Outdoor Arts at Just So Festival 2017

Gemma Gibb, Associate Editor

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Just So Festival

18-20 August 2017

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

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Just So Festival (as part of the acclaimed Without Walls and Northern Festivals Networks) is annually one of the best places in the UK to see the finest new boundary breaking outdoor arts for families.

Our top picks include Matthew Harrison’s The Actual Reality Arcade – a life-sized interactive game zone for all ages, inspired by classic arcade games and the intimate experience of Theatre For One from Horse & Bamboo.

We can’t wait to get involved with The Jukeboxes from Bootworks Theatre – a live re-creation of classic pop videos, spot Wilford, a “rockabilly tree planting anarch-nomad” in Seed, the brand new show from Pif-Paf and explore Unlimited Theatre’s Space Shed in How I Hacked My Way To Space to be inspired by how small people can achieve big dreams.

Contemporary circus and theatre company Dizzy O’Dare  will be presenting Baba Yaga’s House – a ramshackle old cottage which roams the land on chicken legs while Baba flies in her giant pestle and mortar.  We have heard that she will either tell our fortune or eat us.

Seed. Courtesy Pif Paf

We love that the tiniest of festivalgoers have been considered with new performance The Adventures of Snigel – a bubble-loving snail who will be based in the Peekaboo Garden by artist and choreographer Caroline Bowditch and Flit Flap Fly by Fine Chisel – learn birdsong and get ready to take flight for the first time.

Our last pick is to take time out to walk through Between Stillness and Storm, a newly commissioned,  large-scale sculptural installation by artists Aiden Moesby and Tim Shaw. Situated by the stunning Rode Pool,  experience changing sound, light and motion made by a range of historic and contemporary instruments for “sensing” the weather.

Where to go near Outdoor Arts at Just So Festival 2017

Interior of George St Chapel
Manchester
Event venue
George Street Chapel

This beautifully restored former Independent Methodist Chapel in the heart of Oldham is as much a creative hub as a heritage landmark.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Pho Cue

Family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. Prepare to queue for Pho Cue.

Come to Swithens Farm for a great family day out in Leeds. Our farm has plenty to offer whatever age you are!Swithens Farm is a working farm. For many years now Ian and his wife Angela have built a following that they welcome in all year around. We now have a farm shop, café, playbarn and petting farm. When we first opened we only had the usual farm animals – cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and it was free entry. We now have llamas, alpacas, meerkats, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys and a pony.On the working farm, we breed our own cows, pigs and sheep and we sell the meat through the farm shop and the café. If you buy a sausage sandwich from the café the sausage will be from the butcher who has made the sausage by hand using our own pork. We also produce our own free-range eggs.
Leeds
Swithens Farm

Swithens Farm is a working farm. For many years now Ian and his wife Angela have built a following that they welcome in all year around.

Peak District
Restaurant
The Chequers Inn

The Chequers Inn is a 16th century, family-run, traditional country inn with an impressive dining space. The Peak District at its best.

Testbed Main Space
Leeds
Event venue
TESTBED

TESTBED is a newly renovated 10,000 sq foot event venue in Leeds that offers endless possibilities for creating unique and inspiring experiences.

Manchester
Restaurant
Salt & Pepper

Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.

Morning Glory - Coffee Cup
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Morning Glory

Morning Glory positions itself as a grab-and-go spot, with just 12 seats inside serving coffee, bagels and sweet treats.

The Warehouse In Holbeck
Leeds
Event venue
The Warehouse In Holbeck

Run by acclaimed theatre company Slung Low, The Warehouse in Holbeck is home to boundary-pushing performance and community projects.

What's on: Families

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