At a loose end for what to do over the next school holiday? Duncan Hall picks out more than 50 family-friendly events going on around Sussex.

FREE EVENTS

Fat Tuesday
Various venues, Hastings, Friday, February 13, to Tuesday, February 17, various times, free, hastingsfattuesday.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL acts will be shoulder-to-shoulder with Hastings’ newest bands in a five-day free celebration of Mardi Gras.

The free programme launches tonight with a series of shows and street performances from 8pm to 11pm.

Highlights from the weekend include family umbrella workshops at Stade Hall tomorrow from 10am to 4pm ahead of the Umbrella Parade through the old town on Sunday from noon, 200 free acoustic shows across Hastings tomorrow afternoon from 1pm to 6pm and the masked Grande Mardi Gras Ball at St Mary In The Castle in Pelham Crescent tomorrow from 8pm for £10 a ticket.

On Sunday from 1pm music fans have a choice between Preservation Sunday, a trad jazz and beer festival at St Mary In The Castle; new music showcase Off Axis at The Carlisle in Pelham Street; and a sonic mystery tour starting at Warrior Square and moving across St Leonards.

King Size Slim will play a free show at Brass Monkey, in Havelock Road, on Monday night from 7pm.

And Skinny Lister and Skunk Anansie guitarist Ace are among the special guests at a two-day Un-Convention at St Mary In The Castle on Monday and Tuesday, with entry at £10 per day, or £15 for the two days, ahead of the culminative Fat Tuesday tour.

A total of 21 venues will host 67 gigs on Fat Tuesday itself from 8pm, with the musicians moving from venue to venue. On the bill are Bosco Rogers, Skinny Lister, The Jacques, Machine People, Cursed Sons and Prose, plus special guests who will be announced on the night.

Plus £10 tickets will be available for the two-venue after party at West Exit, in Robertson Passage and the Brass Monkey.

Also on

Love Cycle
Old Municipal Market, Circus Street, Brighton, Saturday, February 14, 11am to 3pm, free, circusstreetbrighton.com

BRING along something interesting to swap, improve or recycle in this event featuring special guests upcyclers Remade In Brighton, Diversis Artibus, Freegle, Didi DIY, Bike Train CIC and the University Of Brighton Waste House.

Dear Serge
De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill, Sunday, February 15, 11am to 5pm, free, 01424 229111

A LIVE music special from the regular art event, featuring performances from Brighton psychedelica electronic band Hypnotized, Brighton vocalist Anneka Warburton, artists Mary Hooper and Elise Liversedge, and painter Venetia Nevill.

Jamie Griffiths will present a 3D interactive digital artwork investigating big data and surveillance, Joan Alexander’s installation works with the shadows cast around the building, professional foley artist John Fewell will present classic sound effects techniques, and musicians John Strutton and Riccardo Carbone will be reacting to information inscribed by a wind-up gramophone.

Tech Detective
Trail Hove Museum, New Church Road, Saturday, February 14, to Sunday, February 22, 10am to 5pm, Sun 2pm to 5pm, closed Wed, free, 03000 290900

CHILDREN up to eight years old can become museum magpies in a search for amazing machines in the museum.

There are also two free drawing workshops based on the Amazing Analogue exhibition on Tuesday and Friday from 10.30am and 1.30pm for three to eight-year-olds.

FAMILY THEATRE

Octonauts And The Deep Sea Volcano Adventure
Connaught Theatre, Union Place, Worthing, Saturday, February 14, and Sunday, February 15, 1pm and 4pm, £15.50, £56 family of four, 01903 206206

CBEEBIES stars Captain Barnacles, Lieutenant Kwazii and Medic Peso embark on a new underwater quest in this new interactive show featuring music by BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson.

The live production has been adapted and directed by Richard Lewis, who was also behind the three touring Peppa Pig shows and 2014’s Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom.

“Octonauts is all about adventure and exploration which offers up a whole host of possibilities in a live environment,” says Lewis.

“From the colourful characters and fantastic underwater setting to the amazing octopod where the Octonauts live, there’s great scope for a really unique, interactive theatre experience. We can’t wait to take fans on an adventure like never before.”

Also on

Captain Flinn And The Pirate Dinosaurs
De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill, Sunday, February 22, 4pm and 6pm, £12, 01424 229111

WHEN Flinn discovers a pirate hiding in a school supply cupboard he embarks on a real-life adventure from new children’s theatre company Les Petits based on Giles Andrea and Russell Ayton’s book, for audiences aged two or more.

The Wind In The Willows
Underground Theatre, below the library, Grove Road, Eastbourne, Sunday, February 22, 1.30pm and 5pm, £6.50, 0845 680 1926

KENNETH Grahame’s beautiful tale of evil weasels, a motorcar obsessed amphibian and the joy of simply messing around in boats comes to Eastbourne for half-term in a co-production between Immersion Theatre and Cambridge Touring Theatre.

