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Theatre Hullabaloo, a charity and one of the UK's leading children's arts organisations, was recognised for its "outstanding contribution" to family-friendly arts and culture in 2023-24. The award was given for their family arts festival, Hullabaloo in the Park 2023, which was a five-day event held in South Park, Darlington. Charlie Kemp, Tees Valley Combined Authority head of creative place, said: "I am delighted that Theatre Hullabaloo has been honoured with this award, which is fantastic recognition of a brilliant organisation and the outstanding impact it is having on local families.
"Tees Valley Combined Authority is proud to support Theatre Hullabaloo as part of our objective of delivering vibrant, positive and inclusive events which bring joy to our region." Designed for under 10s and their grown-ups, the festival attracted 8,568 attendees, with 74 per cent from postcodes of high deprivation. It featured more than 263 interactive performances, music activities, storytelling, spoken word workshops, creative play environments, geocaching trails, and forest schools.
Most read Get the most out of your local news with The Northern Echo Subscribe now and enjoy access for the whole of 2025 for only £25 or enjoy your first six months for £6. Don’t miss out on our biggest sale of the year. The event also included bug and beastie themed spaces of creative activity, walkabout entertainment, food, and a range of BSL and neurodivergent friendly offers.
These national awards celebrate outstanding opportunities created for families and older audiences to access creative opportunities and enhance wellbeing through arts and cultural activities. Theatre Hullabaloo also runs a year-round programme of shows and activities for children and their grown-ups at their specialist children's venue in Darlington, The Hullabaloo. Every year they welcome thousands of families to enjoy a variety of creative experiences including theatre made specially for children, free creative play, a story corner, crafts and outdoor play, storytelling sessions, school holiday clubs, socially prescribed play programmes and more.
They also have a family-friendly café with accessible toilets, baby change facilities and a buggy park..
