Lighthouse, Poole to Host Family Circus Fun Day 27 Oct

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts, once again throws opens its doors on Sunday 27 October for an Anglo-French circus extravaganza the whole family can get involved with - for free!

Last year the venue welcomed more than 4,000 people to a host of different circus workshops and performances from both local and International Artists.

This year's Family Circus Fun Day is going to be even bigger, offering even more opportunities for everyone to get involved. With a packed programme of pop-up performances, workshops and backstage tours, it's open all day long and it's all for free!

The Family Circus Fun Day is a chance to learn the tricks of the trade: how to juggle like an expert, fly high on a trapeze, cartwheel with an acrobat and make people laugh like a clown.

The programme includes:

- Le Prato workshops in BMX biking, clowning and acrobatics
- Workshops in static trapeze, aerial hoop and silks from Polz Apart
- The Remix with performances of Balansera: A World Without Limits
- Dorset School of Acting performances
- Circus themed drama workshops for young children with Stagewise
- Interactive performances and storytelling with Hazel Evans, Artist in Residence
- Circus skills workshops from Jamie Jigsaw
- Live music
- Promenade and pop-up performances
- Equestrian circus films

At the end of the day Devon-based theatre company Le Navet Bete will present Napoleon: A Defense - a comedy show for all the family featuring live music, physical theatre and clowning.

The Family Circus Fun Day is part of the Lighthouse Carte Blanche circus season and PASS, a groundbreaking collaboration between France and the UK involving the production, touring and training of circus artists.

Carte Blanche is part of PASS - a European project grouping eight organisations over three years, from 2012 to 2014 (four in France and four in England) working together on circus arts with common goals: production, touring and training.

The project PASS - Circus Channel was selected under the European Cross-Border Cooperation Programme INTERREG IV A France (Channel) - England, co-funded by the ERDF.