Celebrate art, play and the great outdoors with the family at Compton Verney this summer
An entire season of family-fun activities will be hosted at Compton Verny this summer amongst the wildflower meadows, bridges and trees of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s grounds, including five unforgettable Summer Weekenders where play takes centre stage. From giant inflatables to circus skills that ignite creativity, the Weekenders are designed to captivate visitors of all ages, featuring a mix of free drop in and paid ticketed events, that ensue fun for the whole family.
Weekender One (Friday 26 - Sunday 28 July) features a playful space full of giant inflatable structures for children to play amongst and pursue their imagination. There’s also a story time amongst the trees drawing inspiration from the exhibitions and beautiful landscape, while Bubble Heaven brings a party atmosphere to Sunday with giant bubble-based entertainment.
Weekender Two (Friday 2 - Sunday 4 August) sees Woodland Tribe bring the tools for an imaginative and creative journey into construction, where children can unleash their inner builder and embark on an extraordinary journey of exploring, creating and building. Fostering a sense of independence and confidence, parents have long marvelled at how long children are engaged with their own projects and structures.
Weekender Three (Friday 9 - Sunday 11 August) includes the Flying Seagulls Circus and their non-stop brand of action, including the uniquely uplifting Wakey, Wakey, Rise ‘n’ Smile session in the morning, followed by the leaps and laughs of their stage play throughout the day. Everyone will be able to get involved as this is no spectator sport, but energy will need to be conserved as this weekend also hosts the After Hours events, including silent discos, late-night sculpture talks from the artists themselves, and music from the Electro Swing Project surrounded by the 19th century Redwoods.
Weekender Four (Sunday 25 - Monday 26 August) gives people the chance to try their hand at Japanese Taiko Drumming with paid workshops for all abilities, or you can just enjoy the high energy music with the free performances throughout the weekend. There is also the chance to meet Eko, a 13-foot-tall Sea Giant Puppet, in Autin Dance Puppet Theatre’s breath-taking performance of dance, movement and masterful puppeteering in their production about climate change, where Eko rises from the ocean and makes friends with a courageous little girl on the shore.
Finishing the season will be Weekender Five (Saturday 31 August) with bubbles, balloons, and beats at Big Fish Little Fish’s Family Rave. As well as the Digbeth Dining Club, bars, blooming lovely floral crafting activities, and author readings and signings, it promises to be an epic finale to an incredible summer.
And with UK’s newest sculpture park, Compton Verney is a great place to introduce budding young art lovers to the contemporary scene, where they can explore fairytale houses, giant spiders and re-imagined historic villages. There is also an opportunity to hone their skills with a Clay Sculpture Workshop (Tuesday 6 August), as well as a special workshop on Louise Bourgeois (Wednesday 7 August) with artist and illustrator Jessica Hartshorn who will help 12–16-year-olds create their own Bourgeois-inspired works.
More fun art workshops will be available throughout the holidays, including Big Art Holiday Club (Tuesday 13 - Friday 16 August), Animation Camp, a four-day camp from Monday 19 - Thursday 22 August where participants will learn to make their own films, and a Pinhole Camera workshop on Saturday 27 July, where after creating a camera from everyday materials children will explore the grounds to find inspiration for photos that can be processed in a mini darkroom.
There’s plenty to get involved in over long summer days and bank holiday weekends. For May half term younger children will be able to drop in and play with Blue Play Blocks (Monday 27 May) while older children can get up close and handle some amazing animals and creepy crawlies with Zoolab Animal Explorers (Tuesday 28 May, Wednesday 13 August, Thursday 14 August). There will be artistic workshops where children can get involved with creation and creative thinking, as well as a magical woodland clearing with Get Mucky, Get Making (Thursday 30 May, Friday 31 May, every Thursday from 25 July - 29 August) where you can hear stories while toasting marshmallows.
Every week throughout the holidays there will be Tiny Tuesdays (10.30am-3pm), a welcoming space for under 5s and their grown-ups allowing for creating, building, socialising and reading. And with My Activity Book running between Monday 27 May and Sunday 29 September, children have the fun task of working together around the grounds and galleries to find dragons, create imaginary creatures and design their own sculptures.
The wildlife and ecosystem of the gardens will be celebrated as part of the Great Big Green Week when the British Beekeepers Association comes to Compton Verney on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June for an exciting family friendly weekend full of pollinator-themed events and activities. And as the sun sets over Compton Verney on Friday 12 July the Oddsocks Theatre will bring two hours of joyous and farcical Shakespearean drama with a Julius Caesar performance for all ages that promises toga tearing, sword swishing and preposterous puppetry.