Hoo-Ha! Festival, Bristol’s biggest annual event made for kids, returns to Bristol Beacon this August for two days of music, dancing and fun for little people and their families.
After one year off, Hoo-Ha! is back with a bang for 2024, and bigger than ever before. Expect all areas of Bridgehouse to be packed to the brim with shows, shenanigans and spectacles, as well as shows taking place in Lantern Hall.
There’ll be plenty of opportunities to get creative with activities, things to discover, see and do.
It’s free entry, no tickets required – so come one, come all to the Hoo-Ha party: a hullaballoo of family fun!
We’ll be announcing the full line-up of fun over the next few weeks, so RSVP to receive the latest updates and information about the festival straight to your email inbox.
This year we’re also bringing Hoo-Ha! To our second home in Southmead for a one-day mini version of the festival on Saturday 10 August – find out more.
Presented by Bristol Beacon
All ages welcome
Hoo-Ha! is free to attend and no booking is required – sign-up for email updates about the festival.
Buggy parking and baby changing facilities available
Shows
Lunatraktors
Lunatraktors
Bridgehouse, Lower Ground Floor
Tuesday 11.00 – 11.45
A special show for children from award-winning ‘broken-folk’ duo Lunatraktors, reinventing Anglo-Celtic traditional music with eclectic acoustic beats, deep drones, percussive dance and vocal harmony.
The Enchanted Cinema
The Enchanted Cinema
Lantern Hall
Tuesday
My Neighbour Totoro – 11.30-12.30
Red Turtle + Wild Things – 14.00-15.00
Imagine going to the cinema and becoming part of a pop-up orchestra who create sound FX and a musical soundtrack! Each Enchanted Cinema show starts with a warm up led by a professional musician using your voice, hands and feet before moving onto shakers, cymbals, recorders, guiros, a gong, xylophone and other ingenious foley FX to create the magical soundtrack.
The show is ideal for children aged 4+ and their grown-ups who team up to become the magical orchestra. Please keep all phones in bags.
Poco Drom
Poco Drom
Bridgehouse, Lower Ground Floor
Tuesday 13.15 – 14.00
Rocking a fuzzy guitar and the sickest beats, Poco Drom creates family friendly electro grunge that will nourish your ear drums and your soul to boot.
Ichi
Ichi
Bridgehouse, Lower Ground Floor
Wednesday 11.00 – 11.45
Bristol-based Japanese experimental singer-songwriter ICHI presents a show featuring quirky handmade instrument inventions. ICHI’s playful, danceable creations reflect punk, reggae, dub, Henri Salvador, tribal music, and old 78s. He captures elements with his trusty sampler, comparing it to “catching an animal.”
RSVP Bhangra
RSVP Bhangra
Bridgehouse, Lower Ground Floor
Wednesday 13.15 – 14.00
With a blend of authentic tradition and innovation, RSVP Bhangra’s shows introduce Bhangra dance, inviting everyone to party Punjabi style.
Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles
Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles
Lantern Hall
Wednesday 11.30 – 12.30
Ticketed – £8.17 incl. bf
Acclaimed French comedian Marcel Lucont presents a wild family gameshow, in which kids get to be pests, politicians and pétomanes to be crowned the most awful child.
Dizraeli – Lullabies Live
Dizraeli – Lullabies Live
Lantern Hall
Wednesday 14.00-15.00
Pull up a beanbag, lay back and drift on a warm sea of live sound, song and visual projections for little ones and adults alike: an hour of immersive soundscapes and harmony singing designed to soothe the nervous system.
Activities and Workshops
Explorer Dome
Explorer Dome
Bridgehouse, Ground Floor
Tue & Wed, 10.00-15.00
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!
Vic Art: Crafting Musical Creatures
Vic Art: Crafting Musical Creatures
Bridgehouse, Level 1
Tue & Wed, 10.00-15.00
Join the fun with the Crafting Musical Creatures workshop led by artist Victoria Willmott. Using paper and craft materials, you can draw, cut out, and collage your own colourful musical bug. Gather your family and friends to build a band of musical bugs and get them ready for their first concert! Perfect for young artists and music lovers alike.
Noisy Toys
Noisy Toys
Bridgehouse, Level 1
Tue & Wed, 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.
Let’s Make Art
Let’s Make Art
Bridgehouse, Level 1
Tue & Wed, 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.
Conductive Music
Conductive Music
Bridgehouse, Level 3
Tue & Wed, 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.
Graft
Graft
Bridgehouse, Level 3
Tue & Wed, 11.00-14.00
Join Bristol graffiti artists from Graft to create your own graffiti name board using paint markers! What will your graffiti name be? Will you go for wildstyle lettering, pop art, calligraphy or bold block letters?!
This is a drop-in workshop suitable for ages 6+. Parents/carers must stay to supervise children.
Street Envy
Street Envy
Bridgehouse, Lower Ground Floor
Tue & Wed, 12.30-13.00
Street Envy is a Bristol dance school with leading instructors in street dance, commercial, reggaeton, dance fitness, contemporary, musical theatre, cabaret and GloEnvy fitness classes for adults, teenagers and children.
Kiss My Putt
Kiss My Putt
Weston Stage (Cellars)
Tue & Wed, 10.00-15.00
Kiss My Putt is golf, but not as you know it! Forget traditional clubs—grab a snooker cue, an umbrella, or even use your head. You’ll be dancing and hopscotching your way to each hole in this wildly entertaining twist on the classic game. The ever so unhelpful “Kiss My Putt” caddy teams are there to assist, but beware—they’re sticklers for their quirky rules. It’s golf gone crazy!
Access and Experience Information
Access and Experience Information
Chill-out Zone
There will be a quiet area located in Simons’ Bar for those who need some time out from the festival.
Social Story
View our Social Story for visitors to Hoo-Ha! with clear and easy to read information about what to expect.
Let us know you’re coming
RSVP and we’ll keep you updated with the latest line-up announcements, stage times and everything you need to know about Hoo-Ha.
Music, messiness & merry-making
View 16 images
Music, messiness & merry-making
View 16 images
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.