SPARK Ipswich is an 11-day city-wide event celebrating the people, places, arts and culture of Ipswich. The 2023 program will deliver up a fresh program of light installations, projection, music, comedy, arts, exhibitions, culture, technology, collaboration and discussion will take over the City from 6-16 July.
There will be a number of family friendly events within the festival including a children’s festival and light show.
There are returning favourites including ‘Little Day Out’ a contemporary music, arts and sustainability festival just for kids, ‘WOMI – World of Music Ipswich’, and the popular ‘deLight’ projections.
At night, gather your family and friends and explore vibrant ‘deLight’ projections full of life and colour, ‘pixel’, and ‘Inhabited Ipswich’ shopfront art installations, or explore the live venue programming running in the CBD throughout SPARK.
During the day is your chance to explore your creative side with IMMERSE. Tulmur Place will transform into a playground of family friendly arts workshops, performances on the main stage and food trucks galore.
The festival will even hit the road! ‘SPARK on Tour’ takes an interactive, theatrical play-based music and literacy experience for 2–7-year-olds to Ipswich Libraries across the City.
Spark After Dark
When the sun goes down, SPARK AFTER DARK comes to life showcasing projections, light activations, music and performance. Gather your family and friends and explore deLight and pixel on foot or enjoy live music performances and experiences from a local venue.
deLight
deLight will transform the surfaces in the Ipswich CBD into a canvas showcasing local artworks through projection, reflecting the culture of Ipswich, its people and places. Different artists will be profiled each night of the festival across 143 Brisbane Street, and St. Paul’s Church. D’Arcy Doyle Place makes for the perfect meeting place to enjoy these projections before following the light to other nooks and crannies within the CBD.
PIXEL
In the Nicholas Street Precinct, the facade of 1 Nicholas Street comes alive with an immersive light experience with artwork commissioned by Quandamooka, Jinibara, Darumbal artist – Jennifer Kent.
Inhabited Ipswich
By activating empty spaces, Inhabited Ipswich encourages the adaptive reuse of vacant buildings through contemporary public art. These works are inspired by the idea of local people inhabiting spaces by local artists. Cynthia Copley, Donna Davis, Rebecca Lewis, and Sean Williams activate CBD spaces and places with contemporary art and projection.
Little Day Out
Little by name but BIG on FUN. A SPARK festival favourite, Little Day Out is Ipswich’s signature children’s music and arts festival. With a focus on sustainability, Little Day Out is bursting with music, hands-on art experiences, food and roving entertainment.
Headlining this year’s festival, Bunny Racket creates a sound that brings all generations together in rock ‘n’ roll harmony. With a line-up featuring members of The Vines, Goons Of Doom and Wolfmother, Bunny Racket strikes a (loud) chord for all of us that pine for a time where being a kid meant endless freedom.
The young and young at heart are invited to sing, dance, create and play! Cubby building, nature craft, tiny tots zone and a silent disco are all part of the Little Day Out experience.
When: Sunday 16 July (2 sessions, 9.00 am – 11.30 am and 1.00 pm – 3.30 pm)
Where: Ripley Town Centre
Cost: $5 per entry
Book tickets at www.sparkipswich.com.au
SPARK on Tour
Snuggled into their blanket cubby house, Nadia and Twinkle always share a book together before nap time. Today they’re reading a book about a rocket ship! But…when the book is finished and it’s time for bed…they blast off to the moon instead!
The Spark Ipswich Festival is hitting the road, with Nadia Sunde’s Twinkle and The Moon – an interactive children’s theatre experience for 2–7-year-olds and their families. Here is an overview of where you can experience Spark on Tour.
Dates and locations:
- Thursday 6 July | Springfield Central Library 9.00 am and 10.30 am
- Friday 7 July | Redbank Plains Library 9.00 am
- Saturday 8 July | Rosewood Library 9.00 am
- Sunday 9 July | Ipswich Central Children’s Library| 9.00 am and 10.30 am
Book tickets at www.sparkipswich.com.au
Immerse
Tulmur Place transforms into an immersive playground of family friendly arts workshops, performances on the main stage and food trucks galore for Immerse!
Friday 7 July
Workshops and performances include Art Snack Café, Sounds of the Bush with Sam Conway, Happy Singing Kids, Circus Playspace, NY Dance, Magical Monoprints, Wacky Wearable Art and Botanical Illustrations.
Sunday 9 July
Workshops and performances include Art Snack Café, Seam Together, Painting on Recycled Disks, Jewellery Making, Colourful Minds, Community Felt Rug, Magical Monoprints, Wacky Wearable Art and Botanical Illustrations.
Saturday 15 July
Workshops and performances include Art Snack Café, Seam Together, Painting on Recycled Disks, Jewellery Making, Origami, Mosaic Light Catchers, Wacky Wearable Art and Botanical Illustrations
Sunday 16 July
Workshops and performances include Art Snack Café, Latin Music for Children, Latin Music for Adults/ Young Adults, Painting on Recycled Disks, Ink Work, Origami, Mosaic Light Catchers, Wacky Wearable Art, Botanical Illustrations and Magical Monoprints
When: Friday 7, Sunday 9, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July 2023
Where: Tulmur Place, Nicholas Street Precinct Ipswich QLD
WOMI – World of Music Ipswich
Starring a jam-packed line-up with music from across the globe, WOMI is a one-day world music festival showcasing and celebrating the vibrancy of Ipswich and South East Queensland’s culturally and linguistically diverse community.
Bursting with life, light and colour, WOMI also features multicultural food, workshops and artisanal market stalls.
When: Sunday 9 July 2023
Where: Main Street, Orion Springfield Central
To view the full SPARK Ipswich festival program, head to SPARKipswich.com.au
Follow @ipswichfestivals Facebook and Instagram for the latest festival updates.
