Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Family arts festival draws record crowds
Ambitious organisers of the Bank Holiday weekend’s hugely successful boing! family festival are celebrating a record turnout.
About 8,000 visitors flocked to the University of Kent campus to enjoy theatre, dance, music and film from all around the world.
A further 3,000 people enjoyed festival-related street performances in the city centre in the run-up to the weekend’s fun.
University of Kent arts venue Gulbenkian, which organised the event, has said its sights are set on making the annual festival one of the best of its type in Europe.
Set within the tree-lined campus overlooking the city, boing!, which was promoted by the KM Group, offered more than 100 performances over Saturday and Sunday.
The festival was headlined by the Jasmin Vardimon dance company’s premiere of its production of Pinocchio.
The ticketed show, which will now tour the country and abroad, attracted almost 600 visitors.
Meanwhile, the Mirazozo Luminarium, an exciting sensory experience within an inflated labyrinthine
‘boing! 2016 has been even more successful than we could ever have hoped’
structure, had queues forming throughout the weekend.
Other draws included Finding Dory, which was screened in the Gulbenkian Cinema, a children’s silent disco in the centre’s foyer area, and numerous performers demonstrating breath-taking acrobatics.
boing! was a free-entry event with certain choice attractions charging an entry fee.
With the distant Cathedral as backdrop, the colourful festival takiing place on the elevated university campus offered numerous performances both on stage and within the crowds.
Last year, Gulbenkian spokesman David Yard said: “It’s ambitious, but we are aiming to become one of Europe’s best family festivals.”
This year’s attendance suggests the arts venue could be on its way to that goal.
Gulbenkian director Liz Moran said: “boing! 2016 has been even more successful than we could ever have hoped for, engaging with nearly 11,000 people compared with 6,000 in 2015.
“Thank you to all our wonderful international and local artists, staff, volunteers and audiences who made boing! 2016 so special.
“Planning is already under way for boing! 2017.”