Hoo-Ha! Festival returns this August for three jam-packed days of music, dancing, and activities for little people and their families.
This page will be kept up to date with the full line up of fun but, as ever, expect all levels of Bristol Beacon’s Foyer to be filled with opportunities to get creative, have fun and burn off plenty of holiday energy! Find roof-raising sing-alongs with TJ Band, performances from Kid Carpet and inclusive dance sessions with Flamingo Chicks on the Main Stage, and opportunities to get crafty and to learn about the world with activities and workshops from Explorer Dome, Aardman, We The Curious and more.
Wed 17 Aug will be a Relaxed Day for families who might require a gentler environment with quieter activities and fewer people.
Put the below dates in your diary and come one, come all, to the free Hoo-Ha party: a hullaballoo of family fun!
Presented by Bristol Beacon
All ages welcome
Hoo-Ha on Thu 18 and Fri 19 is free to attend and no booking is required.
Buggy parking and baby changing facilities available
Main Stage Line-up
Flamingo Chicks
Flamingo Chicks
Lower Ground Floor
Wed 17 Aug 11:30, 14:00
Thu 18 Aug 10:00, 14:00
Inclusive dance and movement taster sessions for children and their friends. A fun mixture of dance and drama, teasing out storytelling and characterisation with the aim of improving balance, coordination, social skills and confidence.
Suitable for all children and young people, including those with complex needs and non-disabled children.
Ready Sheddy Dis-Go!
presents Pirate Disco: an interactive pirate adventure
Ready Sheddy Dis-Go!
presents Pirate Disco: an interactive pirate adventure
Lower Ground Floor
Wed 17 Aug 10:00, 12:30
Thu 18 – Fri 19 Aug 12:00
Everybody’s favourite disco is back to raise the shed roof and get us wibbley-wobbling all over the dance floor.
TJ Band sing along
TJ Band sing along
Lower Ground Floor
Wed 17 Aug 10:30, 13:00
Fri 19 Aug 10:30, 14:00
Raise your voices and shake your maracas with TJ Band and their singalong bonanza. Featuring all your favourite karaoke classics, this interactive concert will have you tapping your toes and dancing in the aisles. Led by Tara on the piano and Jim on the guitar, everyone is welcome to dance, sing and boogie,
Kid Carpet
Kid Carpet
Lower Ground Floor
Thu 18 Aug, 11:00
Our good friend Kid Carpet is back at Hoo-Ha with his unique brand of noisy fun.
Moira Butterfield + Gwen Millward
Book Reading
Moira Butterfield + Gwen Millward
Book Reading
Lower Ground Floor
Thu 18 Aug 13:00
Join internationally-published author Moira Butterfield (Welcome To Our World) and Gwen Millward (Sing Like A Whale, Sometime’s I’m a Baby Bear, Sometime’s I’m a Snail) and they bring their stories and characters to life with a live book reading.
Molly Oldfield
Book Reading + Quiz
Molly Oldfield
Book Reading + Quiz
Lower Ground Floor
Fri 19 Aug 13:00
Join Molly as she reads from her award-winning book “Everything Under The Sun”, which brings together 366 curious questions asked by children from around the world.
Activities and Workshops
Explorer Dome
Explorer Dome
Ground Floor
Wed-Fri
10:00
Ages 4+
Explorer Dome returns to the Hoo-Ha with its family-friendly, interactive planetarium show: The Wonder of Space!
Crawl through the tunnel, enter the magical atmosphere of our dome, meet the experts and immerse yourselves amongst stars, planets, constellation myths & legends, the lives and deaths of stars and the possibility of life on other worlds. Bring your curiosity and please ask questions!
Let’s Make Art
Let’s Make Art
Stalls Bar
Wed-Fri
10:00 – 15:00
Join Let’s Make Art to create a carnival headdress, a mask inspired by the great Saul Steinberg or a banner using recycled fabrics.
Aardman Workshops
Aardman Workshops
Level 3 Terrace Bar
Wed-Fri
10:00 – 15:00
Make your own marvellous plasticine characters with the creators of Shaun The Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run.
Scribblebots!
Presented by We The Curious
Scribblebots!
Presented by We The Curious
Level 1
Wed-Fri
10:00 – 15:00
Make your own scribbling robot with We The Curious. Investigate and construct simple circuits using motors and switches then put them to work to make a scribbling robot with pens for legs.
Noisy Toys
Noisy Toys
Level 1
Wed-Fri
10:00 – 15:00
Feel 1000 watts of bass power though your fingers, make laser-blaster sounds with a slinky, and discover amazing sounds hidden in everyday objects with Noisy Toys and their sound experiments, demonstrations and short workshop activities.
Rubbish Portraits
Rubbish Portraits
Level 2
Wed-Fri
10:00 – 15:00
Returning for her third year at Hoo-Ha festival is Bristol Based illustrator Lucie Sheridan and her Live Art Booth.
Lucie draws ‘Rubbish Portraits’ in just 3 minutes from her magical booth. The only thing is…she is actually quite good at drawing.
Conductive Music
Conductive Music
Terrace
Wed-Fri
10:00-15:00
What if we told you that you can plug a cable into an apple, to control a digital musical instrument? You might not believe your ears! Yet that’s what little ones can do in this workshop from Conductive Music.
Bookhaus Storyzone
Bookhaus Storyzone
Level 1
Wed-Fri
10:00-15:00
We LOVE stories at Hoo-Ha, and if you do too then you’re in for a story-tastic treat with book readings from Bookhaus.
Relaxed Performance Day
Our relaxed Hoo-Ha day is for disabled and neuro divergent people, or anyone who would benefit from a more relaxed environment.
Music, messiness & merry-making
View 16 images
Music, messiness & merry-making
View 16 images
Stages & Areas
Main Stage
Lower Ground Floor
The Hoo-Ha Main Stage is the place to show off your best dance moves, get involved with silly games and sing along to your favourite songs.
You’ll find the Main Stage on the lower ground floor of the building – you can’t miss it!
Ground Floor
This is where all the young astronomers come to enter Explorer Dome. You’ll find the Dome opposite our box office. It’s also where you can park your buggies when you arrive.
Stalls bar
Level 1
Up the stairs you’ll find a whole area filled with creative activities you can get involved with. It’s a big space for you to play, get a bit messy and have fun.
Terrace Bar
Level 3
Chill out on our top floor where you’ll find some quieter spaces and activities with Aardman and Conductive Music.
The venue
Bristol Beacon
Practical information
Buggy Parking
You can park your buggy in the signposted areas on lower ground floor and level 3 of Bridgehouse.
Baby Changing Facilities
There are baby changing facilities within our disabled toilets on Lower Ground, Ground and Level 3 in Bridgehouse.
Getting Here
Getting Here
Bristol Beacon is located on Trenchard Street in Bristol city centre, 200m from the city centre promenade bus stops. Find out how to get here on foot, by bicycle, bus, car, train and boat.
Access Information
Access Information
Bridgehouse, our café and box office are fully accessible. Find out more about venue facilities, joining our access register, access booking online and website accessibility.
Eat & Drink
Eat & Drink
Our cafe Bristol Loaf will be serving their daily menu of breakfast, lunch including pastries, cakes alongside filled focaccia and ciabatta and artisan loaves.
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Event Ticket Coverage
Protect yourself against unforeseen circumstances with Booking Protect and get a full refund if you’re unable to attend.
Classical
Families
Light Entertainment
The Snowman
Plus The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child
- BSL Interpreted Performance performances available
