Tickets for Juice: NewcastleGateshead�s festival for children and young people, (Thursday 22 October � Sunday 8 November 2009) are on sale and the full two-week programme of events has been unveiled.

After the success of Juice last year, the festival is back for a second year, with an exciting and inspiring range of performances, events, activities and workshops for children, young people and their families.

To celebrate, local young people and staff from some of the region�s top family�friendly attractions took part in a Parkour (free-running) masterclass yesterday today with expert Alister O�Loughlin from The Urban Playground Team, who has developed a special Juice residency for the festival later this year (see image attached).

The participants in today�s Parkour masterclass were: Paul Black, Events Officer for Seven Stories, The Centre for Children�s Books; Adam Widdrington, Communications Coordinator for Dance City; Amy Barker, curator of the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead and Ilaria Longhi, Community Programmer from BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. They were joined by Shivani Lal, one of ten young people involved in the Poetry on the Metro project and Lusine Manukyan of Mongrel UK at The Sage Gateshead.

One of the highlights of NewcastleGateshead�s world-class festivals and events programme developed by culture10, Juice is a celebration of the creativity of children and young people and many events in this year�s programme will showcase outstanding work created by young people themselves: from hip hop to poetry, film making to music, comedy to free running.

Juice is about both viewing and doing and during the half term week there will be a packed programme of interactive events, performances, sport activities and entertainment for families to take part in, in venues across NewcastleGateshead.

Rachel Adam, artistic director for Juice said: �With a whole range of specially created, interactive events for families during October half term, we hope that the festival will engage local audiences and also help attract visitors from beyond the region, to enjoy the many family-friendly attractions and venues on offer.�

Carol Bell, head of programme development for culture10, said: �Juice is a fantastic festival that really celebrates the strength of young people�s cultural activity here and welcomes children and families from near and far to take part.

�Working in partnership with key regional organisations, national and international artists and with young people themselves, we�re incredibly proud to present an exciting mix of activities to see and do over a fun-packed two weeks in this second festival of its kind in NewcastleGateshead.�

Performances created by young people from the local area include the work of Year 5 pupils from St Michael�s RC Primary School in Elswick, as part of First Draft at Live Theatre (22-24 Oct).

First Draft is a unique annual project giving young people the chance to create 10 minute plays brought to life with the help of professional writers, actors and directors. Enter the imaginations of six 10 year olds from Newcastle and meet some truly unique characters at this special event where audiences of all ages can show their support for the next generation of new writing talent.

Gateshead-based Mongrel UK will present an exciting new collaborative performance: Searching for Lear as part of a double bill, also featuring Here Come The Girls by Live Youth Theatre at The Sage Gateshead (30 Oct).

Working with other young musicians from The Sage Gateshead's Youth and Community Programme and a professional artistic team, Mongrel UK have produced a powerful piece of music theatre that takes Shakespeare's King Lear and Beckett's Waiting for Godot and combines them in a hilarious and moving roller coaster ride. Cllr Linda Green, cabinet member for culture at Gateshead Council said: "It's great to have this exciting event back again after it proved such a huge success last year. Providing stimulating activities for young people is so important and is something that all the community can get behind. The plans for the Juice festival this year look even better than last year and will provide loads of activities for the areas under 18s. "Gateshead Council is proud to support another world class event in the region which is sure to excite and inspire young people across the board." Cllr Pauline Allen, Newcastle City Council�s executive member for culture, leisure and customer services said: �I was delighted by the response of last year�s festival and this year�s promises to be even better. I am looking forward to seeing what surprises Juice Festival has in store for our children and young people. This festival is a perfect opportunity for our young people to showcase their creativity and express themselves in music, dance, drama and film.

�Newcastle City Council is delighted to be supporting Juice and I am thrilled our new City Library will be hosting some of these amazing events.�

Another highlight of this year�s Juice is Shhhhh� by Bare Toed Dance Company (25 & 26 Oct). This unique event will transform the Stephenson Works Building into a magical world of sleep and dreams for children aged 6 months � 6 years. The installation has been created especially for Juice and is expected to sell out quickly.

