Playhouse Playtime

On Tuesday we went along to the lovely Playhouse Whitley Bay to attend the first of the Playhouse Playtime events.  The Playhouse has teamed up with lots of lovely local entertainers to put on weekly events throughout the summer holidays.

Our event was with Marty from Circurama who provide fabulous circus skills workshops to children.

We didn't have a clue what to expect when we turned up but there was plenty of staff on hand to help out.  

To start with, we were split into two groups, we were in the first group which meant we got to go first to meet some cool critters.  Creatures up Close brought along some of their less furry friends and the kids got a chance to handle and stroke them. My favourite had to be Sumo the Giant Tortoise, fabulous!  Luca was even brave enough to hold the tarantula! A definite sign of how far this little boy has come in a year, I was so proud.

After our half an hour with the animals, we went over to the craft/games corner.  There were giant games like Connect 4 and building bricks alongside lots of craft activities.  We made frogs, bats and even a pom pom spider.

It was now time for the main event, circus skills and for that we had to go into the main auditorium.  The kids went up onto the stage, which they loved, Eva especially as she has now decided she will be in a famous pop group along with her best friends.

Marty from Circurama was absolutely fantastic! He was funny, engaging and very daft which of course my kids loved.  There were 25 kids on that stage and he made sure they all got involved and made to feel special.  He did a demonstration at the start of all sorts of tricks, including unicycling and then let the kids loose on the equipment.  They spun plates, twirled ribbons, played with flower sticks, even the wheels of doom :0).  At the end, all the kids took part in a performance, each child had a trick to perform and they all did brilliantly.  You could see by the smiles on their faces that they had a fabulous time.

To end the event, we went back into the foyer and the children were provided with a drink and a piece of fruit whilst they had a rest and recovered from all their antics.

Eventually the time came to leave, the whole event lasted approximately 3 hours which I thought was amazing value for money and the treats didn't end there.  On departure, the children were given a large balloon along with a goody bag containing all sorts including a magic wand.

Thank you to Marty and the Playhouse for a wonderful morning.  I am hoping that pennies allowing, we get back to see Mister Twister later on in August.  We highly recommend Playhouse Playtime.