It is hard to believe that bOing! has been going for a decade now, with the first bOing! in 2014! That means a whole generation of children (and adults!) have grown up with the festival, and it’s great to see how it has become a key event in the Kent summer every year.
We are celebrating in bOing! style, with great performances for all ages, including circus from Finland (Chevalier –Hobbyhorse Circus), a magical show for babies from Spain (Univers) and a group of 10 year olds from Kent telling us what it is like to be 10 in 2024 (TEN). Of course, the Luminarium will be back, alongside the usual mix of outdoor performance, activities, workshops and food that make bOing! so special.
Plus – we are making bOing! 2024 a ‘Relaxed Festival’. You can find details of this on the page opposite, but it reflects our aim to make sure everyone feels welcome at bOing! and is the culmination of great work by the team, and feedback from audience members, over a number of years.
So please enjoy our 10-year celebration. Thank you for supporting bOing!
David Sefton Director of Culture and Creative Projects
bOing! is a Relaxed Festival
We believe that bOing! is for everyone and each year we work to ensure that all audiences can enjoy the special bOing! atmosphere. bOing! 2024 is a relaxed festival, meaning all performances have a relaxed approach to noise and movement in the space – plus chill-out spaces and noisecancelling headphones are available for adults and children.
Accessible bOing!
LuminiMax - Luminarium
(All ages) p.15
BSL interpreted In.difference (7+) p.13
The Puppet Van: Space Chickens (10.30am performance) (All ages) p.17
Captioned
TEN (9+) p.11
There are also events with BSL interpretation and captioning, as well as non-verbal performances, allowing a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all. Help us celebrate bOing! 10th birthday, by donating £10 when you book Donate boingfestival.com
Relaxed Screening
Inside Out 2 (U) p.28
Chevalier – Hobbyhorse Circus is an irresistibly charming homage to the magnificent horses of circus and the silent movie era. Drawing inspiration from the history of traditional horse circuses, Kalle Lehto’s ringmaster performs acrobatics, juggling and balancing with an amazing cast of hobby horses.
This performance is non-verbal and accessible to all. The soundtrack does not feature music with lyrics.
Race Horse Company (Finland)
ChevalierHobbyhorse Circus
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.30am & 2.30pm
LOCATION: Gulbenkian Theatre
DURATION: 40 mins
TICKETS: £6
AGES: 4+
Second Hand Dance
The Sticky Dance
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: See opposite
LOCATION: ColyerFergusson Hall
TICKETS: £6
Three dancers shimmy through the audience weaving a tapestry of sticky tape in this tactile dance performance for young children.
Audiences are invited to tape, stick and groove, to see and feel sound or to be still, watch and listen turning the rules upside down.
The Sticky Dance neurotypical sessions are open for 2 hours for each performance. We recommend you book an entry time and plan to spend approximately 45 minutes in the space.
Neurotypical Performances
TIMES: 10am - 12pm
DURATION: 45 minute time slots
AGES: 3 - 5
The Sticky Dance is an interactive, engaging and colourful performance installation for autistic/ neurodivergent children and their families. The Sticky Dance is open for 60 minutes for each performance, although you can choose to enter and leave the space when you choose.
A sensory experience for early years, full of visual poetry, live music and movement.
People, bodies and objects that scatter, move around, connect with each other, and rearrange. Finding balance and harmony within the immensity of space. Every inhabitant of this cosmos, every sound, every movement, is part of a fragile balance.
Engruna Teatre (Spain) Univers
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.15am & 11.45am
LOCATION: Jarman 1
DURATION: 40 mins
TICKETS: £6
AGES: 0-2
To celebrate bOing’s 10th anniversary, we are working with Bootworks Theatre to create a performance.
The year they were born the words ‘clickbait’ and ‘YOLO’ were added to the dictionary.
Since then, it’s been an eventful ten years; Brexit, Minecraft, a climate change emergency, COVID-19.
But what do they remember and what was important to them?
Ten is a gateway age; over halfway to becoming an adult. It’s an opportune age to remember the past, imagine the future, and take stock of what’s happening now.
This performance is captioned.
Bootworks Theatre TEN
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 3.45pm
LOCATION: Aphra Theatre
DURATION: 55 mins
TICKETS: £6
AGES: 9+
In the new game in.difference, five players make dream worlds, tailored to their disabilities and differences. But maybe, their worlds aren’t so perfect after all. A Virus has snuck into the game, and it’s brought real-world problems with it! Can our players challenge the problems and defeat the virus? Square Pegs Theatre Company presents an original performance for families and children (7+), enhanced by digital technologies, puppetry, and movement.
This show will have a BSL interpreter.
