Grand Theatre - Family Shows

Blackpool Lights up with Grand Family Fun

Fun-packed family shows are top of the bill at The Grand Theatre from September right through to 2023 as Blackpool lights up the world-famous Illuminations once again.

Make it a fun-packed family trip to Blackpool Lights this season with top show picks for everyone from big to small at the glorious Grand Theatre. It’s an illuminating night out for the whole gang!

Looking for some seaside family fun that lasts all year round?

Switch up your family day out ideas and snap up spectacular live show tickets for Blackpool’s beautiful Grand Theatre before a trip through the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations.

Why not join The Tiger Who Came to Tea as Britain’s best-loved picture book comes alive in a grrrr-eat family show packed with oodles of magic, sing-a-long songs and clumsy chaos from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 October; delight the whole family with a captivating new production of Beauty and the Beast from the critically acclaimed Ballet Theatre UK on Friday 14 October; dare to experience the totally roarsome interactive Dinosaur Live on Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 November, get the whole family together for the magical Grand Christmas Concert bringing wonderfully traditional seasonal cheer on Monday 12 December, and don’t forget our fabulous family pantomime Sleeping Beauty starring Britain’s Got Talent finalist Steve Royle and Dancing on Ice champion Hayley Tamaddon from Friday 2 December to Sunday 1 January 2023. It’s time to plan this year’s festive family fun. Oh yes it is!

Blackpool Lights may finish on 2 January 2023, but it’s still great to get outside and enjoy the fresh sea air before enjoying a heart-warming family show at Blackpool’s beautiful Grand – making memories to last a lifetime…

Follow the yellow brick road for the wonderful Wizard of Oz from Blackpool and Fylde Children’s Pantomime from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 January packed with high-energy routines and over 150 talented children; don’t miss the breathtaking performers in the powerfully potent cocktail of dance, acrobatics, music, hip hop and comedy that is Tap Factory on Tuesday 7 February; partner up with Strictly champ Giovanni Pernice as he packs up his glitterball trophy and invites you to join him on Friday 10 March; get ready for a real monster of a family show with Shrek the Musical from Blackpool Operatic Players from Wednesday 5 to Saturday 8 April; fly in for the enchanting Ugly Duckling from the world-renowned Northern Ballet on Friday 21 April; We’re Off To See The Wizard once again! as Blackpool & Fylde Light Opera Company sweep in with a spectacular full production of The Wizard of Oz from Wednesday 31 May to Saturday 3 June, and dive deep into the wonderful world of science in the explosive Ministry of Science on Sunday 18 June. Expect 20ft liquid nitrogen clouds, fire tornados, ignited methane and even a self-built Hovercraft!

Book your seats now for one of our sensational shows and enjoy some extra special family time. As Blackpool Lights up, let all your loved ones experience the joy of theatre…

Ready to trip the Light fantastic? Here’s nine fascinating facts about Blackpool Lights:

1. Blackpool was the first town to have electric street lighting and visitors first came to marvel at

Blackpool Lights in 1879 when just eight arc lamps bathed the Promenade. This sparked

Blackpool’s long association with light and electricity. 2. The closest thing to modern-day displays were first staged in

May 1912 to mark the first royal visit made by Princess Louise to

Blackpool. The results were so impressive the Council bowed to pressure to stage the Lights again in September of the same year, and the rest, as they say, is history! 3. The Blackpool Illuminations shine for 66 nights a year. The display was extended by two months in 2020 for the first time in history. 4. Most of the Illuminations are made from wood, fibreglass, steel and aluminium.

the electricity that is now used has been slashed by two thirds in ten years thanks to the use of LED technology.

6. Twenty staff, including talented artists, electricians, joiners, mechanics, painters, engineers and technicians work all year round to ensure the displays are ready.

7. Blackpool Lights are a free show. However, donation boxes are placed at the southern and northern gateways to the

Illuminations. These donations are used to create new features and help with the maintenance of the Lights throughout the year.