Robin’s Winter Adventure
Connaught Studio, Union Place, Worthing, Tuesday, February 17, 11am and 2pm, £7.50, £26 family of four, 01903 206206

A YOUNG boy is helped by a small feathered friend as he moves from his cosy village to bustling London in this Pied Piper Theatre Company story told with songs, laughter and two Robin red breast puppets.

The Polar Bears Go Wild!
Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, New Road, Monday, February 16, and Tuesday, February 17, 11.30am and 2.30pm, £7/£5/£22 family of four, 01273 709709

A PAIR of friendly polar bears go on the adventure of a lifetime – including scaling a mountain, rowing across a river, skiing down an icy slope and a picnic with polar bears’ favourite food: sandwiches.

Hacktivists
Lantern Theatre, Rock Place, Brighton, Thursday, February 19, to Saturday, February 21, 8pm, £7/£5, 01273 818266

A GROUP of nerdy friends turn a school portable building into a Hackerspace in playwright Ben Ockrent’s new work, soundtracked by Hove’s own Fatboy Slim.

The play forms part of the National Theatre’s 2015 Connections programme, and features a cast drawn from Brighton’s ACT Kids Theatre.

The Sooty Show
Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Monday, February 16, 11am and 2.30pm, £16.90, 08448 717650

SWEEP, Soo and Richard Cadell all join the titular yellow bear to celebrate his birthday – with special party guests including Butch the bulldog.

Arthur’s Dream Boat
Minerva Theatre, Oaklands Park, Chichester, Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21, 11am and 2pm, £10/£8, 01243 781312

LONG Nose Puppets bring Polly Dunbar’s picture book to life in the tale of a young boy whose dream about a beautiful pink and green sailboat comes to life on his head. Aimed at three to seven year-olds, with colouring sessions before the show.

WORKSHOPS

Brighton Science Festival
Various venues, Brighton, Saturday, February 14, to Sunday, February 22, various times and prices, brightonscience.com

LAUNCHING with Bright Sparks at Hove Park Upper School this weekend, Brighton Science Festival has a bumper half-term programme of more than 35 events.

Among the venues hosting workshops are the Makerlab in London Road, which has a week-long robot-making masterclass; Anthropod Arts in High Street, Rottingdean, with four days of soap monsters, erupting volcanoes and super slime; Brighton Media Centre in Middle Street with a five-day programme of interactive science and bath-bomb making classes at Lush Brighton in East Street.

The packed programme at The Basement, in Kensington Street, begins on Monday as Chichester College hosts a drop-in science day.

Also on the bill is a day of forensic science on Wednesday, two watery project days on Thursday and Friday and a guide to the solar system with Brad Gross.

Plus there are chances to get up close to snakes, lizards, giant bugs and skeletons at the Booth Museum, in Dyke Road; design and launch a rocket at The Hope And Ruin in Queen’s Road, on Monday; Lego fun at Hotel Du Vin in Ship Street; and a guide to the scientific secrets behind magic with Oliver Meech at the Dukebox Theatre, at the Iron Duke, in Waterloo Street, Hove on Friday, February 20.

Also on

Writing And Drawing For The Graphic Novel
Rare Books Archive, Jubilee Library, Jubilee Street, Brighton, Saturday, February 21, 10am to 1pm, free, queensparkbooks.org.uk

GRAPHIC novel writer Tim Pilcher and artist Paul Collicutt host a workshop for 15 to 25-year-olds examining plotting, pacing and structure as part of the two-year Brighton’s Graphic War project looking at the city’s role in the Great War.

Participants should have read some graphic novels and bring their own pens, pencils and paper.

Pancake making
Bramblings Yard, Woolbeding, Tuesday, February 17, 5pm, £3, 01730 816638

AN alternative Shrove Tuesday celebration making pancakes over an open camp fire, with story-telling and hot chocolate as the sun sets.

All At Sea Seascapes Craft Workshops
Petworth House and Park, Petworth, Monday, February 16, to Friday, February 20, 11am to 2.30pm, from £15.50/ £9.20, nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house

MAKE a 3D choppy seascape inspired by the beautiful JMW Turner’s paintings on display this spring.

Fantastic Mr Fox – Play In A Week Workshop
The Hawth Studio, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Monday, February 16, to Friday, February 20, 10.30am to 3.30pm, £80, 01293 553636

PROFESSIONAL drama tutors lead youngsters aged six to 11 in a stage version of Roald Dahl’s children’s classic telling the story of a wily fox that does battle with three farmers.

The week-long course culminates in a public performance from 4pm on Friday, February 20, tickets £5.

Build A Birdbox
The Barn, Tilgate Park, Crawley, Tuesday, February 17, 10am, 11am and noon, from £7.50, sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk

MAKE a home for feathered friends as part of National Nest Box Week in hour-long sessions aimed at children aged six and above. One ticket admits up to two children and two adults.

