• Newark Creates

Fun Palace 2023

Friday 6th to Sunday 8th October

We are delighted to welcome you back to Newark’s 3rd Fun Palace, bringing you a range of fabulously fun and free activities for all your family and friends! Always wanted to learn circus skills or Scottish Country Dancing? Need to update your CV or fancy trying graffiti? There’s something for everyone!

All events are free. Most are drop-in and any which must be pre-booked will say so below (booking will be live from Monday 7 August). Any programme changes will be publicised on our Facebook page.

Find the event listing with booking links below and the PDF programme here: Newark Fun Palace programme 2023 (PDF File, 3,117kb)

Friday

Taster Sessions at Newark College (Age 16+)
9am-12pm, Newark College
Enjoy creative writing from 9am to 12pm, and try out sessions at 9am, 10am and 11am on How to Fly a Plane, CV Writing, Digital Media and Maths Made Fun.

 

Creative Crafts
9am-3pm, Beanblock
Pop along to Beanblock for creative family crafts to enjoy together!

Make a Mini Stage
9am-4pm, Newark Art Gallery
All the world’s a stage as you make your own mini version.

Fun at Newark Library
9am-4pm, Newark Library
Enjoy crafts, colouring and making poems in a day of fun at Newark Library!

Curious Tots - for children under 4 (booking recommended but can drop in)
10am-11am, Inspire Buttermarket
Join this creative session using different materials to construct our own creatures!

 

Learn Backgammon
11am-1pm, LetsXcape Together
Learn to play Backgammon with the amazing team at our local boardgame café!

Discover Newark Heritage Barge
11am-4pm, Newark Heritage Barge
Visit the barge at Newark riverside to learn how families lived 100 years ago

Saturday

Notts & District Guild of Handspinners, Weavers & Dyers
9am-4pm, Newark Library
Learn about spinning wheels and spindles and have a go on a weaving loom.

Town Centre History & Architecture Hunt
9am-4pm, Newark Market Place
Pick up heritage trails and a specially devised hunt around the Market Place! Conservation experts will be here to help you identify special building features.

Community Graffiti
9-4pm, Newark Market Place
Join Newark Creates Artist in Residence James Mayle in creating a community canvas using spray paints. Please wear suitable clothes and shoes for painting.

Make a Mini Stage
9am-4pm, Newark Art Gallery
All the world’s a stage as you make your own mini version.

Fun at Newark Library
9am-4pm, Newark Library
Crafts, colouring, poem writing, bunting making, a Lego Big Build and story activities for all ages with Newark Creates Artist in Residence Nicky Rafferty.

Cake & Biscuit Decorating
10am-4pm, Palace Theatre Newark Byron Room
Decorate a delicious cake or biscuit to take home and enjoy!

Discover The Workhouse & Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum
10am-4pm, Palace Theatre Newark
Meet the teams from these fascinating venues and learn about what they do from storytelling to children’s dressing up and more.

Palace Players
10-11am (toddling to 4 years), National Civil War Centre
Dance, make music and have some fun with Open Doors’ early years music and movement session. (Children should be accompanied by a parent or carer.)

 

Vanessa Stone –3D paper cats and dogs
10am-12pm, National Civil War Centre
Make a colourful 3d paper dog or cat with papercutting artist Vanessa Stone. Learn simple paper engineering techniques and use lots of colour. Suits all ages.

Seed Bombs with Newark in Bloom
10am-4pm, National Civil War Centre
Make a seed bomb to fill your garden with colour with gardening expert Viv.

Games & Jigsaws
10am-3pm, Café Nineteen20
Enjoy a wide variety of games and jigsaws in the café’s wonderful atmosphere.

Ginger Dog Theatre
10.30am-12pm (age 6+) & 1-2.30pm (adults), Beanblock (Upstairs)
Using the universal language of music, escape for an hour and a half of play and fun. No pressure, no performance, just play. The best adventures are ones we create!

 

The Green Men of Southwell Minster
10.30am-3pm, National Civil War Centre
Find out about Green Men with Southwell Minster and make a green man mask.

Scottish Country Dancing
11am-12pm, Newark Town Hall Ballroom
Get moving and reeling as you enjoy a demo and workshop of some fantastic Scottish Country Dancing. No partner needed. Children 7+ welcome with an adult.

 

Discover Newark Heritage Barge
11am-4pm, Newark Heritage Barge (SAME ON SUNDAY)
Visit the barge at Newark riverside to learn how families lived 100 years ago.

Recycled Print Making
11.30am – 1pm, National Civil War Centre
Open Doors invites you to drop in and create your own piece of printed art or greetings card. Explore the textures and shapes of everyday recycled materials!

Flora, Fauna and Fanfare Fun Palace
12-4pm, Inspire Buttermarket
Draw cartoon animals with Doodling Poet Chris White, make beautiful Kusudama paper flowers and birds, create a musical fanfare and improve your map reading!

Starlight Theatre Fun Drama Workshop
12.30-1.30pm (age 4-7) & 3.15-4.15pm (age 8-14) Newark Town Hall Ballroom
Join in a fun drama workshop with Starlight Theatre.

 

VR Worlds
1.30-4pm, National Civil War Centre
Design your own 3D art sculptures and immerse yourself in virtual reality worlds with a drop-in VR experience.

Circus Club
2-3pm, Palace Theatre Newark
Learn some impressive circus skills with the Newark Circus Club.

Dance class with The Studio at Averham
2-3pm, Newark Town Hall Ballroom
Children aged 6 to 10 can join in with a fabulous dance class.

 

With thanks to our participating venues:

National Civil War Centre
14 Appletongate, NG24 1JY

Newark Library
Beaumond Gardens, NG24 1UW

Newark Art Gallery
37 Kirk Gate, NG24 1AD

Palace Theatre
14 Appletongate, NG24 1JY

Newark College
Friary Road, NG24 1PB

Inspire at the Buttermarket
Middlegate, NG24 1AL

Beanblock
St Mark’s Place, NG24 1XT

LetsXcape Together
Market Place, NG24 1BF

Newark Town Hall & Market Place
Market Place, NG24 1DU

Newark Heritage Barge
River Trent, NG24 1BZ