Gondwana brings ancient beasts to life.

The Cultural Centre will be abuzz with creativity this June, when the magical Out of the Box Festival returns for children aged three to eight.

This year, home-grown talent will take centre stage with the return of award-winning Indigenous actress Deborah Mailman as the narrator of The Queensland Orchestra's The Little Mermaid.

Since it was first staged in 1992, Out of the Box has grown in popularity. This year's event will be bigger than ever, taking place across the entire cultural precinct in a landmark collaboration between the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), the Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum South Bank, the State Library of Queensland and Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA).

More than 60 000 children, parents, carers and teachers are expected to attend this year's festival, with many of the hands-on workshops and exciting performances free of charge.

Out of the Box is one of the few festivals in the world for three to eight-year-olds.

The Cultural Centre precinct will stage a variety of innovative events for children, including Beeware and the Megaphone Project at the State Library of Queensland; skin-crawling Critters Workshops at the Queensland Museum; Different Faces, One Smile workshops and special children's tours at the Queensland Art Gallery; and the animated film The King and the Mockingbird will screen at the Australian Cinematheque at GoMA.

World-class theatre performances especially for children will be a highlight with productions including The Little Mermaid, Gondwana and the Sounds of the Sea.

Gondwana will bring the ancient great southern land to life using body puppets, projections and music in an epic theatre performance, while Sounds of the Sea will enthrall young audiences with its offbeat humour and the brilliant harmonies of Coco's Lunch.

For more information and to book, go to Out of the Box 2008 or phone qtix 136 246

What: Out of the Box Festival
Where: Cultural Centre, South Bank
When: 10-15 June
Cost: Varies

Children taking part in workshops at the 2006 Out of the Box festival.

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We welcome feedback and contributions to Arts Update. Please contact the editor, Colleen Turner on (07) 3225 8841 or email artsupdate@arts.qld.gov.au