Feed The Birds
Rye Harbour Village Hall, Tuesday, February 17, 10am to noon, donations welcome, 01797 227784

MAKE a feeder and tasty treats for garden birds in this drop-in event.

Old Arundel Crafts And Trades
Arundel Museum, Mill Road, Arundel, Wednesday, February 18, and Thursday, February 19, 11am to 3pm, £3/£2.50, 01903 885866

YOUNGSTERS aged four to ten can learn pottery, weaving, how to make fishing nets, plant wheat and even use an old printing press in the drop-in sessions.

Kite-making workshops
Sheffield Park, Uckfield, Monday, February 16, to Friday, February 20, 11am to 12.30pm, £2.50, 01825 790302

CREATE a kite to fly on the parkland – tickets include price of materials.

DAYS OUT

Jurassic Seas
SeaLife Brighton, Marine Parade, from Saturday, February 14, 10am to 5pm, £9.95, visitsealife.com/brighton

A TRIO of aquatic dinosaurs are coming to Brighton as part of a new exhibition launching for February half-term.

Jurassic Seas uses cutting edge motion sensor technology to allow visitors to visit the long-extinct Plesiosaurus, Liopluradon and Megalodon.

Their tanks will include contemporary Jurassic creatures including the nautilus and cuttlefish. And visitors will be able to join in with activities ranging from Dino Twister to unearthing real fossils.

“Jurassic Seas will give visitors the chance to explore the seas, from their history thousands of years ago through to today,” says SeaLife Brighton manager Max Leviston.

“We are thrilled to be the first aquarium in the world to host Jurassic Seas – and we are certain that visitors will share our enthusiasm as soon as they step foot in the installation.”

The new attraction joins more than 2,500 creatures on display at the 140-year-old aquarium – which is home to sharks, turtles, seahorses, rays and an anaconda, as well as a walk-through ocean tunnel.

Also on

The Fat Controller and Hello Kitty
Drusillas Park, Alfriston, Tuesday, February 17, and Wednesday, February 18, 10am to 5pm, tickets from £16, drusillas.co.uk

CURRENTLY celebrating its 90th anniversary, Drusillas Park has its own private zoo, plus some very special guest visitors over half term. Thomas’s Fat Controller Sir Topham Hatt is meeting visitors on Tuesday, while Japanese icon Hello Kitty will be visiting her house and secret garden at Wednesday.

WACKO and BACKO tours
Across Worthing and Brighton, booking required, £7.50/£6.50, allinclusivehistory.org

A GUIDED alphabetical bingo-style tour of Brighton or Worthing, with participants encouraged to find as many geographically and historical locations as possible to win a prize.

Winter adventure trail
Nymans, Handcross, Saturday, February 14, to Sunday, February 22, 10.30am to 3.30pm, £12.50/£7.50, nationaltrust.org.uk/nymans

VISITORS can solve riddles and perform fun tasks in Nymans’ grounds following the new winter trail.

Wild Winter Walk
Lime Kiln Cottage Information Centre, Wednesday, February 18, 1.30pm to 3pm, donations welcome, 01797 227784

A STROLL along the beach to investigate what has washed up for accompanied four to 12-year-olds.

Brighton Modelworld
Brighton Centre, King’s Road, Friday, February 20, to Sunday, February 22, 10am, £9.50/£7.50/£5.50, 08448 471515

GIGANTIC, a restored steam traction engine originally used in the First World War, is among the attractions at this year’s Modelworld, which celebrates its 37th anniversary this year.

Also on the bill are boats, planes and trains of all shapes and sizes, plus Daleks, Lego models, dolls houses, circuses and fairground displays.

Family Winter Garden Trail
Bateman’s, Bateman’s Lane, Burwash, Saturday, February 14, to Sunday, February 22, 11am to 3pm, £9.50/£4.75, nationaltrust.org.uk/batemans

DISCOVER which animals love winter, the plants which flower in the cold weather, and those which spend this time of year asleep with this spotter trail.

Teddy Bear’s Picnic
Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters, East Dean, near Eastbourne, Wednesday, February 18, noon to 2pm, £7.50 per child, 01323 422512

TEDDY had better wrap up warm for this unseasonal seaside picnic, with party games and themed activities.

Shrovetide
Bodiam Castle, Bodiam, near Robertsbridge, Saturday, February 14, to Sunday, February 22, 11am to 4pm, from £9.80/£5.90, nationaltrust.org.uk/bodiam-castle

JOIN the Bodiam household as they prepare a feast or take part in a game of mob football to celebrate the end of the long winter with Shrovetide.

Discovery Week
Standen House And Garden, West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead, Saturday, February 14, to Sunday, February 22, 11am to 4pm, from £10.45, nationaltrust.org.uk/standen-house-and-garden

DISCOVER some of Standen’s secrets through a series of family trails through the house and estate.