 1–3pm. Included in admission: £5.95 (£4.65; first child free; additional children £3). The Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour, 100 Stobcross Road, 222 2513. Drop-in activities to explore the history of the river. Mountain Biking Introduction Until Fri 16 Apr, 1–4pm. £4 per session. Mugdock Country Park, Craigallian Road, Milngavie, 956 6100. Keep active in the Easter hols with some mountain biking sessions run by East Dunbartonshire Council’s Active Schools programme. Booking required. See www.mugdock- country-park.org.uk Arts and Crafts Drop-in Until Sat 17 Apr, 3–5pm. £3 per sessions. Citizens Theatre, 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. Drop in for arty activities over the spring break. Make-Up Master Classes Until Fri 16 Apr, 1.30–3.30pm. £10 per session. King’s Theatre, 297 Bath Street, 0844 871 7647. Class in theatrical, film and TV special effects. Ages 8–16. Musical Magic – Musical Theatre Workshop Thu 15 & Fri 16 Apr, 10am–3.30pm. £24. City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. Participatory workshop for ages 7–12. FREE multi-story Workshop for Young People: Creative Photography Thu 15 Apr, 2–4pm. Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, 287 3059. Try out some new creative techniques with the help of Iseult Timmermans, who has worked for many years on the ‘multi-story’ arts project at the Red Road flats. Ages 12–15. Please book in advance. FREE Saturday Art Club: Build Yourself Sat 17 Apr, 10.30am–1pm. Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, 287 3050. Drop in throughout the morning to use all sorts of unusual materials to build a sculpture of yourself. Ages 3+. FREE Family Fun Day Sun 25 Apr, 12.30–3.30pm. St Catherines Primary, 274 Rye Road. Family friendly fun with inflatables, arts and crafts, beauty sessions, Animal Man, a climbing wall and loads more games. Junior Nature Club – No Parents Required! Sun 25 Apr, 1.45–4pm. £1. Mugdock Country Park, Craigallian Road, Milngavie, 956 6586. Join in with a bit of pavement art before heading off to have a go at orienteering. Ranger-led activities for 8–12-year-olds. Booking essential.
Fairs: The Scottish Baby Show Fri 23–Sun 25 Apr, 10am. £6.50. SECC, Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. From newborns and toddlers to big kids and mums-to-be, this fair is for anyone who’s ever worn a nappy.
Festival Puppet Animation Festival Until Thu 22 Apr, times vary. Prices vary. Various venues, 01224 575743. The Puppet Animation Festival is the UK’s oldest and largest performing arts event for children, attracting over 16,000 children and their families to performances and workshops throughout Scotland, provided by leading puppetry companies from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. See www.puppetanimationfestival.org Theatre & Dance Treasure Island Until Sat 17 Apr, Thu & Sat 2.30pm; Fri/Sat 7pm. £7. Citizens Theatre, 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. Wee Stories presents a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s swash-buckling adventure story.
60 THE LIST 15–29 Apr 2010
Mish Gorecki Goes Missing Until Sun 25 Apr (not Mon), Thu 15 & Fri 16 11am & 2pm; Sat/Sun noon & 3pm; Tue 20 10am & 5pm; Wed 21 5pm; Thu 22 & Fri 23 7pm. £6. Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. Little Mish goes to extreme measures to get her family to notice her, in this witty yet moving new play. Ages 8+. See preview, below. The Fisherman’s Wife Sat 24 Apr, 2pm & 3.45pm. £5.50 (children £4.95). Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre, 8–10 Balcarres Avenue, Kelvindale, 339 6185. Collaborators performs the legend about an enchanted fish in English (2pm) and French (3.45pm). Storytelling FREE Library Story Time Sat 24 Apr, noon–12.30pm. Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, 287 3050. Sit back and enjoy a relaxing half an hour of storytelling. For families with children aged 3–8.
Edinburgh Activities and Fun FREE Family Tours Sat 17 & 24 Apr, 2pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 225 7534. A 15-minute tour of one of National Museums Scotland’s collections, designed with
families in mind. Tour subjects change weekly. FREE Arthur’s Secrets Tue 20 & 27 Apr, 1–3pm. Holyrood Park, Holyrood Lodge, 652 8150. Take a walk up Edinburgh’s own volcanic plug and discover its past, present and wildlife. Moderately graded walk. Booking essential. Funky Stuff Week Until Fri 16 Apr, 10am–noon. £75. Imagination Workshop, 136 Marchmont Road, 466 0148. So much cool stuff to make and only one week in which to do it: make and take home a canvas clock, butterfly mobile, cool light shade and felted bowl. LYT Quest Until Fri 16 Apr, 10am–4pm. £70 (£30). Royal Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street, 248 4848. Improvisation, script work, stage combat, make up and special effects workshop. Ages 8–12. Children’s Drawing Workshop Thu 15 Apr, 10am–2pm. £12. Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, 228 2688. A workshop hosted by Scottish cartoonist Malcy Duff for children aged 7–12. Spring Bursts Forth Sat 17 & Sun 18 Apr, 10.30am–12.30pm. £4 per adult/child. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 628 3963. As spring flora and fauna burst into life after winter hibernation, take a walk around Lauriston Castle’s grounds, then create a decorative pot to grow your own spring plant in. Booking essential.
