Giant animal balloons, cloud making and young choirs make SIBF fun for kids
A raft of kid’s activities and workshops on offer at book fair
5 Dariya News
Sharjah 05-Nov-2015
Children jumping with shark shaped balloons on their heads at “Mr Twister Crazy Animals” and making clouds at “Chem Mystry” workshop, and having fun with clowns explaining the lifecycle of a butterfly are just some of the fun kids’ activities at SIBF 2015. Taking place at Sharjah Expo Centre till November from 4- 14 the 11-day event features all you need to keep children entertained with attractions such as “Chem-Mystry”, Choral Shows and Circus Acts performed by international artists.A young troupe of students from Al Itqan American School, Sharjah performed a special song about the Emirates in a session called “Motherland Song” at the fair yesterday (Thursday). The youngsters, all aged five were wearing national costumes and waving the national flag as they sang to praise the unity and hospitality of the UAE. The song was composed by their teacher Ms Abeer Al Breem and is written in both English and Arabic.
Colourful blue sharks, wise monkeys and a beautiful princess were just a few of the characters children played in the fairy tale for “Mr Twister’s Crazy Animal Show”. The humorous, creative and interactive production is by Nigel Kennedy, who interacted with his young audience by inviting them on stage for assistance and amused adults with his skills in making life-sized twisted balloon characters. Mr Twister is known for turning balloons into fun designs like jetpack, cars and animals and makes balloon twisting into a comedy show that will leave both children and adults amused. Mr Twister’s Crazy Animals will have daily performances till November 14.The “Butterfly” features a clown and a butterfly playing music, balancing on a pipe and dancing with huge Japanese fans and was filled with action and acrobatic tricks that kept children laughing to the end. The clown is first scared, then surprised and at last adores the butterfly princess he meets on his way to work. Children love the show performed by Kunos Circus Theatre made up of Benedicte Bütler and Clemens Lüthard from Switzerland. The final performance is today (Friday) and parents love it as much as the children for its informative message about the various stages of a Butterfly’s life.
The couple has performed more than 200 shows across the globe and Benedicte says, “We keep our acts simple with hand held music instruments and props as we started as a street show 20 years back. We also play other stories, one of them is “Thousand and One Nights” and we are working on a new act that presents life story of two clowns born from a single egg.” Crazy scientists Mr Zanzu and his assistant Zekwa use Liquid Nitrogen to freeze balloons and make smoke with white ice while explaining the process in simple terms. This makes learning science fun for kids as they get to make clouds, freeze a tennis ball and form colourful shapes with science experiments at “Chem-Mystry”. The Egyptian performers who taught chemistry and also taught children the importance of safety equipment when doing experiments said they hoped to make learning science fun and interactive, and focus on simple experiments in Physics and Chemistry. Find them in Hall 3 of the SIBF on the 9, 11 and 14 November. For more information on SIBF 2015 visit the website at www.sharjahbookfair.com