8. The annual Switch On celebration marks the start of the Illuminations display. The

Switch On is held at the Festival

Headland directly in front of the iconic Blackpool Tower.

9. Celebrities to flick the switch have included the Top Gear cast, Robbie Williams, Alan Carr,

Shirley Bassey and director Tim

Burton. Animals also have got in on the act - a rather impatient

Red Rum did the honours in 1977… and Kermit the Frog jumped at the chance two years later! P.S. Grand Tips For Grown Ups: At Blackpool Grand Theatre we love it when children and families join us for shows, workshops or activities! But we know it can sometimes be a lot to think about! Visit our website for a handy guide to bringing your little terrors to Blackpool Grand - from baby changing facilities and booster seats to Visual Stories and PECS cards for children that struggle in busy spaces – we’ve got you covered. Click www.blackpoolgrand. co.uk/general-information/childrenand-families for full details.

Bring the family together at The Grand and make magical memories to last a lifetime.

Book your seats now at Blackpool Grand Theatre for sensational seaside family fun!

Visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call the box office on 01253 290 190 for bookings and further information.

Aiming Higher

YOU CAN DONATE TO AIMING HIGHER USING THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

WEBSITE | www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk/donate JUST GIVING | www.justgiving/aiminghigher/donate/ PAYPAL | Found on Aiming Higher website or call to make donations by phone POST | Aiming Higher, 231 – 233 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 3PB. To see more of what we do please visit our website www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk or follow us on facebook @aiminghighercharity, Instagram @aiming_higher_charity or twitter @ahcharity.

Please ring us on 01253 206447/8 for further information.

Aiming Higher Joins with Carefree to give carers a break

Aiming Higher for Disabled Children & their Families is the Blackpool based charity that supports hundreds of local children and their families. The charity has been bringing the families of children with disabilities together for over 10 years.

They are delighted to announce that they have just joined forces with Carefree, a charity that offers full time unpaid carers the opportunity to have a free break at one of over 100 hotels. Aiming Higher will now be able to refer carers that they work with to give them this essential opportunity for respite.

In the UK, 80% of home care is unpaid. It is provided by a hidden workforce of 9 million remarkable individuals, 2 million of whom provide full-time care. Their contribution to the public sector is worth a staggering £132 billion each year, equivalent to the entire NHS budget, yet the tendency is to see them as somehow different from other frontline workers.

In truth, unpaid carers are an integral, vital and irreplaceable part of the system. They experience many of the same pressures as their salaried counterparts and their need for support is every bit as great. Many of the families Aiming Higher work with are amongst these numbers. Carefree was started in the summer of 2016 by two brothers, Charlie and James Ricketts, whose own experiences motivated them to launch an initiative in support of unpaid carers. Having tested the concept in Cornwall and witnessed the extraordinary impact on carers’ wellbeing, they moved the operation to London in early 2017 and began looking for seed funds. In July 2017 they were awarded a place on an accelerator for charitable ventures with

In 2019, Carefree won Breakthrough Charity of the Year at the Third Sector Awards and was awarded multiyear funding by the National Lottery Community Fund, the Postcode Innovation Trust and a number of other prestigious grantmakers. In November 2020, the charity gained further recognition by winning the Sustainability prize at the Skift Innovation, Design and Experience Awards, which celebrate “the big ideas defining the future of travel.” The organisation continues to grow, developing a purpose-built technology platform and forging relationships with numerous private and public sector partners to drive forward a radical solution to systemic challenges within the UK’s social care sector.

Jenny Jones, Aiming Higher’s Reaching Resilience Project Manager, says “We are incredibly excited to be working with Carefree in this new venture. So many of the families Aiming Higher work with include those in an unpaid carer role and it is essential that this is recognised and they are allowed this time to be themselves and relax. It is vital that they are able to look after themselves, or they will not be able to continue to look after those they care for”.

If you would like more information regarding the support offered by Aiming Higher and would like to join our email mailing list please give us a call on 01253-206447 or email info@aiminghighercharity.org.uk You can also view our new newsletter by visiting bit.ly/AHnewsspring2022