ARC Stockton is turning Halloween into a daytime family event this year, with a large part of the programme completely free to drop into.
Halloween Family Fest takes place on Saturday 31 October, with free activities running from 10.30am until 3.30pm at the arts centre on Dovecot Street.
Families do not need to book for the daytime activities. ARC says the programme will include craft sessions, storytelling, face painting and a trick-or-treat scavenger trail around the building.
The craft tables will include spiders, ghosts and mask-making, while the Little Library will host stories during the day. Drake the Bookshop is also due to take part with a selection of Halloween-themed books and other items.
A scavenger hunt will lead families around the venue, with treats from ARC’s Culture Kitchen offered as a prize for completing the trail.
The free programme sits alongside a ticketed theatre performance at 2pm. The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep is described as a gentle, interactive family show in which children can call out and help shape what happens. The performance will be relaxed, an approach intended to make the theatre environment more flexible for audiences who benefit from a less formal experience.
Tickets for the show are £12 each or four for £45 including booking fee, but families can take part in the wider festival without buying theatre tickets.
The combination makes the day more useful than a standard paid family show listing. Parents and carers can choose to make a full afternoon of it, call in for an hour of free activity, or add the performance if it suits their family and budget.
Halloween Family Fest runs at ARC, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, on Saturday 31 October from 10.30am to 3.30pm. The ticketed theatre performance begins at 2pm.
: ARC Stockton.