Five cultural days out in Liverpool for a fiver
CAN you have a day out in Liverpool with your kids for a fiver? Yes, you can. You just have to plan it and you definitely have to be able to laugh (and re-plan) in the face of miserable weather.
My name is Andrea and I'm one of Liverpool's 5 Cultural Champions. I set myself a challenge this year to get out and about with my children without spending a fortune. In fact, I set myself a target of finding five days out for a fiver a pop. To put this in perspective, a recent study showed that the average cost of a family day out can be a staggering £80.00. Just reading that figure made my eyes water.
Now a bit of advice if you decide to take on a day out for a fiver. You need to plan and you need to be flexible in case the weather's a bit rubbish. When I started out, I had images in my head of having happy, skippy, picnic-y days out in glorious sunshine, but in reality I've taken to carting round an emergency rain poncho, just in case.
Our most recent day out included a visit to the Rolf Harris Can You Tell What It Is Yet? exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. This wonderful exhibition ends this Sunday, so if you haven't been there yet, I insist you go straight away!
Can You Tell What It Is Yet? brings to life in three glorious rooms the amazing, huge and multi-faceted personality of the man. Rolf Harris has been around, cooling it out since the 60s and has been hard at work since be it as an artist, a gold-disc winning muso or a general cult hero figure and these are all brought to life in this exhibition.
While we were at The Walker we also caught a couple of excellent exhibitions - one was a series of extraordinary posters from the 1972 Munich Olympics and the other a selection of design classic chairs called Sitting on Art, which was like playing the world's swankiest game of musical chairs.
What we really love about The Walker is how much it encourages kids to get involved in art and even create their own. And from a grown up perspective, there's nothing quite like seeing art with kids, because they bring their own fresh take on it. You can stuff your information cards, when you've got kids with you, they really do make up their own minds about what they like and what they don't. It's a brilliant thing and I urge you do try it.
There was a sign asking for a recommended £2.00 donation, but as we'd had such a brilliant day and hadn't spent a bean, we happily left our entire £5.00 for the day and skipped out into the wonderful sunshine. Worth every penny.
The Rolf Harris exhibition is on at the Walker Art Gallery until this Sunday, 12 August.
To find out more about my Five Days Out For a Fiver Challenge, check out the Liverpool Cultural Champions website.
LDP Arts Authors
Laura Davis
As the Liverpool Post's Arts Editor, Laura covers theatre, music, dance and the visual arts in Merseyside and beyond. Contact her at laura.davis@liverpool.com
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