Explore, create and celebrate this spring in Maitland

This spring, Maitland City Council is offering a wide range of free and budget friendly activities that will keep the whole family entertained throughout the school holidays.

From September 27 to October 11, dive into a world of nature escapades, creative workshops and cultural festivities across the city's libraries, art gallery and pools.

Maitland Libraries
Maitland Libraries are offering a range of creative and educational events for kids of all ages. 

Join award winning author Sami Bayly for the launch of her new book, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Extinct Animals or bring your tweens to a silent reading party. Kids can also enjoy a theatre performance by JD’s World of Magic and Hunter Local Land Services delving into our local waterways.

Animal enthusiasts won’t want to miss Bugs Galore, where children can interact with fascinating minibeasts like spiders and scorpions. Maitland City Council’s Environment and Sustainability team will host a guided bird walk and tree planting event at Somerset Sports Field.

For the full schedule and bookings, visit mait.city/LibrariesSchoolHolidays.

Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG)
Young artists can enjoy a range of free, hands on workshops at Maitland Regional Art Gallery during the holidays.

Tweens can improve their drawing skills with sketching workshops, where they’ll capture natural shapes and colours in the gallery’s garden. There are also free watercolour painting sessions led by artist Ileana Clarke.

Drop in art sessions will be available throughout the break, where kids can design capes inspired by the POWER – The Future is Here exhibition. MRAG’s regular Free Art Sunday sessions will also continue. Discover more about MRAG’s school holiday programming at mait.city/MRAGWhatsOn.

Aquatics and Pools
On Wednesday 2 October, families can enjoy a free open day at East Maitland Aquatic Centre. Between 10.00am and 2.00pm, you’ll be able to swim for free and join in on fun activities like a dunk tank, laser tag and a sausage sizzle.

For those wanting to improve their water skills, there will be two weeks of Holiday Learn to Swim Intensives and an Introduction to Swimming and Water Safety class, specifically designed to support culturally and linguistically diverse community members.

During the week of Riverlights, there will be a variety of free, family friendly activities across multiple locations, including Maitland Libraries, MRAG, Maitland Aquatic Centre and The Levee, all celebrating cultural diversity. For more information, visit mait.city/RLWeek.

With so many affordable activities across various venues, families can expect a fun filled spring. Find out more at mait.city/SchoolHolidays.