Right to Play

NOVUM Festival 2026

7 - 9 august 2026

Newcastle City Centre

A playful, family-friendly adventure playground packed with mud kitchens, den building, climbing, balancing, and hands-on creative play, inviting children and grown-ups alike to build, explore, imagine, and play together.

About Right To Play

Get ready to build, balance, splash, climb, dig, invent, and play!

Right To Play is a giant hands-on adventure playground where families can create their own worlds together through messy, imaginative, and creative play. Packed with mud kitchens, climbing frames, bamboo den building, loose parts, ramps, slides, sand, water, and surprises around every corner, this colourful play space invites children and their grown-ups, to explore, experiment, and let their imaginations run wild.

Cook up muddy masterpieces in the giant outdoor kitchen, build your own epic den city, test your balancing skills, or simply chill out and enjoy the playful atmosphere. Every session is different, shaped by the families and communities who take part.

Joyful, creative, and full of adventure, Right To Play is all about the simple magic of playing together.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Hands on creativity, adventure, and imaginative family fun.
A play world filled with mud kitchens, den building, balancing, climbing, sand, water, and loose parts play.
A colourful space where children and families can build, explore, invent, and play together.
Themes of creativity, collaboration, curiosity, and the joy of free play.
Friendly staff and play facilitators on hand to support families throughout the experience.

GOOD TO KNOW

This is a free drop-in experience; come and go as you like.
Perfect for primary school-aged children and families, and also older children that enjoy messy/sensory play.
This is an outdoor event, so dress for the weather and expect messy play.
The experience is playful, relaxed, inclusive, and fully participatory.
It is wheelchair and pushchair accessible.
Children are encouraged to explore freely, with parents and carers supervising throughout.
Comfortable clothing and footwear are recommended.
Saturday & Sunday: 11am – 4pm

CREATIVE TEAM

Pif-Paf are a wildly imaginative creative studio creating ambitious outdoor performances, sculptures, and playful experiences that bring creativity, adventure, and community into unexpected places. Inspired by Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Right To Play celebrates every child’s right to play.

For any questions or accessibility info about Right To Play or any NOVUM programmed events or performances email: novum@newcastle.gov.uk