The Forest by Fevered Sleep (5-8 Nov, Dance City) combines dance, images, sound and light and like all of Fevered Sleep�s work, the seating area is designed as one environment to ensure the audience feels completely connected with the performance.

Body Language (28 Oct, Dance City) sees North East based b-boy champions Bad Taste Cru and the next generation of b-boys War Kids join forces with Midlands based spoken word artist Polar Bear and renowned artist Goonism to bring a hip hop extravaganza.

October half term (23 Oct � 1 Nov) will see an array of activities for the whole family to get involved. Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums are holding many free drop in sessions across NewcastleGateshead aimed at families and younger children, including Spooky Electricity at Discovery Museum (26 October), Creative Collages at Hatton Gallery (27 Oct) and Creature Feature at Great North Museum (30 Oct).

Also a special Juice residency at Seven Stories will provide a fantastic opportunity for children to work with the winner of this year�s prestigious Kate Greenway Award for Picture Books, illustrator Catherine Rayner (28 & 29 Oct).

For older audiences, Urban Playground and Gravity Style combine Parkour (or free-running) with contemporary and street-dance in a residency devised especially for NewcastleGateshead. Young People will take part in workshops and discussion groups, culminating in free final performances alongside Urban Playground and Gravity Style�s performance of Fusion on Gateshead�s Performance Square, located next to The Sage Gateshead (30 � 31 Oct).

A quirky and unusual event will see children from Walkergate Primary School offer free haircuts to the public on 7 & 8 November. Haircuts by Children, co-produced with Wunderbar Festival, playfully engages with the empowerment of children, with trust in the younger generation, and with the thrills and chills of vanity.

The festival will end with a closing performance at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art on 8 November. Improthon hosted by The Suggestibles is a multi-media theatrical-comedy extravaganza with young improvisers. Audience members will get the chance to shout out suggestions for the cast to act out. The performance will also be broadcast live on the internet at www.livestream.com/improthon

For information on how to buy tickets and for full Juice Festival listings please visit www.juicefestival.co.uk

-ENDS-

For more information please contact David Brookbanks, Media & PR Manager for NewcastleGateshead Initiative on 0191 243 8820 or email david.brookbanks@ngi.org.uk

Juice will run from 22 October � 8 November and is a highlight of NewcastleGateshead�s world-class programme of festivals and events developed by culture10.

culture10 is an annual curated programme of exceptional cultural events and festivals across NewcastleGateshead and North East England. Established in 2004, it is managed by the culture10 team, funded by Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, One North East, Northern Rock Foundation and Arts Council England, North East, working in partnership with NewcastleGateshead Initiative. For further details see www.NewcastleGateshead.com

Headline event listings; full listings available on the website www.juicefestival.co.uk

AfroReggae Family Day. 24 October, 10am-2pm. Dance city: �5 Ages 10+ Half Term The perfect, exuberant start to the half-term holiday � bring along an empty tin can and work with the AfroReggae team to make a bespoke drum, learn infectious rhythms from Brazil and then take to the streets of Newcastle for an open air celebration.

Shhhhh� By Bare Toed Dance. 25 & 26 October, 11am & 2pm. Stephenson Works: Adult �6, children �4, Family �12. Ages 6 months to 6 years. Half Term The historic Stephens Works building will be transformed into a magical world of sleep; dreams, lullabies, snoring, bouncing on the bed, cocoons and flying. This installation created especially for Juice, has been directly inspired by children that Bare Toed Dance Company have been working with on a �Sleep Enquiry� project this year exploring the rituals around going to sleep�

Urban Playground and Gravity Style Residency. 28 � 31 October. Performance Square: �5 to take part in workshops. Performances free. Ages 12 + Half Term Four Day �parkour� residency � working with groups of 12 people each day to create five minute micro choreographies leading to performances in Friday 30 & Saturday 31. Performances at 6pm each day are suitable for all ages and will also include Fusion.

Body Language. 28 October, 7.30pm. Dance City: �5. Ages 12+ Half Term North East based b-boy champions Bad Taste Cru and the next generation of North East n-boys War Kidz, join forces with Midlands based spoken world artist Polar Bear and renowned artist Goonism to bring you a hip hop extravaganza. Don�t miss this fantastic opportunity to witness explosive b-boying mixed with hip hop style poetry, and fresh graffiti art. Preview images of Urban Playground and Gravity Style�s free-running work, experiment with street art techniques and pick up some b-boy skills after the performances.

