Lose yourself in art and light, check out the world’s smallest bus and see some quirky stage shows as the bOing! family festival bounces into Canterbury.

The festival has an international flavour with headliners from Holland, Portugal, Norway and Finland and 34 events and attractions over two days.

The first bOIng! in 2014 had 2,500 people marvelling at the creative magic, with numbers rising to 11,000 last year.

This year a new commission for early years by Andy Manley and Ian Cameron, creators of the multi-award winning White, will be the playful, visual new show, A Little Wilder.

The quirky new show for ages three to five features a man and a lot of lolly sticks. There will be three indoor showings on each day.

The spectacular Pentalum Luminarium – visited by more than 3,000 people last year – returns with its dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes, Islamic architecture and Gothic cathedrals for visitors to lose themselves in the beauty of light and colour.

Shona Reppe brings The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean, a part detective story, part journey into the imagination, for ages seven and up.

Slowly, page by page, the scrapbook becomes the window into a secret world and a curious life unfolds before us – but who was Josephine Bean?

Shona combines performance with detailed props and objects and her show has wowed audiences at the Barbican and South Bank Centre in London and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and has been performed at Australia’s Perth and Adelaide Festivals.

Among the acts will be The Ruggeds, a breakdance crew from the Netherlands, Musicalmente from Portugal with a mesmerising Concert for Babies, the acrobatic Race Horse Company from Finland and regulars Dybwikdans from Norway bring their Ugly Duckling to the UK for the first time.

Dutch company Delinus present Delinus03, the smallest taxi-van ever, offering a ‘hop on – hop off’ service at various venues outdoors over the weekend.

The finale to both festival days is provided by Cirque Du Platzak from the Netherlands, 12 musicians and circus performers, providing gasps, laughs and cheers for an outdoor audience.

A BOING FOREST

There was a little preview for bOing! at this summer’s Kent County Show.

The artists from Animate Arts teamed up with the KM Media Group to make paper trees from old KMs to create a bOing Forest, which will be next to the yurt outside the Gulbenkian at this weekend’s festival, and to give children the chance to make animal masks.

The team are back this weekend with Box-Head Beasts, a fun, hands-on workshop to make a Beastie head-dress to take home. Entry is £4 and the workshops are held in the bOing! yurt at intervals on both days.

Beastie, by Lone Twin (UK), is another beast-related show for children, with a jaw-dropping secret and the chance for children to create their own stories. Held both days, the indoor show is a playful, hands-on experience.

DETAILS

bOing! festival will be held at the Gulbenkian in Canterbury on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27. It is free to enter, though some indoor shows are ticketed at £6. For details of what’s on visit boingfestival.com or call the information line on 01227 769075.