Wonderland is a community-based initiative devised by Adventure Circus SCIO in 2024. Wonderland’s aim is to bringing free outdoor circus performances and workshops to local parks in the school summer holidays. The project focuses on engaging children and families, particularly those from low-income areas, offering them the opportunity to experience live outdoors circus entertainment and actively participate in circus skills training within their own community.
Description
Overview: Wonderland is a community-based initiative devised by Adventure Circus SCIO in 2024. Wonderland’s aim is to bringing free outdoor circus performances and workshops to local parks in the school summer holidays. The project focuses on engaging children and families, particularly those from low-income areas, offering them the opportunity to experience live circus entertainment and actively participate in circus skills training within their own community (Crieff), out of doors during the summer.
Our goals:
Access to the Arts during cost of living crisis: we want to provide children and families in low-income / semi-rural areas with the chance to see a professional circus performance, something that may otherwise be financially out of reach.
Skill Development: we love to share what we do, and so our performances always include an element of participation to encourage children to engage in circus skills. For example our performers will help members of the public to try juggling, hula hooping, and aerial arts, promoting physical activity, creativity and self-confidence.
Community Building: Our visits are intended to offer a community activity that brings local people together for a fun, inclusive and interactive experience. As an outdoor spectacle, there is no limit to the number of people who can attend. In 2024 we performed Wonderland in Crieff to approximately 250 people of all ages.
Wellbeing Focus: It is our long term aim that our Wonderland events provoke audience members to consider taking part in circus skills, either through our education programme, or through self practise. Circus arts have a well known reputation for improving mental/emotional wellbeing due to a long history of inclusivity, and the skills offer an opportunity for self-expression, resilience and crucially for young people, play.
Key Activities:
Outdoor Circus Show: Our professional circus performers will put on an engaging outdoor show that is family-friendly and accessible to all ages. The show is based on Alice in Wonderland and so the story concept is recognisable to many people because of it’s well known characters and timeless themes such as curiosity, exploration, personal growth, absurdity and nonsense!
Taster Sessions: After the performance, children and adults will be invited to try their hand at various circus skills like juggling, hula hooping and aerial hoop workshops led by the circus performers. Participants will be encouraged to experiment and learn.
Community Involvement: Alongside our performers, local volunteers from Adventure Circus, including our young leaders, will assist with workshop delivery and gain valuable community experience. We will spend time getting to know local people and can encourage them to join us, continue to practise independently.
Target Audience:
Children aged 3-14, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds who may not experience many special activities / experiences due to the cost of living crisis and limitations of the family budget
Families and community members who may not typically access large-scale entertainment or arts events because they cannot afford to attend or because they do not have the means to travel out with their area due to limitations of public transport / cost.
Benefits:
For Children: Encourages physical activity and boosts confidence and resilience through fun, engaging experiences.
For Families: Provides a free, inclusive arts/circus experience that brings joy for all the family and introduces new ways to engage in physical activity.
For all: floor skills such as juggling and hula hooping are extremely low cost and are accessible beyond our Wonderland experiences through our community classes, or through self exploration at home using resources such as youtube/TikTok/Instagram
For the Community: Strengthens local connections Adventure Circus has within different areas throughout Perth & Kinross and helps to create lasting memories by bringing a positive, uplifting event to the community.
Outcomes:
With your help, we will be helping to increase access to the arts for children in underserved areas, we will encourage/enhance physical and mental wellbeing through creative circus play and we will help to strengthen community cohesion and pride in local parks as venues for cultural and recreational activities.
By bringing the magic of the circus directly to the community, Wonderland creates a free, accessible opportunity for children to see, learn, and play, and best of all, it is all set up right in their own parkland!
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