7 Days, 34 performances, 2 exhibitions, 15 chances to Give it a Go! The Spark Festival is packed with incredible events for families

Celebrate Joy, Freedom, and Choice at the 21st Spark Festival, touching down from 18th to 25th May! Across 7 action-packed days, this year’s festival offers 34 performances, 15 “Give it a go” activities and workshops, and 2 exhibitions.

You can “See a show” at one of the fantastic venues that are part of the festival or “Give it a go” in some of your favourite cultural spots across the city.

Who better to tell you all about the festival than The Sparks’ Associate Director: Festival and Programme Trina Haldar:

A warm welcome to Festival 2024 and to Leicester, our home for the past 21 years, we look forward to celebrating this special birthday with you, as we offer you the creative key to our city, nestled into the heart of the country.

This is the place where David Attenborough was first inspired by nature, home to the most diverse street in the UK, with multiple languages spoken and authentic cuisines to match.

As always, The Spark Festival brings what the city reflects so vibrantly, a palette of performances reflecting the rich communities that have made their home here. We hope you feel right at home too. Do ask any of the team if there are ways we can support you to enjoy your time with us.

This year I spoke to an eloquent group of children, otherwise known as ‘The Mega Bosses of The Spark’, guided graciously by artist Pasha Kincaid. They expressed what it was that young people were craving from The Spark Festival, a space dedicated to Young People and Families of Leicester and that was JOY, FREEDOM and CHOICE.

These words frame this year’s Festival and my final Festival as Associate Director: Festival and Programming. What a joy it has been to orchestrate this beacon of light for young hearts and minds.

The festival is packed with opportunities to “Give it a go,” to reflect upon, and experience an array of cultural events in venues with “See a show,”, and of course, our popular “At Your School” programme.

The Vital Spark ethos, to provide essential support to underrepresented artists – to create world-class cultural opportunities in the Midlands, is undoubtedly woven into the fabric of our programming, bringing professional Actors with Learning Disabilities to provoke our thinking on climate change, Indo-Jazz vibes to our Schools, hosting local artists to splash colour into our thinking, and invite all these experiences to reverberate through the city walls.

We are excited to have you with us and hope you can feast on all that we have in store, it’s time to fill your cup.

Trina 

Associate Director: Festival and Programme