A MAJOR art event in County Durham officially gets under way today.
But some Derwentside youngsters have already joined in the fun of the children's arts festival Take Off 2000. The three to six-year-olds enjoyed a special showing of The Terrible Grump at the Consett Empire, a day before the proper launch.
Take Off 2000 is England's only annual celebration of professional theatre for children, and runs until Friday.
It will involve 18 regionally and nationally-known theatre companies staging shows at several venues, including The Empire, Stanley Civic Hall, six schools and a youth centre. Theatre representatives from as far afield as New Zealand are expected to attend. About 3,000 children from the area are likely to see the festival.
"This is the first time the festival has ever come here and it is incredibly exciting for the area," said a spokesman for Derwentside council
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