Paws and Claws with Catherine Rayner, 28 & 29 October. Seven Stories: Adults �5.50, 4-15 yrs �4.50, under 4s free. Ages 8+ Half Term A fantastic opportunity to work with the winner of this year�s prestigious Kate Greenway Award for Picture Books, Catherine Rayner. Catherine will be the first ever illustrator in residence at Seven Stories, invited especially for the Juice Festival. Two events are taking place; Illustration Masterclass where participants can learn ink and watercolour techniques and The Big Draw: Augustus and His Smile is a creative workshop based around Augustus the Tiger, the star of Catherine Rayner�s classic tale.

Searching for Lear + Here Comes the Girls. 30 October 7pm. The Sage Gateshead: Adults �7, Under 18�s �3.50. Ages 12+ Half Term An evening of fresh young talent. Live Youth Theatre presents �Here Come The girls� and Mongrel UK based at The Sage Gateshead present their play in a week �Searching for Lear.�

Exploding Popcorn � Poetry on the Metro. 3 November 6.30pm. Live Theatre: �5 Ages 8+ A celebration event hosted by performance poet Kate Fox and young writers, who invite you to join them as they share their work from the Poetry on the Metro project. Look out for poems across the Tyne & Wear metro from October and come and celebrate our city through spoken word. Presented in association with New Writing North.

Haircuts by Children. 7 & 8 November. Location TBC Children from Walkergate Primary School will be working with Canadian company Mammalian Diving Reflex and local stylists and after their training will be offering free haircuts for the public at a hair salon in Newcastle City Centre. Haircuts by children playfully engages with the empowerment of children, with trust in the younger generation, and with the thrills and chills of vanity.

Notes to editors

Box Office Details First Draft; Live Theatre. �6, �4 Concessions Box Office: 0191 232 1232

Together Apart & AfroReggae Family Day; Dance City. �5 Body Language; Dance City. �5 Shhhhh�By Bare Toed Dance; Stephenson Works. Adults �6, children �4 Urban Playground and Gravity Style Residency; Performance Square. �5 Every Year, Every Day I am Walking; Dance City. Adults �7.50 Under 18s �4.50 The Forest; Dance City. Adults �7.50, children �4.50 All tickets available from Dance City Box Office: 0191 261 0505

Tales Told in Tents; Northern Stage. Adults �8, Children �6 Improv Workshops � The Suggestibles; Newcastle city Library �5 TEAM Flight � Family Day; Gateshead International Stadium.�4.50 (spectators free) Beneath the Banyan Tree; Northern Stage. �8/�6 Improthon � The Suggestibles; BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art; �5 All tickets available from Northern Stage Box Office: 0191 230 5151

Sorcery and Spells. 4 yrs + �4, 8 yrs + �5 Play in a Day; Theatre Royal. �15 Comedy of Errors � Told by an Idiot; Theatre Royal. �5 student tickets Tickets available from Theatre Royal Box Office: 08448 11 21 21

Spinning Sounds; The Sage Gateshead. Adults �8 Children �4 Drumming and Steel Pan Workshops; The Sage Gateshead. �5 Sound Bites: La Chanson du Retour; The Sage Gateshead. Adults �7, Children �3.50 Here Come the girls and Searching for Lear; The Sage Gateshead. Adults.�7 Under 18�s �3.50

Mongrel UK: Music Theatre that Bites! is an ambitious youth performance group based at The Sage Gateshead and delivered in partnership with the North of England Refugee Services. The Ensemble uses music, dance and drama to create vivid performances exploring experiences relevant to young people from many different cultures and backgrounds. All tickets available from The Sage Gateshead Box Office: 0191 443 4661

Catherine Rayner; Seven Stories. Adults �5.50, 4-15yrs �4.50 Seven Stories Box Office: 0845 271 0777 ext 715

Ouseburn Valley Family Day; Ouseburn Valley. Horse Riding; �5 Box Office: 0191 261 5544

Carol Ann Duffy Reading; Newcastle University. �6/�4/�3 Box Office: 0191 222 7619