Square Pegs Arts
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 12.30pm
LOCATION: Lumley Theatre
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: £6
AGES: 7 - 11
The Luminarium has become a core part of bOing!, and in our 10th year we have another new design for you to explore, LuminiMax – a new initiative for the future and a step back into the past!
Discover the colours of LuminiMax and its maze of smaller ‘Lumini’, each with a distinct character.
Tickets can be bought on the day (expect queues at busy times). We recommend that you book entry in advance for a timeslot - a limited number of tickets are available. Due to the special setting of this event, audience members who wish to enter the structure will be asked to remove their shoes.
The Luminarium is wheelchair accessible, please contact our team when you arrive at the site for access details.
Architects of Air LuminiMaxLuminarium
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10am - 5pm (30 min time slots)
LOCATION: Cathedral Meadow
TICKETS: £5
AGES: All
RPM
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 12.30pm & 4pm
LOCATION: Gulbenkian Lawn
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
A mesmeric new show combining exhilarating acrobatics, adrenalinepumping street dance and breath-taking roller skating, set on a giant moving treadmill!
RPM explores the tragic, comic and absurd aspects of modern society, unravelling untold links between current problems and the UK’s troubled history – it asks the question: Has this country ever confronted its colonial past?
Earth’s unlikely hero: an adventurous chicken who is blasted into space to solve all of our planet’s problems.
Sounds ridiculous? Not for our heroic hen who will boldly go where no poultry has gone before… With stunning puppetry and live original banjo synth music, follow this rocket-fuelled tale all on top of a van. Join us for an intergalactic adventure from the hen house to the milky way.
The 10.30am performance will be BSL interpreted.
Half a String
The Puppet Van: Space Chickens
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.30am (BSL interpreted) & 1.30pm
LOCATION: Gulbenkian Lawn
DURATION: 20 mins
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
Gorilla Circus
MCDC Dance Company
In Clouds
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 11.30pm & 2.45pm
LOCATION: Gulbenkian Lawn
DURATION: 20 mins
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
Welcome to In Clouds, a uniquely stylish dance performance transporting you to a world of flight and freedom where anything is possible.
Join the dancers as they explore a surreal new space of imagination and cloud gazing and invite you to experience the adventure through interactive dance and props.
The Delights is the tale of two homely creatures who wake from sleepy hibernation to discover a delightful, enticing world that has appeared around them.
As these curious, playful characters explore this new world of possibility, they invite children to join them in their dances and creating an outdoor playground full of wonder, joy and delight.
Turned On Its Head and Makers of Imaginery Worlds
The Delights
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.30am & 1.30pm
LOCATION: Cathedral Meadow
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: 0-5
Dulce Compania (Germany)
The Headless
Couple
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: Walkaround performance 10.45am, 1pm & 3pm
LOCATION: bOing! Hilltop
DURATION: 30 mins
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
A surprising, funny, and unbelievably absurd walk act! The headless man in an elegant trench coat and a bougie lady in endless leopard print and a little chihuahua peeking from her purse, mingle with festival-goers. Sometimes they startle peopleyou might hear surprised shrieks, and hearty laughter. Many people will pull out their cameras when they see the smartly dressed man reading the newspaper, drinking a glass of juice and studying the city map or the lady strolling through the park or having a cup of tea. All without a head! See if you can spot them around bOing! 2024.
What does it mean to be a Wildflower?
Blooming wherever you’re planted. Being your vibrant, colourful self, sometimes under the harshest conditions.
Join the Wildflowers as they ride by for a fun, floral pop-up performance. Creating a welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.
Check out our free live music stage on bOing! Hilltop
Music For Change
DATE: Sat 24
TIMES: 11am - 4pm
LOCATION: bOing! Hilltop
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
10.45AM – 11.30AM: Dallaway Steel Band
11.45AM – 12.30PM: Steel pan workshop by Dallaway Street Band
12.30PM – 2PM: Congolese dance workshop & performance by Grupo Lokito
2PM – 2.45PM: West African drumming workshop by George Fiawoo & Martin Hanson
3PM – 3.10PM: Chinese Ribbon dance performance
3.15PM – 3.45PM: Chinese Ribbon dance workshop
City Sound
DATE: Sun 25
TIMES: 11am - 4pm
LOCATION: bOing! Hilltop
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
11AM – 11.45AM
Nancy Okai
11.50AM – 12.30PM
Sand + Stone
12.35PM – 1.15PM
Sam Brothers
1.20PM – 2PM
Skies
2.10PM – 2.55PM
Jack Tyson Charles
3.10PM – 4PM
No Limit Street Band
Clayground Collective
Open Clay
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: bOing! Hilltop
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
Open Clay is a 3D ceramics project created by national creative learning company Clayground Collective. You are invited to join in and help build a clay Canterbury cityscape – get creative and help sculpt a skyline with familiar and fantastical features. No experience is required, just drop by!
