With our children spending more and more time on social media sites, Veronica Stivala suggests some cultural alternatives away from the computer screens.

I’m lucky to be part of the generation who knows a life without computers (only just), and without Facebook and Twitter. While I must admit I have developed an unhealthy dependence on these sites, I know the benefits of life outside computers, tablets and smart phones. Here are some ideas for cultural activities for children in Malta.

Music

Toying with Toi Toi

The brainchild of musician Rosetta Debattista, the Toi Toi sessions for children at the Manoel Theatre are a stroke of genius. The fact that they are sold out way before the events is testament to the success and need for such events. ‘Toi Toi’ is a phrase used to wish good luck to an artist before they go on stage. The Toi Toi sessions are offered for children of different ages starting from as young as zero years old. The Toi Toi 022 are concerts for babies to two-year-olds and Toi Toi 325 are concerts for three- to five-year olds. The same team also offers pre-concert talks which feature anecdotes, historical details and insights.

www.teatrumanuel.com.mt

Sing along with Queen Elsa

Parents may have had enough of Princess Anna and Queen Elsa, and hearing Do You Want to Build a Snowman?, but the children have not. On Tuesday, children will have the opportunity to meet characters from the Disney hit Frozen who will take them through the history of the movie with a fun, colourful twist. Children will be able to sing along to the songs, with lyrics projected on the screen at Funland, a four-storey building in Paceville dedicated to entertaining toddlers, children, pre-teens, teens and ‘very mature’ adults.

www. funlandmalta.com

Theatre

Toi the stage

After the success of the Toi Toi music concerts, theatre shows are now being put up, in Maltese, for children aged seven to 13. You can also take your children to the behind the scenes sessions where children can learn the songs, meet the cast and watch the actors transform into their characters through make-up and costume.

www.teatrumanuel.com.mt

I know the benefits of life outside computers, tablets and smart phones

Dance and movement

So moving

Yes, Toi Toi also put up dance performances for children of various ages. The next performance is Il-Ġnien Maġiku (The Magical Garden), aimed at four- to seven-year-olds with choreography by Dorian Mallia.

www.teatrumanuel.com.mt

Up in the air

The Guangxi Acrobatic Troupe are performing tonight at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. Often compared to the fabulous Cirque du Soleil the ensemble dip into martial arts and the world of trapeze. Tonight’s performance will mark the largest acrobatics team ever in Malta. The artists will play drums, balance on pipes, juggle straw hats, to name just a few of their fascinating feats.

www.mcc.com.mt

Ballet bonanza

Dancers from leading Russian theatres The Bolshoi, Stanislavsky, Marinsky and Mikhailovsky will grace the stage of the Mediterranean Conference Centre on March 7 to perform some of the most famous classical pieces from the world of both classic and contemporary ballet.

www.mcc.com.mt

Art

Flying art

Whoever said contemporary art was just for adults. St James Cavalier is currently exhibiting the works of Elka Duo, a French-Belgian duo who have been involved in a project of nomadic creation and life, experimenting with production as mobile artists since May 2014. The materials they use are lightweight and small, leading to new methods of creation. Entitled Flying Scultpures, their creations serve as a reflection on sculpture and photography, questiong the concept of ecology and travel. The exhibition runs till today.

www.sjcav.org