FOR THE KIDS

By day, from 10.00 am – 2.00 pm Nicholas Street Precinct is alive with creative play, mind-blowing street theatre and live music.
There is an abundance of family-friendly fun to be had and plenty for adults too! By night, the Creative Hub lights up from 5.00 pm – stretching from Tulmur Place to d’Arcy Doyle Place and spilling into local venues. Explore music, performance, interactive installations, workshops,
projections, markets and more.

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8-12 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm / 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm| Tulmur Place to Ipswich Civic Centre | FREE AND TICKETED

Enter the dazzling world of LightPlay, where curiosity sparks and ideas really come to light! Using light boxes, overhead projectors, torches, and translucent materials, investigate how light behaves, and experiment with kaleidoscopic patterns that shift and change with every movement. Build, arrange, and transform your surroundings, revealing the surprising ways light interacts with shapes and textures.

8-12 July | 10.00 am – 5.00 pm| Ipswich Art Gallery |FREE

Create an eclipse, launch your own straw rocket and craft a shiny space porthole using crafts and creativity! This hands-on program is packed with fun that will launch imaginations into orbit!

Presenter: Dr. Eileen O’Hely is a former astrophysicist, and current author of middle-grade stories, including Kitten Kaboodle and 50 Ways to Die in Space.

Ages 6–17 years (Parent/carer supervision required)

Drop-in 45-minute sessions – See Ipswich Libraries website for times and details

8 July | 9.30 am – 12.15 pm | Ipswich Children’s Library | FREE

8 July | 2.30 pm – 3.15 pm | Redbank Plaza Library | FREE

9 July | 9.30 am – 12.30 am | Springfield Central Library | FREE

Astounding circus stunts and big laughs for all ages as street theatre acts from around the world tumble into central Ipswich in both the day and evening program.

Hannah Cryle – Big Wheel Show

Wed 8 July | 10:15 am + 12.15 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

Thu 9 July | 12:15 pm + 6:45 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

Circus Firemen

Fri 10 July | 12:15 pm + 6:45 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

Reuben DotDotDot : A Chinese Pole

Sat 11 July | 10:30 am + 7:00 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

Sun 12 July | 1:15 am + 7:00 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

Lisa Lottie : Bend It Like Barbie

Sat 11 July | 10:15 am + 5:30 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

Sun 12 July | 12:00 pm + 5:45 pm | Tulmur Place | Free

See Creative Hub page for more detail

8-12 July | Various Times| Tulmur Place |FREE

Street dance artists from Elements Collective invite you to join in for an open workshop combining movement, music and self-expression. All ages and abilities welcome.

8-10 July | 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

Zumba is so much more than dancing to music. It’s a feeling of belonging, achievement and growth.

During these sessions our aim is to incite joy and enthusiasm, get every body moving in whatever way or capacity they can. Zumba classes are for absolutely anyone and everyone!

With fun warmups and cool downs, musical games and learning a full dance routine the fun is jam packed in our half hour session!

Lead by Tahlia Klemm

8 July | 11.45 am | Tulmur Place Stage | FREE

9 July | 11.45 am | Tulmur Place Stage | FREE

10 July | 11.45 am | Tulmur Place Stage | FREE

Tin Can Radio Kids and their families are invited to take over the airways at this fun and playful pop-up radio station for the young and young at heart.  

From fictional news to random reviews, song requests, love advice, fashion tips, radio rants, interviews and roving reports – all ideas are welcome at Tin Can Radio!

Curious minds who want to explore the world of radio more, can join our ‘Make a Radio Station In a Day’ Workshop with Everybody NOW! artists. Participants will write and produce their own radio segments and record custom sound effects before signing up to host as part of the live pop-up broadcast. 

Suitable for: For kids 7+ and their family, grandparent or favourite older person. Limited to 20 participants.