Creative Drawing Session
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: Cathedral Meadow
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
Drop in to this free 3D Drawing art workshop, get creative and help Molly work on a community art piece thinking on themes of family, care and responsibility. Participants can join in by drawing or writing a response, everyone is welcome!
Molly Lambourn
Workshops at bOing!
Code Kids
Minecraft Coding Workshop
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.30am & 2pm
LOCATION: Grimond Seminar Room 2
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: £4
AGES: 7+
Don’t just let your children play Minecraft, get them coding with it! In this workshop, children will be taught to code using Minecraft, in a blockbased programming language (Microsoft MakeCode). No prior coding experience necessary. Minecraft play experience is highly desired but not essential.
Code Kids
Lego Robotics Workshop
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 12pm
LOCATION: Grimond Seminar Room 2
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: £4
AGES: 5+
Use Lego to build smart robots and bring your robot to life using code! This workshop is a great way of introducing concepts such as engineering and coding to kids. Learn coding in a fun way! Lego helps to bring out your child’s creative side as well as they design and build a Lego robot.
University of Kent
Cool Science
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.15am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm
LOCATION: Grimond Lecture Theatre 1
DURATION: 45 mins
TICKETS: £4
AGES: 6+
Join scientists from the University of Kent in a 45-minute interactive Liquid Nitrogen show that explores how the extreme cold affects gases, liquids and solid materials. We’ll need handson volunteers to help us with some of our experiments too!
This activity is suitable for all ages, but children must be accompanied by an adult.
Animate Arts
PARTY! Cardboard Craft Cake Hats Workshop
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.45am, 1.15pm & 3.30pm
LOCATION: Colyer-Fergusson Foyer
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: £4
AGES 4+
Celebrate bOing’s 10th birthday with some yummy cardboard capers with the fabulous Animate Arts. For this year’s workshops and with the help of professional artists, you will be crafting a cardboard birthday cake to wear as the ultimate party hat at this year’s festival!
Workshops at bOing!
Studio Spranks
Typography Workshops
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10.45pm, 12.45pm, 3.30pm
LOCATION: Grimond Seminar Room 3
DURATION: 45 mins
TICKETS: £4
AGES: 5+
Join Studio Spranks for a Typography Workshop!
Explore paint techniques and patterns to create unique letter motifs and shapes. This 45-minute workshop offers a hands-on experience to unlock your creativity with typography!
Kent Sport Mini Sessions
DATE: Sat 24 Aug
LOCATION: bOing! Hilltop
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
Our friends at Kent Sport are offering some brilliant free activities at bOing! 2024.
Drums Alive 11am & 2.45pm
Zumbatomic 11.45am & 2pm Street dance 12.30 & 1.15pm
Mini Golf All Day (Just drop by)
MCDC
‘In Clouds’ Dance Workshop
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 1pm
LOCATION: Jarman 2
DURATION: 60 mins
TICKETS: £4
AGES: 6+
Join this fun workshop from MCDC after the performance of In Clouds (p.16). We’ll lead movement games exploring the themes of the show, teach new dance skills and lead a section of the choreography in a relaxed and fun environment for young dancers!
RPM Dance Workshop
DATE: Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 10.45am
LOCATION: Jarman 2
DURATION: 45 mins
TICKETS: FREE
AGES: All
Experience the thrill of dance with Gorilla Circus! Join us for a lively workshop following the performance of RPM (p.16). Anyone is welcome!
Please note – this is a free workshop but due to a limited capacity we ask that you still book tickets.
Films at bOing!
Despicable
Me 4 (U)
DATE: Sat 24 Aug
TIME: 11am
LOCATION: Gulbenkian
Cinema
TICKETS: £5
Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run.
Relaxed Screening Inside Out 2 (U)
DATE: Sat 24 Aug
TIME: 3pm
LOCATION: Gulbenkian Cinema
TICKETS: £5
Relaxed screenings are open to all, especially those with autism and learning disabilities where films are screened in a relaxed environment with the lights and sound being kept to a low level, no trailers or advertisements – just the film. Films are captioned with audio description available.
The little voices inside Riley’s head know her inside and out – but next summer, everything changes when Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” introduces a new Emotion: Anxiety.
All films will be screened in Gulbenkian Cinema.
IF (U)
DATE: Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 11am
LOCATION: Gulbenkian
Cinema
TICKETS: £5
From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends – and what she does with that superpower.
The
Neverending Story (U)
DATE: Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 3pm
LOCATION: Gulbenkian
Cinema
TICKETS: £5
A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
Brigitte Aphrodite & Quiet Boy
Baby Zone
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: Bell Tent, Gulbenkian Lawn
AGES: 0-5
Baby Zone is an immersive, multi sensory theatrical experience for early years including storytelling, songs, interactive gentle musical sounds and imaginative play.
