The Ministry of Lost & Found is back at Manchester Central Library for a brand-new expedition. Fizzing with free family fun, we catch up with Creative Producer, Jude Jagger, to tell us more.
1) The Ministry of Lost & Found is back at Central Library, tell us about this year’s event.
This year at
The Ministry of Lost & Found we have a marvellous mysterious mission for
you – we haven’t seen Leo Lost since last year and we need your help to find
him! There’s a search party that will set out looking for him and I’m hoping
that all our friends will be able to solve the clues and find him!
2) Tell us about the different Ministry characters people can expect meet this year.
Frankie Found will be there with the Mini Ministry Minions encouraging people to lose their inhibitions, Professor Arty Farty Pants and Miss Laragami have just come back from an expedition and they have some recently discovered beetles to show you, Miss Dotty Marbles (TV star from Channel 4’s Drag SOS!) is the Chief Librarian and she has really lost the plot this time! Mx Fix-It our janitor has been writing songs about the lost and found items that they find in the library, and Master Magic Adam will be weaving his magic all over the place! There’s about 40 characters, that’s just a snapshot of the people you could meet!
3) What kind of activities can people do?
There’s so much to do, from making your very own Find-It-Quick stick with Miss Lade, to jamming with the junk band, chilling in the baby tent with Nancy Noodle (if you’re a baby!), listening to stories and helping Ms DotDotDot find her ending, hula hooping with Fenella Von Hoop and Loopy Lucy, a treasure hunt, story exploring with Manchester Jewish Museum, building a junk city with Mrs Bend and Mr Break from Manchester Art Gallery, exploring the whole building and generally having a curious time!
4) Why is the day a great day for all the family?
I’ve got kids and I know sometimes going somewhere on a Saturday can be a bit hectic – our programme has been designed to have a range of energy levels – there’s definitely loud noisy spaces and there’s also spaces to be gentler and more contemplative. You can do all the activities or pick and choose what you want to do.
Central Library
is a beautiful building with lots of places to explore and no one is going to
tell you off for being noisy! There will be picnic areas for you to eat your
own food, and the cafe is great there too. There’s a map with a key to the
different types of activities and also lots of Ministry staff on hand to help
you find your way around! The activities are all things that families can do
together – the adults will have just as much fun as the kids!
5) What are you personally looking forward to most at the event?
Well I can’t really talk about it, it’s TOP SECRET and most definitely won’t involve infiltrating a secret cellar and retrieving the golden keys, think escape room for kids within the wonderful world of The Ministry of Lost & Found! And the Grand Finale will be a bit special, we hope you can all join us for it!
The Ministry of Lost & Found is at Manchester Central Library on Saturday 14 September, 11am-4pm. The event is free and there is no need to book. Find out more at Library Live.