For three action-packed days this August, the NOVUM festival will turn Newcastle into a cultural adventure playground where creativity, fun and thrills will be absolutely unbound. Yep, you heard that correctly. Unbound.

I doubt there will be another festival held anywhere in the UK this summer that will feature as many “Oh, wow!” moments as this year’s NOVUM festival. And such is this mega-bash’s sprawling reach, it will need to take over city centre streets, squares, multiple venues, and all manner of other unexpected nooks and crannies to fit it all in. Among the smorgasbord of stuff on offer this year will be spectacular outdoor performances, large-scale installations, live music, hands-on workshops, and plenty of family-friendly activities. And – get this! – the beating heart of the festival will be free of charge, taking in an extensive programme featuring theatre, dance, circus, and street performance from local, national and international artists.

Among the highlights this year is sure to be BLOCK by Motionhouse (pictured). This awe-inspiring outdoor dance-circus extravaganza is performed on and around twenty giant moving blocks and should most definitely be filed under ‘Jaw Dropping’. A cursory glance at this year’s programme should also alert you to the delights on offer from Sound de Secà who will be giving us Possê, an explosive celebration of percussion, dance and all-round collective joy. Further digging brings us Fabric of Us, an exuberant performance from north-east artists Lizzie Klotz and Luca Rutherford. This show explores connection and community through movement, music and—but of course—a giant white parachute. More delights arrive in the shape of Kamchàtka (a unique outdoor performance that unfolds through movement, interaction and unexpected encounters as eight strangers arrive in a city they’ve never seen before...); TRUTH! (join a playful band of troublemakers for a joyful outdoor adventure filled with games, laughter and the unexpected); Curious Arts’ Wheelie Proud (a groovy gold trike disco on wheels); and Bird Rave (a wildly fun dance spectacle where bird-inspired performers, classic rave tunes, and dancefloor chaos collide). While all this is going on you can also expect to be regaled by the sounds of roaming brass bands throughout the city streets, bands such as Mr Wilson’s Second Liners who will be serving up riotous street parties where New Orleans brass band energy meets 90s rave anthems.

As mentioned above, families will be well catered for at this year’s NOVUM, particularly with Playing Out at Newcastle Civic Centre. This will feature a whole bunch of free activities including mud kitchens, den building, giant swings, face painting, giant bubbles, colourful theatre and playground games. Visitors can also help create a festival-sized artwork in Colour Outside the Lines – a giant outdoor colouring experience designed by local artists Josie Brookes and Tom Madge.

During the festival, creative experiences will flower right across the city, quite literally in the case of A Room In Bloom, a stunning installation blending fresh flowers grown by Newcastle community growers. More creativity can be found with paper art inside Highbridge Works, and Portals—a series of colourful and very Instagrammable interactive installations filled with Newcastle stories, sounds and playful surprises.

More? How about exploring The Secret Parade, a city-centre family art trail starting outside Brunswick Church that will uncover Newcastle’s medieval hidden history? Or why not pop on a headset for You Are Here: NOVUM, an interactive audio experience through Newcastle city centre, guided by a live performer. This will blend storytelling, sound, performance and place as you’re invited to step inside a living, playable, map of the city.

A word too for this year’s grand finale, Dominoes Newcastle. This show-stopping moving sculpture, by internationally acclaimed artists Station House Opera, will feature thousands of breeze blocks which will cascade through the streets in a spectacular chain reaction. This promises to be one of the most ambitious public artworks ever staged in the city, as well as an unforgettable closer to this year’s festival.

Jane Tarr, Director North East, Arts Council England cooed: “NOVUM is a fantastic opportunity for people across the north-east region to enjoy artists’ work, performances and creative events as part of a celebratory free festival programme in Newcastle. I’m pleased that we have supported the festival through our National Lottery Place Partnership programme and I’m sure the weekend will bring together creators, participants and audiences to create memorable experiences for people of all ages.”

We’re merely scratching the surface of everything that is happening at this year’s NOVUM, so be sure to whisk yourself off to their website to glean the full programme in all its magnificent glory.

novumnewcastle.com