Moon Beam Theatre
Calm Zone
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: Cathedral Meadow
AGES: All
Need a space to Chill?
Moonbeam Theatre are bringing their sensory garden Calm Zone to bOing! This Calm Zone is open to neurodiverse festival-goers who want to swap the buzz of the festival for the buzz of the bees.
bOing! Silent Disco
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: Gulbenkian Lawn
AGES: All
Back for another year! Join us for a boogie and dance to your own beat with wireless headphones, shimmery costumes, and non-stop fun.
Docking Station Digital Zone
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: Jarman 3
AGES: All
Docking Station returns with a digital zone showcasing a groundbreaking game using Motion Capture controls and a virtual reality tour of the soon-to-be refurbished Police Section House in Medway.
The FutureProof Zone
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIME: 10am - 5pm (Drop in)
LOCATION: The Burrow
AGES: All
Located in The Burrow, the Future Proof Zone is dedicated to our planet and what we can do to look after it.
Drop in and join us for a mixture of stalls, free fun games, activities and workshops.
Look out for our friend
Stevie the Sustainability Snail around the festival site and take on his recycling challenge!
Monkton Nature Reserve Conservation Station
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 11.30am & 2pm
AGES: 8+
TICKETS: FREE (Limited Tickets)
Build a simple circuit to light a bulb using energy from the sun, light a bulb with a hand-held turbine or even run a clock using fruit or veg!
Please note – this is a free workshop but due to a limited capacity we ask that you still book tickets.
Kent Community Oasis Garden
Terrarium ‘Jungle in a Jar’ Workshops
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 10am
AGES: 5+
TICKETS: £3
Build your own mini windowsill rainforest and watch it grow! This workshop will give you all you need to start your own terrarium which you can take home. A terrarium is like an aquarium, but for plants instead of fish. Making a terrarium is like creating your own mini ecosystem!
Kent Community Oasis Garden (in conjunction with Monkton nature reserve)
Marvellous MinibeastsGuided Walk
DATES: Sat 24 & Sun 25 Aug
TIMES: 12pm
AGES: All
TICKETS: FREE (Limited Tickets)
Step into the fascinating world of minibeasts who have made their homes around the b0ing! site. Join us on a hunt to discover some of the smallest creatures living alongside us!
Please note – this is a free workshop but due to a limited capacity we ask that you still book tickets.
Information Point
Drinking water points
Food
First Aid
Toilet facilities
Accessible toilet facilities are located in Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Colyer-Fergusson, Jarman and Grimond.
Accessible hoist toilet facilities are available in Rutherford and Templeman Library.
Car parks
Accessible car park
Rain does not stop bOing!
If it is wet, outdoor performances move to Eliot, Grimond and Gulbenkian
GULBENKIAN L AWN CATHEDRAL MEADOW
Share your favourite photos with us @boingfestival
Plan Your Day
These are just some ideas to help plan your day. Ages are just guidelines (unless otherwise stated) not strict rules! And our free, outdoor performances will amaze and entertain all ages…
Babies and toddlers Univers (0-2) p.9
The Delights (0-5) p.19
Baby Zone (0-5) p.30
Ages 4-7 The Sticky Dance (ages 3- 7) p.7
Chevalier - HobbyHorse Circus (3-7) p.5
Wildflower (All ages) p.21
Cool Science (5+) p.25
Studio Spranks Typography Workshop (5+) p.26
Inside Out 2 (U) p.29
Ages 8+ TEN (9+) p.11
In.difference (7+) p.13
In Clouds (All ages ) p.18
The Headless Couple (All ages) p.20
Despicable Me 4 (U) p.28
Accessible bOing!
LuminMax - Luminarium (All ages) p.15
BSL interpreted: In.difference (7+) p.13
The Puppet Van: Space Chickens (10.30am performance) (All ages) p.17
Captioned performance: TEN (9+) p.11
Relaxed Screening: Inside Out 2 (U) p. 28
And all our free outdoor performances!
Half A String Christmas Show: The Snowsmith
Sat 7 - Thu 19 Dec, Times vary Gulbenkian Theatre For ages 4+
Location Map
Please come by bus if you can. The bOing! bus stop is only 5 mins walk to the main festival site. Plan your journey at stagecoachbus.com
Car Parking is free across the whole University campus for bOing! This map highlights the 2 closest, but if they are full you can use any of the car parks on site. For sat navs use postcode CT2 7NB
(Allow 20/30 mins walk)
Tickets & Information
The paper version of this guide was printed on carbon offset paper,
