A team of LGBTQ+ artists have designed an event specifically for family audiences, aimed at children aged three to eight, and their families. PALAVAR Parties – an event by Birmingham’s Fatt Projects – which has previously featured at various venues across the UK, will be presented as part of the Spark Festival; an annual children’s arts festival held in Leicester in February.
PALAVER Parties are fun, interactive, glittery events that will include disco-style music and dancing, and interactive crafting activities. Children will have the chance to create individual fancy dress items – crowns, hats etc – and get some glitter face paint, and watch performances (including songs, storytelling, and dance) from a diverse line-up of professional artists, all dressed in fabulous and fantastical outfits.
The organisers of the event say: “Audiences have the option to participate as little or as much as they want. Through gentle encouragement and participating in a range of activities over the course of the party or event, children will be able to feel more confident and feel empowered to express themselves.”
All the artists involved in creating the project were asked ‘what did you need to see when you were younger?’ and have used this as a way to create an event that speaks to their experiences of growing up as an LGBTQ+ person.
The organisers add: “The overall aim is to spread a message of love and acceptance – that all people are equal, and that the things that make us different are the things we should celebrate about ourselves (rather than feeling embarrassed or sad about them).
“We want young people attending these events to understand that they can be whatever they want to be and to feel like they have the power within them to create the things they want. Most importantly, we want everyone to attend to have fun, enjoy themselves, and feel joyful.”
PALAVAR Parties has been designed to create a fun, celebratory, and inclusive atmosphere that aims to provide high-quality and engaging entertainment which also celebrates different kinds of families (where some people have two mums or two dads) and spreads the message that it’s OK to love whoever you want. The organisers say: “Sometimes princesses marry princesses and sometimes princes marry princes.”
The event is just one of many events for children and their families being held as part of The Spark Festival, Leicester, which is celebrating is twentieth anniversary with a line-up that runs from Monday, February 13 to – Sunday, February 19.
More information, including a full festival programme, can be found on their website.