Come one, come all to Nottingham Children’s Festival Global Picnic on Sunday 17 August from 11am – 5pm and experience the transformation of Wollaton Park into a magical world of storytelling and adventure.

The magic begins as you enter the Park, don’t forget to pick up your own personal Global Picnic Passport – you can collect stickers by doing activities and the passport helps you find your way around the event.

Activities on the day will include:

• Global Storytelling, 11am – 5pm. Come and hear tales from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa in the various storytelling tents. Some are true and some are not, but which ones?
• Orienteering and tracking adventure around the Park with Nottinghamshire Scouts, 11am – 5pm. Can you navigate your way around and win a prize?
• Teddy Bear’s Picnic, 2pm – 3pm. Bring your teddy all dressed up for a pirate adventure – the best dressed teddy will win a prize, but you will need to register your teddy first at the Teddy Bear’s Picnic Information Stand by 1.30pm
• Storytelling brought to life with exciting magical performances by

1. 11.30am, Jeffery Jumper will have you in stitches with his comical magic show
2. 1pm, Professor Pop-up’s Pied Piper of Hamlym will perform a unique, atmospheric and brilliant puppet show
3. 3pm, Robin Hood Puppet show. Come and meet Robin Hood, Maid Marian and the Merry Men as they outwit the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. Join in the fun and make your own puppet and also learn how to be a puppeteer in Jon Webster’s workshop
4. Bill Brookman will be swash buckling his way through a pirate adventure and there will be lots of chance for the audience to join in.
5. Join Artizani in the Courtyard with tightropes and buried treasure, the Castaway unwittingly invokes the curse of the claw and his island paradise is transformed as an angry twenty foot high lobster emerges from the sand.

Also look out for the Nottingham Goddess who will be gathering many of the stories, hopes and dreams of Nottingham’s first Children’s Festival. After the Festival, the stories will be woven into her cloak and skirt for all to remember.

Councillor Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Communities, Leisure and Culture said: “After the successes of the Children’s Festival Arts Zone at the Riverside Festival, library’s storytelling events, National Play Day at Harvey Hadden and last weekend’s ‘Street Games with a Difference’ in the Old Market Square, we want even more children and families to make the most of the Children’s Festival 2008 finale this Sunday."

Already a fair number of entries for the Nottingham Goddess colouring competition have been received at Nottingham Tourism Centre in the Old Market Square. You can still hand in your entry either by 3pm at the Global Picnic’s Teddy Bear’s Information Stand, Wollaton Park or at the Nottingham Tourism Centre, Old Market Square by Saturday 16 August 2008. After the Picnic the colouring competition winner will be announced on 1 September 2008.”

Bring a picnic and your friends and enjoy a grand day out. There will be food to buy on site including pizzas made in a wood burning oven. Remember to take your recyclables home with you.

Getting to the Picnic is easy – look out for the Big Wheel Bus that will take you from Old Market Square (Beastmarket Hill), to Wollaton Park and back for FREE. The bus will run every 12 minutes from Beastmarket Hill starting at 10.30am and the last bus from Wollaton Park will be at 5.30pm.

Visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/childrensfestival and tell us what you enjoyed about the children’s festival.