Workshop: 8 July | 10.00 am – 12.00 pm | Nicholas Street Precinct | TICKETED $5 pp | BOOK NOW

Participatory Live Broadcast: 10 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm | Nicholas Street Precinct | FREE

Step into ‘Musical Mind’ by Amigo & Amigo, an immersive interactive installation that turns sound and light into a playground of creativity. Making its Queensland Premiere, fresh from showings in the UK and Sydney, this artwork allows visitors of all ages to craft unique melodies and vibrant visuals through interactive touch panels. It is a celebration of innate musicality, blending harmonies and rhythms into a personalized experience. Presented by Ipswich Festivals, produced by Amigo & Amigo.

8-12 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm| Tulmur Place | FREE

Kaleidoscope Reflections, created by Triangle House, is a vibrant, shape-shifting installation where light, colour, and perspective collide. By day, it’s a playful playground for curious minds, where children create dazzling patterns through hands-on kaleidoscope exploration. As night falls, the space transforms, inviting deeper reflection on the human experience through light, shifting perspectives, and poetry by Caragh Bradbery. Come back after dark to see it in a whole new light.

8-12 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

Emily Kate Murray (Inspired Art Studio) will guide you to create a collaborative, evolving artwork inspired by the plants and flowers of Ipswich. Using chalk as a temporary medium, people of all ages and abilities play together on a shared canvas.

8-12 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 8.30pm | Tulmur Place |FREE

Back by popular demand – enter a world of play and laughter as you are guided to dance your way through the festival.

8-12 July | 5.30 pm + 6.00 pm + 6.30 pm + 7.00 pm| d’Arcy Doyle Place| TICKETED $5 pp | BOOK NOW

Step into our LED hula hoop workshop play space where movement meets glowing creativity. Open to all ages and skill levels, this playful space invites you to get creative while learning fun hoop tricks and dancing to the music.

8-12 July | 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm | Tulmur Place| FREE

Saplings is a powerful, darkly funny theatre production about young people navigating the youth justice system. Through interconnected stories, four actors portray teens facing tough choices, fractured families, and limited opportunities. From craving simple comforts to longing for belonging, their lives reveal how easily circumstances spiral. Blending humour and heartbreak, the play questions whether the system supports growth – or holds young people back – and challenges audiences to consider where responsibility truly lies.

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9 July | 7.30 pm | Ipswich Civic Centre |TICKETED

Senior Master Rod Ferguson is the National Chief Instructor of the Australian Academy of Tai Chi and Qigong and has been teaching professionally since 1978 in Australia and internationally. He is a highly respected practitioner who has received numerous awards and honours, including being formally awarded the title of ‘Master’ by Grandmaster Gary Khor in recognition of his dedication, skill and contribution to Tai Chi. Despite his extensive experience and international standing, Rod is known for his natural, accessible teaching style that inspires students of all levels.

To bring a decidedly SPARK twist to this Active + Healthy event, Rod the Tai Chi will have live music accompaniment.

9 July | 11.15 am | Tulmur Place Stage |FREE

10 July | 11.15 am | Tulmur Place Stage |FREE

With a focus on sustainability, Little Day Out, presented by Verso Projects in partnership with Ipswich Festivals, is bursting with live music, hands‑on creative experiences, tasty food trucks and delightful roving entertainment. Gather your festival crew and get ready to sing, dance, create and play as Ripley Town Square fills with energy and imagination.

Little Day Out programming is focused on children aged 8 and under.

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11 July | 9.00 am – 3.00 pm | Ripley Town Centre | TICKETED | BOOK NOW

This outrageous outdoor activation features a flappy-footed flamboyance of full-size flamingos.

These brightly-coloured, bendy-necked, leg-balancing birds are universally recognised as nature’s most ridiculous thing. Croquet club of choice and heroes of front lawn decor; these absurd animals can’t help but create a scene.

A sudden rush of light heralds their arrival, as the obnoxious hot pink flock explore their peculiar new environment, charming passersby with equal parts silliness and sincerity. With their bodies bobbing and feathers flapping to a disco dance beat, these unexpected visitors will be the undisputed life of the party.

