This Mumbai festival for children aims to educate children while having fun

A performance by dancers of Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts

While the digital age has created multiple avenues for us to simplify our daily lives, it has also created an enduring dependency on modern gizmos that seems to have trickled down to children as well, affecting their real-life experiences. It becomes essential in that sense to bring out our kids to the real playground. Rachna's Fun Club in collaboration with Avid Learning and Playydate is organising the eighth edition of the Little Clubbers Festival at the Royal Opera House, which seeks to create a fun and educative environment for kids and their families.

Rachna Narwekar

Conceptualised for children between the ages of 2 to 12 years, the activities at the festival are segregated into separate sections that foster experiential learning in kids. "We started the festival in 2016, with the objective of providing experiential learning under one roof to children, something which pulls them away from the glare of devices and pushes them to participate in interactive activities that facilitate social and emotional development" Rachna Narwekar, organiser of the festival, tells us.

Children engage in craft-based activities at a previous edition

The activities are designed in a way that it creates an open and inclusive space. "We have packed in a lot of activities under one roof so that children with learning difficulties also find it easy to engage at the festival. There are games that will teach participants how to balance objects and solve problems; in addition, we've planned activities intended to calm them as well," she reveals. The festival will feature a performance by dancers of Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts as well.

The event also intends to encourage young entrepreneurs by providing them a platform to showcase their talent, "There is a lemonade stall by an 11-year-old girl and a jewellery stall by a 16-year-old girl at the festival. We believe it is important to give children the space to be confident and independent about their craft. It is a very holistic environment for children as well as their families," Narwekar concludes.

ON January 11; 11 am to 7 pm
AT The Royal Opera House, Charni Road East, Girgaon.
LOG ON TO @rachnasfunclub on Instagram
ENTRY Rs 200 (for adults; free for children)