Day 1

Wow, what a day! Today we finally started our OOTB experience. We caught the bus to the Cultural Centre and when we came out of the stairwell, we could hear lots of noise. Music, bass, people cheering. Jonathan got very excited and started running towards the loudest cheers. It was the World Stage outside QPAC and a dance group doing some awesome dance moves. Jonathan especially loved the backflips one of the dancers was doing. It was evident immediately that OOTB is a feast for the senses. Colours and sounds are everywhere. A great way to keep young kids entertained!!

It seemed there were things happening everywhere we turned. Across the other side of the stairwell there were young acrobats and performers doing all sorts of tricks. Jonathan was intrigued and very excited by this stage with all the activity going on.

However, he knew why we were there and he then started asking to go see Grug. "Can we go see Grug now?" So being the dutiful mother (?!) we set off in search of Grug. Through the foyer to the tunnel and here were more activities!! We knew the general direction we needed to head (and I must say the signage is great and there are people everywhere to help if need be) so we turned right and walked through The Tunnel Project - Giants Among Us.

Jonathan liked the big projections of the kids on the wall and we saw the headphones with LISTEN written near them. So we stopped for a bit, ate some Tiny Teddies and listened to some gems of wisdom from young kids just like him. Things like about how God made the big buildings and the like.

Though it wasn't long before I was reminded of Grug and off we went. We could tell from when we sat down it was going to be a treat! The performers were there talking with the kids and it created a lot of excitement amongst the young crowd. The show was amazing. We had no prior exposure to Grug and while I was tempted to buy the book beforehand I made a conscious decision not to. And as it turns out it wasn't necessary to have any prior knowledge. The story was interesting, funny and kept my very active 3 year old entertained the whole time. They even got all the kids up to do the Grug dance. Probably what struck me the most was the lack of technology in the performance. And I mean that in a good way. The set was simple and there was no sophisticated technology, but the show still rocked! And the kids loved it!! Straight afterwards, Jonathan asked when he could see it again. If that isn't a recommendation, I don't know what is!

Our next stop was Amococo. We had seen and heard quite a bit about this blow up archictecturally fandangled attraction and it wouldn't disappoint. The lines were long to buy tickets, so my advice would be to time your Amococo experience at a food break and feed the kids while waiting in the line. Then everyone will be ready when you finally get in. Shoes off, into a little room where we had some instruction on what to do once we entered and the flap opened and in we went.

And this is what we saw....

It's really hard to describe it, it's better to be seen and experienced. It's like a big blow up maze that feels a bit like you are inside a kaleidescope. You get a bit lost, you look around in amazement and we sat and slid and enjoyed the experience. We are going back to Amococo with the whole family on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see what the other half of the Rogers have to say about it.

Lastly, I am going to try and get comment from the kids each day to post on the blog. Today we have Jonathan talking about Grug. It was a bit like pulling teeth, and interesting to see his take on things. A burst soccer ball becomes a flat tyre. Packages for Grug turn into Christmas. And I try to decipher it for the video. Tomorrow we are off to Instant Orchestra and Jonathan believes he is going to play the drums in future so we are hoping he can get to bash something and make lots of noise!! Enjoy the video...