THEATRE MISH GORECKI GOES MISSING Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 15–Sun 25 Apr
As anyone who has been part of a family will testify, it’s not always easy to get your voice heard – especially when you’re the littlest. For nine-year-old Mish Gorecki, convincing her parents to listen to her is proving almost impossible, calling for some pretty drastic action.
Written by Australian playwright Skye Loneragan, Mish Gorecki Goes Missing is the poignant yet witty tale of a young girl’s desire to visit the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. Having been chosen for the trip by her ballet teacher, all she needs is her parents’ signature on the permission slip, but they’re too busy with their own concerns to notice. For Loneragan, the notion of a child carrying the burden of responsibility for the entire family was a starting point ripe with potential. ‘I was intrigued by the idea of a young kid getting self-worth from her
role as the rock in the family,’ she explains, ‘and then having to relinquish that role to get what she wants. If you try and get attention by removing yourself, can that be successful?’ Aimed at ages eight and above, the story draws on Loneragan’s own experience of childhood, mixed with a mythical short story she wrote about the desire to get away, hence Mish’s longing for the excitement of Russia.
So, does she get there – is there a happy ending? ‘Without spoiling things, I believe the ending is very hopeful,’ says Loneragan. ‘Because Mish realises she has the ability to dance whether she gets to Russia or not. And that the things that will lift her out of her situation are within her. She can’t change the way people around her behave, but she can change her reaction to them, which may change her situation. So in the end she gets what she needs.’ (Kelly Apter)
FREE Buzzy Bees Sat 17 Apr, 2–4pm. Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. Keep kids busy (or should that be buzzy?) with arty activities, honey-tasting and info about biodiversity. FREE Bags of Art Sun 18 Apr, 2–4pm. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Collect a bag of fun activities from the Art Station and help your family explore the collections and create amazing works of art. Ages 3–12. Create a Character Workshop Mon 19 Apr, 10am–4pm. £15. Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, 228 2688. Character creating workshop for ages 9–14. Gardening 4 Kids Fri 23 Apr, 1–3pm. £1. Bridgend Allotments, 41 Old Dalkeith Road, 664 9559. An intro to horticulture for ages 6–10. Children must be accompanied. Booking essential. FREE Meet the Butterflies Sun 25 Apr, 10am. Hermitage of Braid Visitor Centre, 69 Braid Road, 447 7145. Learn how to identify the different species of butterfly. Please bring a packed lunch. Ages 12+. Booking essential. WeeWalk – Fitness for Kids! Sun 25 Apr, 11am. Registration £10. Royal Botanic Garden, 20a Inverleith Row, 01667 458849. Choose from a one- or three-mile walk around the gardens to learn about healthy eating and active lifestyles while raising money for WildHearts.
Festival Edinburgh International Science Festival Until Sat 17 Apr, times vary. Prices vary. Various Venues, 553 0322. An amazing public programme of shows, exhibitions, hands-on workshops, talks, tours and events to inspire, excite, challenge, amuse and entertain adults and children alike with the incredible breadth of science: from footballer robots to the psychology of comedy, it’s all covered. See www.sciencefestival.co.uk Puppet Animation Festival Until Thu 22 Apr, times vary. Prices vary. Various venues, 01224 575743. See Glasgow. Music Baby O Wed 21–Fri 23 Apr, 10.30am, 11.30am & 1.30pm. £6 per adult & baby. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Multisensory, interactive opera experience for babies aged 6–18 month olds and their parents and carers from Scottish Opera.
Theatre & Dance Treasure Island Wed 21–Sat 24 Apr, Wed 10.30am; 7pm (Sat mat 2pm). £12. King’s Theatre, 2 Leven Street, 529 6000. Wee Stories presents a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s swash-buckling adventure story. Storytelling Story Space Thu 15 Apr, 11am. £5 (accompanying adult free). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Storytelling in the courtyard with games, songs and movement to get the imaginative juices flowing. Ages 2–5 (plus carers). L’Heure Du Conte Sat 17 Apr, 11am–noon. £5 per family. Institut Français d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent, 225 5366. Tanya Czajka (Le Petit Monde) presents a puppet show, Escargot est malade, followed by games in French and English. FREE Cats, Bagpipes and Bottoms Sat 24 Apr, 11am. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 337 2372. Lari Don, Margaret Forrester and Angus Corby share stories from their new picture books, Sandra Klaassen show off her drawing skills and the Picture Kelpies range of original Scottish picture books is launched. Children must be accompanied. Tiny Tales Tue 27 Apr, 10am & 11.30am. £4 (accompanying adults free). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Stories, rhymes and songs for wee (and not so wee) ears. Ages 6 months–3 years.