The Sunshine Coast’s favourite 10 day festival of theatre, music, literature, forums, dance, film, art and food will be helping the hip pockets (and school holiday sanity!) of families this month with a range of fun, affordable, and in some cases, free things to see and do from June 18-27.

Over 38 of the total 130 Noosa Longweekend Festival events will be free for residents and visitors to enjoy.

A special children’s ticketed program is guaranteed to keep little people entertained in a big way including the world premiere of new children’s play Hurry Up and Wait! by the Queensland Theatre Company and deBASE Productions (suitable for children 5-10 years).

Then there’s the gravity defying acts of the Acrobatica Under the Sun performers who climb, slide, spin, balance, juggle and flip without breaking a sweat (suitable for all ages).

Finally, a Bollywood dance workshop (open age) plus the once in a lifetime chance for ballet students (14 years+) to join one of two Ballet Master Classes with internationally acclaimed ballet master Parrish Maynard will keep toes twirling.

Free activities include an all day children’s festival at the Noosa Pengari Steiner School Doonan with live music, natural food, handmade gifts, craftworks, an interactive sound playground, circus skill workshops, lucky dips, puppet show and a massage tent for weary parents!

More free events will feature roving street performers who will create a colourful spectacle roaming around town, the Macquarie art exhibition at Noosa Regional Gallery featuring selected works by Australia’s emerging artists, guided heritage walks which will allow people to learn the history and secrets of the northern Sunshine Coast region including Tewantin, Hastings Street, Mill Point, Pomona, Eumundi, Cooran, Cooroy and Kin Kin. A Gubbi Gubbi walk will teach the history of Noosa’s traditional Gubbi Gubbi people.

Yet more free events on offer include two free concerts (suitable for all ages) as performed by a cast of over 30 toe tapping and singing youngsters from the Noosa Professional Dance Academy Musical Theatre Troupe as Kidz on Broadway.

Festival Director, Ian Mackellar said that, as The Noosa Longweekend Festival was organised by the community for the community, it was important to stage events which permitted access to the arts for all.

“The staging of free, family-friendly events and our very special children’s ticketed program this year is our way of celebrating with the community the importance of art and culture in our every day lives,” Ian said.

“Whether you’re a child or a child at heart I can guarantee that there’s a whole lot of fun to be had at this year’s Noosa Longweekend Festival.”

The full festival program can be viewed on line at www.noosalongweekend.com. Printed versions are available by phoning the festival office on (07) 5474 9941.