The Art of Living: Long Nose Puppet Company

I write this in celebration of the amazing creative force that is the city of Brighton & Hove.  Long Nose is a Brighton based puppet company that is really inspiring. It was set up by Katherine Morton and Polly Dunbar who studied illustration at Brighton University. Together they bring to life story characters in puppets they make themselves out of anything and 'everything: latex, wood, found objects and all things sparkly!'

It is with glee that I discovered that Shoe Baby is coming to Brighton in December in time for Christmas. It's a welcome kids alternative to the tv-based stage shows or pantos around at Christmas time. Find details on the Komedia site here

The show is adapted from the book SHOE BABY (quite a difficult book to find)  illustrated by Polly and written by her Mum, who is the well known author Joyce Dunbar. The music is written by  musican Tom Gray of Gomez.  Shoe Baby has had sell out shows up and down the country and has received awards.

One of my all-time favourite childrens books, PENGUIN (always a bedtime request as I have to make lots of silly noises), has also been adapted for show by Long Nose and is on tour in Ipswich - details on the blog here

As well as touring theatres and festivals, Long Nose puppets are available for school visits and puppet making workshops. I'm certainly always keeping an eye out for what's next.

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This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.

In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.

We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.

And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here 

www.sistersguild.co.uk

The Art of Living: A place we are fond of

There's a park that Gabe & I have visited since the first week he was born. We were there in the early phase of 'sleep circuits' when the lovely trees and flowers kept me serene, then later there were the easy days of lounging on picnic blankets before he could walk...and then into the playground area where we now go most days! The park is St Anns Well in Hove and I am so very fond of the place.

At the opening of Brighton Festival the park became the Jardin Flambeau!  We took Gabe along and he marvelled at the fire everywhere, repeating the words 'wow' and 'beautiful'!

This Saturday 21st May there will be the St Ann’s Well Gardens Spring Festival and it looks like the biggest ever with a great line up of entertainment:

Full details of the festival are here on the childfriendlybrighton.com website

The festival is family orientated and it is FREE. Donations are welcome which will help raise money for the upkeep of the lovely gardens - I spotted lots of new planting today!

There's a Cake Making Competition (all ages can enter), and a Treasure Trail with some great prizes, sponsored by Sweetheart Knits and Supernatural Kids Clothing who will have a stall there with all their gorgeous things!

Check the St Ann’s Well Gardens Facebook Group for more info.  St Ann’s Well Gardens also has a website and you can become a friend.

The other Brighton event which starts tomorrow is The Assembly Room Art & Design Market at the Unitarian Church - with art prints, fashion, crafts and homeware. It's the place to go to discover some amazing pieces by talented artists and makers such as Eliza Fricker, Emily the Pemily, Kate Jenkins and Alexa de Castilho

So much to celebrate!

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This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.

In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.

We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.

And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here

The Art of Living: Brighton Festival 2011

It's Brighton Festival time of year and the city of Brighton & Hove will be full of entertainment and celebration.  There is an exciting programme of cultural events in celebration of this year’s Guest Director - Aung San Suu Kyi and her passionate plea for peace in Burma. You can see Aung San Suu Kyi's message here

Brighton really does become a sight to behold with art, music and installations everywhere you turn.
Walking through our park St Ann's Well Garden today we saw a big team of people including the company Firefly Solar setting up some amazing constructions that will become a Fire Garden, a Jardin Flambeau by the French outdoor alchemists Compagnie Carabosse. We shall be going along to witness this amazing spectacle this weekend (Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th May).

I am very fond of this park and looking forward to the St Ann's Well Gardens Spring Festival on Saturday 21st May.

'Brighton Festival has been at the forefront of this renaissance (‘of British Arts Festivals’)... An arts festival that makes connections with the real world'  THE TIMES Fri 18 Feb 2011

Other festival events for kids include the Children's Parade, and for theatrical entertainment there is The Owl & the Pussycat and Draw me a Bird.  I also spotted that on the seafront there's a FREE event The Iron Man which will be good to catch.

Then there's the Brighton Festival Fringe  which is full of even more amazing Cabaret, Literature and Visual Art as well as more events for children

It makes me so proud and excited to be living in this city.

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This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.

In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.

We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.

And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here