By NICOLE WILLIAMS
FUN, play and excitement will be the buzzwords around Greater Dandenong in September and October.
The City of Greater Dandenong has announced a month-long children’s festival will be held throughout the municipality from Saturday 22 September until Friday 26 October.
The Greater Dandenong Children’s Festival is the biggest festival undertaken by the council and will coincide with the September school holidays.
More than 70 events will be held during the festival and 70 per cent will be free.
Jamie Dawson, Greater Dandenong Co-ordinator of Arts and Cultural Development said it was a flagship festival for families, which was rarely seen outside of the CBD.
“It is unique for a council to hold a festival of this size and we’re excited to be able to deliver that,” he said.
“Being able to engage kids of any age is integral to developing an ongoing love for whatever they want to do in the future.”
Activities will be available for babies up to 12-year-olds and of all abilities.
School holidays in the municipality will be jam packed with activities, with double the programs on offer.
Mr Dawson said children from Greater Dandenong and surrounds would be able to get involved in sport, gardening, arts and crafts, reading, dancing and singing, circus training and astrology.
“We didn’t want to limit the festival to just an art or sport festival,” he said.
“We really wanted to highlight what council can do.”
The end of the first week will culminate with the Little Day Out for Big Imaginations on Sunday 30 September at Ross Reserve in Noble Park.
Mr Dawson said the family fun day would have an enchanted forest feel and include a music stage, dance circle, a 30-metre inflatable slide, rock climbing, circus workshops and gardening workshops.
Other highlights of the month-long festival will included an inflatable planetarium at the Paddy O’Donoghue Centre, astrology walks, circus performances, puppetry performances, gardening workshops and the annual Children’s Expo and Fun Day.
A full program of the expo will be made available from the council website within three weeks.
