Children's Parade, Saturday 2 May Theme Launched

 

Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival and Same Sky are delighted to announce that the theme for the 2015 Children’s Parade is ‘taking flight’.

                                

Supported by local businesses Class of their Own and Riverford, the annual parade marks the start of Brighton Festival – three weeks of unrivalled live performance and art installations across the city and beyond – and is attended by almost 5,000 children from 83 schools and community groups from across the region; each dressed in costumes they have specifically designed and made for the event.

 

The parade – which takes place on Saturday 2 May 2015 – also sees thousands of spectators take to Brighton’s streets to cheer on those taking part.

 

Each year the parade celebrates a different imaginative theme. Previous years have seen participants dress up as everything from letters of the alphabet and Brighton street names to books, mermaids and even slices of cake. This year’s event will ask those involved to explore the idea of taking flight – be that flights of fancy, the flight of birds, the process of flying or the act of leaping into the unknown.

 

Pippa Smith, Head of Creative Learning, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival says: ‘Taking flight symbolises the many imaginative leaps and creative flights of fancy that teachers, parents and children invest in the Children’s Parade each year. This year we will be exploring everything from Pegasus to phantom jets and sparrows to spaceships.’

 

‘Taking inspiration from Brighton Festival 2015 Guest Director Ali Smith’s deep fascination with birds and other migratory patterns, the leading section will represent the huge variety of bird life that exist on our planet, while subsequent sections will represent flying machines, flight, fantasy and fable and Bugs, bees and butterflies.’

 

Jointly produced with award-winning community arts organisation Same Sky, the Children’s Parade has delighted participants and spectators for over 25 years and officially launches Brighton Festival - England’s largest multi-arts festival - on the first Saturday in May.

 

Following last year’s inaugural partnership, the organisers will once again join forces with Brighton & Hove Music & Arts - the music education hub whose key mission is to enhance and further develop music education across the city. This year they will be working with young people to create Brighton’s first Balkan Brass Band which will feature in the parade.

 

Peter Chivers, Head of Brighton & Hove Music and Arts, Brighton & Hove City Council says: ‘The annual Children’s Parade is one of the highlights in our cultural calendar and a celebration of the creative talents of children across the city. This year’s Parade is set to be another triumph and SoundCity is delighted to be creating an exciting new music project for 2015.

 

One of the most spectacular community events in the UK, Same Sky spends six months working behind the scenes to create the event, with creative teams instructing teaching staff how to teach dance and parade chants, run free masterclasses, help develop design ideas and encourage imagination to flow.

 

The event will be sponsored in 2015 by Class of Their Own - who return for a second year as sponsors of the event – and Riverford Organic Farms.  

 

Class of their Own’s Tanya Petherick and Sam Thomson says:  ‘We are continuing our support is it is such a fantastic community event and further develops our links with children, parents and local schools. We look forward to seeing you on the day.’

 

Stephen Spears from Riverford Organic Farms says: ‘We at Riverford Organic Farms are supporting the wonderful Children’s Parade this year. Riverford delivers organic fruit, veg, dairy, deli and meat to your door. Through this sponsorship we hope to promote the benefits of delicious, pesticide and chemical free produce to families across Brighton, Hove and Sussex.’

 

Photograph courtesy of Victor Frankowski.