Adelaide Festival | Family Events
Whether you’re eight or 80, there is a whole heap of fun to be had at the 2017 Adelaide Festival.
Discover a hand-picked selection of shows and events that are perfect for kids of all ages, from Manual Cinema and Peter and the Wolf to the Adelaide Writers’ Week’s Kids’ Weekend and the Free Opening Weekend Concert by Neil Finn. There’s something to share with every member of the family, so embrace your inner child and explore some of the most delightful and wondrous events of 2017 at the Adelaide Festival.
Neil Finn FREE Opening Weekend Concert
When accepting an award for ‘Greatest Living Songwriter’, Paul McCartney famously said “I think you mean Neil Finn”.
Now one of the world’s finest songwriter returns to Adelaide Festival for what promises to be an unforgettable twilight concert on the Adelaide Riverbank.
From his career with Split Enz and Crowded House to his highly acclaimed solo work, the songs of Neil Finn are the soundtrack to the lives of many Australians.
Capacity is strictly limited for this all-ages concert, so come early, grab your spot on the lawns and start your Festival experience with the sweet sounds of the living legend.
Sunday 5 March 2017 | 6pm to 7.45pm (gates open at 1pm) | Elder Park
Find out all the details HERE
Backbone
The world premiere new show from Adelaide based acrobatic company Gravity and Other Myths. They were a massive hit at the Adelaide Fringe with their show “A Simple Space”, and have gone leaps and bounds (pun intended!) overseas where they have been critically acclaimed. They take circus and acrobatics to a whole new level, with gravity defying flips, tricks and tumbles. And they’re based right here in Adelaide!
Tuesday 14 – Sunday 19 March 2017 | Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre | Read more here
Peter and the Wolf
Could there be a better introduction to the orchestra and storytelling than the warm, whimsical and occasionally wicked Miriam Margolyes? Join her and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra with Principal Conductor, Nicholas Carter, for a superb program of gorgeous tunes and orchestral thrills for the young and young at heart.
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 March 2017 | Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre | Read more here
Manual Cinema – Magic City (March 11-13) and Lula Del Ray (March 14-16)
Manual Cinema creates real-time animated cinema using overhead projectors, shadow puppetry, in silhouette actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design and an onstage music ensemble.
Take the family to see a 3D film with a difference in the Australian exclusive premiere of Manual Cinema’s Magic City and Lula Del Ray at the 2017 Adelaide Festival.
11 – 16 March 2017 | Her Majesty’s Theatre, 58 Grote Street | Read more here.
Kids’ Weekend | Adelaide Writer’s Week
The magic is back with Kids’ Weekend – two days of stories, songs, parades and some pretty amazing creatures. Come along and spend some time with singer/songwriter Holly Throsby, local theatre company Story Trove, Evelyn Roth’s Nylon Zoo and the ever wonderful Nest Studios. There will be murals, books about bums, creatures and rather a lot of stardust.
Saturday 4 March, Sunday 5 March 2017 | Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden, King William Road
Wot? No Fish!!
In 1926, in the East End of London, Jewish shoemaker Ab Solomons doodled on the wage-packet he gave to his wife Celie. Every week of their marriage, right up until 1982, Ab developed his art, drawing her a wage-packet picture every week.
These pictures chronicle Ab and Celie’s family life, and the surrounding social and political upheavals, with great wit, warmth and blistering honesty.
Danny Braverman’s solo show tells the funny and moving story of how he discovered his great uncle’s lost art, hidden in dozens of dusty shoeboxes. Wot? No Fish!! is an extraordinary story of love and art, history and family that has played all over the world to an ever-growing legion of fans.
Friday 3 March – Monday 6 March 2017 | AC Arts Main Theatre, 39 Light Square | Read more here.
Yidaki
The didjeridu is the iconic sound of Australia. From a stringy bark forest in Arnhem Land, to the concert halls of Europe, the sound of yidaki (didjeridu) speaks of the landscapes and cultures of Australia and its First People. Yet the instrument’s cultural foundations, contemporary meanings and unique musical qualities are poorly understood.
A collaboration between the South Australian Museum and the Yolngu people, this special exhibition explores yidaki through sound, story, moving image and rarely seen treasures from the South Australian Museum’s collection.
Friday 3 March – Monday 31 July 2017 | South Australian Museum, North Terrace | Read more here
The Riverbank Palais Program
There, in the dim distance of the city’s receding cultural memory one jewel still glows: the “Taj Mahal of the Torrens”, the “most distinctive and beautiful place of entertainment in the Commonwealth”.
Ask your grandma if you don’t believe it, but an ornate floating ballroom known as The Floating Palais was the pinnacle of Adelaide’s nightlife throughout the 1920’s, until its mysterious sinking “after a series of explosions” at the height of the decade. Now, polish your dancing shoes and get ready for its phoenix-like return as the hub of the 2017 Adelaide Festival.
A stunning, newly-designed Floating Palais will light up the Torrens riverbank this festival season. Dance the night away to bands and DJs in the Grand Ballroom, compare notes on the shows you’ve loved or loathed over a drink or soak up the last glimpses of summer (and the odd international star) in the glorious open air mezzanine bar. The Palais welcomes you in daylight hours too – share breakfast and papers with some of Australia’s favourite media commentators or enjoy an after-work drink while listening to the world’s most compelling writers and artists.
The Palais precinct will stretch into Elder Park with a focus on fresh, affordable, locally-sourced fare for pre and post-show drinks, family picnics, long, lazy lunches and late night suppers. Relax and raise a toast to the stars of the city’s culinary heritage, including Christine Manfield, Cheong Liew and Cath Kerry, and their selection of food and wine curated by Gill Minervini (Dark MOFO Winter Feast) with food consultant Duncan Welgemoed (Africola, Lola’s Pergola) especially for the Adelaide Festival.
As classy or as casual as you like, climb aboard The Riverbank Palais and have the time of your life.
The Ocean After Nature Countercurrents
There’s no narration, no polemics, but the effect on your eyes and ears (music by Max Richter, Gurrumul and Anohni among others) will ignite an outrage at the imminent disappearance of this teeming universe that will burn in you forever.
The Ocean After Nature and Countercurrents features the work of 23 Australian and international artists, exploring our relationship with and connections to the oceans through new media, sculpture, installation, painting and photography.
Friday 3 March – Friday 14 April 2017 | Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia, North Terrace | Read more here.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Adelaide Festival website
What: Adelaide Festival
When: Friday 3 March to Sunday 19 March 2017
Where: Various Venues
Who: All ages (refer to age guides)
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change. Images from Adelaide Festival website/Facebook page.
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