There was definitely a period between being a child and having my own children where I never went near Christmas carol singing. Somehow you still remember all the words though?! Then there’s Christmas crafts and Christmas movies. All the fun things you get to do (or relive) when you have kids to supervise.
Forbes Council will ‘decorate’ the entire outside of the Town Hall as a giant gingerbread house – projected by lights! They’ve called it “Run, run, run as fast as you can!” Park the car across the road and tune the radio to a special station for a whole matched soundscape. December 6-26. Plus drop your letter into the big red post box in the reception area of Forbes Shire Council and Santa will reply to you (get letters in prior to 20 December). Follow the event on Facebook for more details
Carols are planned for Forbes (Saturday 11 December 7-10pm) in Victoria Park and will be focused on celebrating the Forbes community.
Orange’s Carols by Candlelight (Saturday 11 December, 7-9pm) is a free event featuring music by Orange Regional Conservatorium in the North Court behind the gallery.
Mitchell Conservatorium’s Carols at Tremain’s in Bathurst (Sunday 12 December) it’s now sold out but they’ll be streaming it via Facebook. Next door The Victoria Hotel will host local performers for a carols event on December 23 from 5pm.
Cowra Japanse Gardens is a stunning venue for carols (Sunday 19 December, 6-9pm) although they do warn that if the weather is bad the event won’t go ahead.
Grenfell Library have a whole list of crafty things planned for ages 5+ including Christmas Card Making (2-4 December); Decorate Baubles (7-16 December); and Decorate Ornaments (10-18 December).
Cowra Library have a Minecraft Camp on Sunday 12 December 9am-4.30pm at Cowra PCYC.
Summer Reading Club starts December 1 at most libraries. See how many books the kids can log over the holidays.
I’m guessing it’s going to rain. The cinema is always a good option.
The big cinemas in Bathurst and Orange will of course be open all summer.
The Grenfell Hub will run as a cinema with screenings of two of big Christmas classics ‘The Grinch’ (Wednesday 22 December 10.30am) and ‘Home Alone 2’ (Thursday 23 December 2pm).
Cowra Civic Centre will run films all summer. Get into the festival vibe with ‘A Boy Called Christmas’ (December 16 through to 19).
Manildra’s super cute AMUSU Cinema will also have summer screenings. Check What’s On closer to the date.
Something all families in the region should do at least once is a Children’s Night Tours of Abercrombie House just outside of Bathurst. Enjoy a tour of the house and garden. Bring a torch or borrow one. The tour will conclude with chocolate milk and cookies. Suitable for kids aged from 7+ (with adult). Wednesday 29 December, 7:30pm – 8:45pm.
See Arts OutWest’s full list of creative summer activities for Kids & Families.
Find museums, galleries, public art and other fun across the NSW Central West at Culture Maps Central NSW.
If you missed it my previous post was all about Fun festivals and gentle gallery visits.
Note: Things keep changing. Rising rivers. Covid related stuff. Check with venues before setting out and we’ll also run updates on the Arts OutWest What’s On.
Images (from top): MitCon Carols at Tremain’s Mill 2020 (photo: Arts OutWest); Light projections for Christmas in Forbes 2020 (photo: ‘Stephan de Wit Light and Music’); Abercrombie House Night Tours (photo: Abercrombie House).
