The Little Big Festival is back with its second edition, promising two days of creativity, curiosity and child-led wonder. To be held on November 15 and 16 at the grounds at Chakola Mills, Kalamassery, the fest has been conceptualised as a natural extension of the Little Big Club’s after-school programme, where kids learn and explore through different modules created by the founders of the club.
“The idea behind Little Big as a brand is to create experiences for kids based on our three pillars — creativity, confidence and communication,” informs Sanaa A’esha, one of the organisers of the event.
From science experiments to art installations, every part of the festival has been shaped by children. Sanaa describes it as “a world built for children, but more importantly, by them.” Children don’t just participate here; they design, create, perform and even help run the show.
Teen volunteers from the group’s ‘Launchpad programme’ have been closely involved in designing and running activities, while the Little Big Committee, made up of younger children, has helped curate the workshops. “Eventually, we would love to reach a stage where the whole fest would be run by the kids completely,” she shares.
Over the weekend, young visitors can expect to dance, create, explore and perform. They will have the usual movement zone, art zone, and literature zone, but with more to offer.
More children’s authors will be visiting the literature zone, and the art zone will have a cardboard theme. “We will also have a slime zone, which was one of the most requested activities from the children from the committee, from last year’s fest,” says Saana excitedly, while admitting some of the requests were also quite far-fetched. “Yet we have tried our best to fulfil as many as possible for this year’s fest.”
Another suggestion they received from the kids last year was for a puppy adoption drive, which the organisers have also arranged, “Not sure how happy the parents will be, it came from the children’s wish list, so we are doing it,” says Sanaa. Parents will also get to enjoy some of the activities this time. “They won’t have to stand around waiting for their child to finish.
We have arranged a few family activities as well,” Sanaa adds. By the end of it all, the organisers hope that children will take home more than just goodie bags; they will leave with confidence, new ideas and the sense that the world is theirs to shape.
Every festival needs a mascot, and a children’s fest needs one that represents the fun and silliness of being a child. Enter ‘Kuspi’. “The term doesn’t have a meaning — it’s left to their imagination. We wanted to create something that looked like a character drawn by a child. It has a mix of colours and patterns, a human-ish face and horns,” says Sanaa A’esha.
Tickets to the fest are available online at kidiaree.in/events/little-big-festival
