Suffolk Libraries is teaming up with Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds this month to host five performances as part of the ‘Once Upon A Festival’, children’s arts festival.

The events are taking place at Bury, Newmarket, Ipswich and Lowestoft libraries and are aimed at children aged 7 to 13.  The Children in the Moon event at Newmarket is £1 per child but the other events are free. There are limited places at all performances so Suffolk Libraries advises parents to contact the library to book their ticket in advance.

Once Upon A Festival is now in its fourth year and aims to make performance art more accessible in theatres, schools and communities by taking the performances to children in their school or community.

www.theatreroyal.org/once-upon-a-festival/

Melissa Matthews, Suffolk Libraries Art Programme Co-ordinator, says: “We’re delighted to host these events. Once Upon A Festival delivers high quality dynamic performances from a variety of companies and libraries are a great place to host exciting events like this in the community. We want to deliver more events like this as part of our Arts programme to open up new and accessible arts experiences for children and young people.”

Hayley Murrow, Education Officer at The Theatre Royal, added: “The libraries are a really exciting and important addition to this year’s children’s arts festival. Once Upon A festival is committed to making performances by internationally acclaimed artists more accessible to young people in spaces they are familiar with. We’re looking forward to seeing children and parents engaging with a programme of toe tapping music and puppet-based theatre within Suffolk libraries.

The events are as follows:

Saturday 16 June at Bury St Edmunds Library – The Pied Piper at 10.45am-11.30am

When the Pied Piper plays his flute the rats run, the greedy mayor rubs his hands and the children dance… Norwich Puppet Theatre’s humorous and irresistible one-person show combines a skilful mix of puppetry, foot-tapping music and storytelling and will have audiences young and old entranced.

Saturday 16 June at Newmarket Library – The Children in the Moon from 2.30pm to 3.15pm

The Children in the Moon is a wonderfully visual and original take on centuries old children’s verse, packed with puppetry and live music this is an ideal show for all the family. Tickets for this show are £1 per child.

Sunday 17 June at Ipswich County Library – The Junk Orchestra from 12pm-1pm

Join Mr Junkman and discover the sonic delight of everyday objects rescued from the urban wasteland. Learn how to build your own mini junk orchestra at home or in class. Experience and discover music from the twilight zone to foot stomping fun.

Wednesday 20 June at Newmarket Library – Graffiti Classics from 3.30pm-4.30pm

6 strings, 8 dancing feet and 4 voices with 1 aim: to make classical music wickedly funny and fantastically exhilarating for everyone, young and old. Graffiti Classics burst the elitist boundaries of the traditional string quartet with their hilarious all-singing, all-dancing musical comedy show.

Saturday 23 June at Lowestoft Library – The Junk Orchestra from 11am to 12pm

Join Mr Junkman and discover the sonic delight of everyday objects rescued from the urban wasteland. Learn how to build your own mini junk orchestra at home or in class. Experience and discover music from the twilight zone to foot stomping fun.

www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/news/once-upon-a-festival/

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Hello, Beccles and Bungay libraries both have some refurbishment work planned over the next month and will be closing for a week (not at the same time!). We’d be very grateful if you can help to pass the message onto local people:

Beccles Library will be closing for one week from Monday 18 June and will reopen on Monday 25 June. The work will include the installation of improved shelving and new carpet and improving the library layout. The work is being funded by the Friends of Beccles Library.

Bungay Library will then be closed temporarily from Tuesday 10 July and reopening on Thursday 19th, also for refurbishment and redecoration. The work at Bungay will include the installation of new windows and a door, plus new energy efficient LED lighting, a new carpet and new shelving including a special book nook for the children’s library. The work is being paid for by a combination of Suffolk County Council, the Friends of Bungay Community Library and other sources.

Suffolk Libraries apologises for any inconvenience caused by both closures but we hope customers will enjoy the improvements after the work is carried out.  Customers can use any other library and people who usually use Beccles Library can visit Bungay Library when it’s closed and vice versa. Any loans due back during the closure will have their return date extended.

Beccles Library will be closing for one week from Monday 18 June and will reopen on Monday 25 June. The work will include the installation of improved shelving and new carpet and improving the library layout. The work is being funded by the Friends of Beccles Library.

Bungay Library will then be closed temporarily from Tuesday 10 July and reopening on Thursday 19th, also for refurbishment and redecoration. The work at Bungay will include the installation of new windows and a door, plus new energy efficient LED lighting, a new carpet and new shelving including a special book nook for the children’s library. The work is being paid for by a combination of Suffolk County Council, the Friends of Bungay Community Library and other sources.

Suffolk Libraries apologises for any inconvenience caused by both closures but we hope customers will enjoy the improvements after the work is carried out.  Customers can use any other library and people who usually use Beccles Library can visit Bungay Library when it’s closed and vice versa. Any loans due back during the closure will have their return date extended.