With the summer holidays now upon us, parents may be climbing the walls trying to find suitable activities to keep the children entertained… for those seeking creative activities, or looking for an alternative to holiday clubs, Artsreach’s summer programme ‘Celebrate’ has the solution.

Children of all ages can look forward to a fun-filled summer holiday, joining in with creative activities in villages across rural Dorset, all led by professional artists.

‘Celebrate’ is the theme of Artsreach’s activity programme for young people this summer, and with 12 different workshops and shows across 14 venues, there’s something for everyone.

The workshops present great value for money – the day workshops are £10 and shorter sessions are between £3 and £5.

Crafty kids can try their hands at ‘wild weaving’ with Ros Norton, craft creepy crawlies from plastic cutlery or make wire and paper caricatures with Jackanory’s Peter Rush, get creative with clay with ceramicist Jo Burnell, or print and dye decorative bunting in aluminium with artist Caroline Parrott.

Everything made at the workshops can be taken home and all materials are provided.

Budding musicians can work with wood, wire and membranes to make musical instruments with woodworker Karen Hansen, and Glyn Bush from Magic Drum will lead a drumming workshop exploring a variety of celebratory rhythms from around the world.

Those who have experienced her workshops before will be thrilled to hear that Claire Camble Hutchins is back this summer, with three different high-energy dance workshops, as ever with a show for friends and family at the end of the day. Tessa Bide will be running Dor-lympics, a packed day of games, poetry, music and puppet-making with a parade too!

For the very young ones Snail Tales and Treehouse Theatre will be telling magical stories, and Squashbox Theatre bring their Cornish puppet show ‘Stones and Bones’ to Dorset.

There’s something to celebrate for everyone. For full details and to download the programme visit www.artsreach.co.uk or call Artsreach on 01305 269512.

Artsreach works in co-promotion with a large network of volunteers.

In addition to a year-round performance programme, Artsreach also tours visual arts exhibitions and delivers participatory artist-led projects and workshops. Artsreach’s ‘Celebrate’ workshop programme has been made possible thanks to support from The Valentine Trust and West Dorset District Council .