Children’s theatre, dance, outdoor events and more kid-friendly activities in April
Peppa Pig’s Surprise
If you’ve got kiddies or nieces and nephews of a certain age, you’ll likely be familiar with the cult of Peppa Pig – the insanely popular animation series which has captured the hearts of millions of preschoolers and spawned an unfathomably large range of merchandise (plus its own theme park, in Hampshire).
If you know some devotees of Peppa, George and friends, listen up, because the whole squad are in town this month for a live show which runs at the Corn Exchange on 2 and 3 April.
As always with Peppa and her posse, it’s going to be a super colourful, fun show with lots of audience interaction, games and all sorts of surprises. The performance features life-size puppets of Peppa and her family as she and George try to guess what surprise Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig have in store for them. The production has been given four stars by Time Out and five from Daily Express, with the Daily Telegraph calling it a “rollicking, all singing, dancing, interactive adventure.”
Tickets start at £16.50, check online for more details.
Milton Country Fayre
On the first weekend of April, the beautiful Milton Country Park just off the A14 will be hosting a brand-new Spring Fayre.
The Fayre will be held in marquees nestling in the woodland and features stalls selling everything from seeds, garden furniture and plants to crafts, jewellery, clothing and fine food. There will also be outdoor entertainment to keep you occupied and catering on-site to combat any hungry tummies!
With lots of food, fun and entertainment, it promises to be a great day out for the whole family, plus, children under 16 go free.
www.battenburgevents.co.uk/page/spring-fayre
Fairy Fun
Wandlebury Country Park is hosting a delightful-sounding Fairy Fun day on 6 April. Grab your brood, wrap up and head off on a magical, fairy-dust filled trip into the woodland, when there will be storytelling, craft activities and games of ‘fairy hide and seek’. Little ones will also learn how to make shelters for small mammals (and fairies of course!).
Event takes place 11am-1pm and is suitable for ages three to six years. Children must be accompanied by an adult and the event costs £8 per child.
A Day in the Woods
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise! A packed day of woodland fun at Wandlebury awaits, which mini adventurers will go wild for. Taking place on 8 April from 10am to 4pm, A Day in the Woods will feature a busy line-up of den building, tracking, fire making, bread cooking and (best of all) toasting marshmallows by a crackling campfire.
The activities are suitable for children aged eight to 12 years and cost £40 per child. Children should wear warm, waterproof clothing and bring a packed lunch.
Thriplow Daffodil Weekend
Each year, the village of Thriplow in south Cambridgeshire hosts a huge celebration of spring, providing a lovely day out in the countryside with tasty food, music, entertainment and stalls.
The centre point for the event is the village’s beautiful crop of daffodils, which are always a gorgeous sight, and with traffic-free lanes to amble around, it’s like stepping back in time for the afternoon.
The festival, which this year takes place on 16-17 April, has been running since 1969, started in an effort to raise money for some church repairs. Residents decided to open up their gardens and serve cups of tea from their homes – it was such a success that they decided to try it again the year after. The Thriplow Daffodil Weekend was born and it now draws in around 7,000 guests each year.
There are pretty gardens to admire, craft barns to wander around, live music to be enjoyed and always lots of delicious food – be it home-made cake or something tasty from one of the many food stalls. And how do they ensure that they get their famous bumper crop of daffs year after year? The residents plant more and more each year – adding in plenty of different varieties, so they’re pretty much set whatever the English weather throws at them!
The event takes place 11am-5pm both days and costs £5 per adult and £2.50 per child. Under fives go free.
Family Campfire Cooking at Wicken Fen
Wicken Fen’s resident campfire chef Alan will be hosting a very special day of outdoor cooking this month that’s perfect for families.
Alan will take you through a full, delicious three-course supper, and everything you need to cook it will be provided on-site, including home-made mud ovens. The day is suitable for kids aged eight and over, and attendees are asked to wear clothes they don’t mind getting a bit mucky (wellies are advised). Don’t forget to stick on cotton clothing since you’ll be around a fire, and any long hair will need to be tied back. This is a special one-off activity and a chance for a great day out on the National Trust’s oldest nature reserve. You’ll need to book in advance.
The day itself takes place from 10am till 2.30pm on Friday 8 April, and tickets cost £45. Remember: wrap up warm and
don’t fill up on Easter eggs before you get there!
Rumpelstiltskin at the Junction
On 3 April at 11.30am and 2.30pm, the Junction will be hosting a woolly, musical take on the classic fairy tale full of tricks and wonder.
Presented by Ripstop and Norwich Puppet Theatres, this is Rumpelstiltskin as you’ve never seen him or heard his story before. This is a tale in which the Prince wants to be a shepherd, the royals are strapped for cash, and it’s Auntie who’s doing the spinning in her efforts to make the wool for the King’s special jumper. Let yourself be woven into a physically sumptuous world of spinning, puppetry and storytelling this Easter, and see whether, as in all good fairy tales, the kids get to learn a thing or two on the way.
Digitopia
Blending live dance, digital technology and bending the rules of gravity, Digitopia hits Cambridge Junction this month for a spellbinding show. The story follows Dotty and her friend Hex, a simple two-dimensional line. He used to be happy with making angles, especially hexagons, but one day he decides he wants to make a curve. With a lot of effort he learns to bend, then multiply, and suddenly he can create all kinds of shapes, eventually popping into three dimensions, discovering he can turn into anything he wants to. Join Dotty as she follows Hex into his fantastical digital world, filled with surprises, incredible performances and beautiful digital art.
After the show is finished, you can hop up on stage with the performers and explore dance and technology (suitable for five to ten year olds). The show takes place on 10 April at 2pm and 4.30pm and tickets are £6 for children and £10 for adults.