8-12 July | 5.00 pm – 8:30 pm | Nicholas Street Precinct | FREE

9 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

12 July | 10.00 am + 5.30pm | Tulmur Place Stage| FREE

Angus and Matilda, turn up the heat with high energy acrobatics, red hot juggling, and searing comedy. Having toured to 26 countries so far, they will pop in to light up Ipswich before heading off on their European tour only days later. Catch them while you can.

10 July | 12.15 pm – 6.45 pm | Tulmur Place Stage | FREE

Amanda Laing is an artist and designer interested in the human experience of colour and pattern found in the natural world, in particular plants, flowers and insects. With a mindfulness approach her work explores the innate connections we hold with the natural world and the importance of protecting our natural environment.

In this workshop you will design your own insect.

9 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

Karen Benjamin is an award winning environmental artist and comedian now living in Ipswich. Using only natural and recycled materials to raise issues about sustainability.

Her Pet Rock making workshop combines the science of art, nature, sustainability and fun to spark curiosity in the young and the young at heart.

Participants can create up their own Pet Rock with stick on glow in the dark wobbly eyes to light up the dark winter nights!

8 July | 10.00 am – 2.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

11 July | 9.00 am – 1.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

Join Nicole Crosswell, scientific illustrator for the Queensland Herbarium, to learn the art of botanical illustration. Drop in for a moment or return day after day to hone your skills.

8-10, 12 July |12.00 pm – 2.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm| Tulmur Place | FREE

11 July | 11.00 pm – 1.00 pm + 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm | Tulmur Place | FREE

Ex Cirque Du Soleil acrobat Reuben DotDotDot defies gravity and death with acrobatic stunts and balances you need to see to believe. The show that has it all – humour; handstands; and holding on for dear life! With a one-handed balance 17 feet up in the air, the ground never looked so hard…

11  July | 10.00 am – 12.15 pm | Tulmur Place Stage | FREE

Ipswich Art Gallery collides with the Institute Of Modern Art for a special expanded presentation of MONO; a night of boundary pushing sound, evocative movement and durational performance that invites audiences to lean into sense and sensation!

Featured Artists Include:

Primitive Motion Sound System, Queensland Conservatorium Gamelan Ensemble, Heinz Riegler, Unregistered Master Builder, Liam Keenan + J.WLSN, Cloudy Ku DJ set, Juliet Widyasari-Burnett, Akio Suzuki + Hiromi Miyakita, Vanessa Tomlinson

Plus your chance to explore exhibitions: Light Play, The world came flooding in, and Ties that Bind in the Ipswich Art Gallery’s free entry UP LATE session.

Inaugural Ipswich Circus Festival Where the extraordinary comes to play.

Community Day The big top energy spills into the streets! Dive into workshops – acrobatics, high-impact tumbling, German wheel, acro-yoga – or just have a go at juggling, hula hoops, and more in our come-and-try spaces. With roving performers and youth circus showcases, there’s something for every age and every level of daring.

The Ipswich Circus Festival is supporting by RADF, Arts Queensland, Ipswich City Council, Ipswich Show Society and TUX Creative Studio

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram – Ipswich Circus Festival

Community Day|11 July|10.00 am |Ipswich Show Grounds|TICKETED

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10 July|12pm – 1pm |The Book Bouquet|TICKETED

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Booval Fair will celebrate SPARK 2026 with the Connected Mural Art Competition, giving six talented local artists the opportunity to transform the space with vibrant murals inspired by the theme ‘Connected to Community.’ Each artwork will celebrate the people, stories and spirit that make Ipswich feel like home.

During the SPARK Ipswich Festival, visitors can experience the six winning designs up close inside the Booval Fair Community Art Gallery between 8-12 July.

It’s colour, culture and community coming together in one unforgettable showcase.

8-12  July | Various times | Booval Fair | FREE

Local Author Lawry Goodkind brings science, creativity and craft together in his Half Life workshop for young people 9-12yrs old.

8 July | 2pm – 3pm | The Book Bouquet | TICKETED

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8 July | 10am – 11am | The Book Bouquet | TICKETED

BOOK NOW