Discover the best-of-the-best school holiday theatre shows, circus acts, festivals, camps and events happening across the Central Coast and nearby region this spring!
Buckle up! Cirque Nouvelle is rolling into Wyong these school holidays, bringing old-school circus together with a seriously impressive modern upgrade. Think juggling and slapstick comedy alongside aerials, acrobatics, fire, fireworks and even an LED lightsaber battle.
Laycock Street Community Theatre is bringing two fabulous shows to the stage these spring holidays. Erth's Shark Dive is an immersive theatre experience that brings you face-to-face with a 5-metre Great White… without getting wet! While Wolfgang in the Stars brings Circa's fabulous circus skills, slapstick timing and high-energy physical comedy to the stage.
Mario the Maker Magician has had sold-out shows at the Sydney Opera House and appeared everywhere from Sesame Street to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and these holidays we're lucky enough to have him at The Art House.
If, like us, your perfect spring day looks like sunshine, picnics, patting baby lambs, standing among butterflies, feeding koi fish and wandering through gardens bursting with flowers, make a beeline for the Hunter Valley Gardens.
Closer to home, Central Coast Council has a huge line-up of affordable activities happening across their local services, with LEGO robotics, craft workshops, magic shows, Nerf battles, planetarium sessions and more.
We've got more activities coming from The Australian Reptile Park, Scholastic and more... so stay tuned and bookmark this page.
Keep reading to make sure your holidays are the best they can be – and book early to avoid missing out.
Special Events, Holiday Workshops and Theatre Shows Happening these Spring School Holidays
Erth’s spectacular Shark Dive – live on stage and interactive at Laycock!
Ever wanted to dive with sharks, but been too afraid to?
This is your chance to come face-to-face with a 5-metre Great White… without getting wet.
If you've experienced an Erth show before, you'll already know they create something truly extraordinary. If you're new to Erth – hang onto your hats. This isn't theatre where you simply sit back and watch. You're part of the experience, stepping into an immersive underwater world unlike anything you've seen before.
Created by the internationally acclaimed puppeteers at Erth, Shark Dive invites families to climb into a shark cage and plunge beneath the ocean's surface. Shoals of fish dart past, stingrays glide by and then… the breathtaking moment when a magnificent 5-metre Great White appears.
Adding to the adventure, you choose your own audio experience. Will you marvel at the ocean's serene beauty, or opt for a thrilling soundtrack that makes every encounter even more exhilarating?
If you're looking for a school holiday experience that's completely different from the usual theatre show, this is it.
Shark Dive
When: General public: Friday 9 October – 2pm, 2.15pm, 2.30pm, 2.45pm, 3pm and 3.15pm | Saturday 10 October – 10am, 10:15am, 10:30am, 10:45am, 11am, 11:15am, 11:30am, 11.45am, 12pm, 12:15pm, 2pm, 2.15pm, 2.30pm, 2.45pm, 3pm, 3.15pm and 3.30pm.
Friday 9 Oct Morning Performances reserved for school/vacation care groups: Friday 10am, 10:15am, 10:30am, 10:45am, 11am, 11:15am, 11:30am, 12pm, 12:15pm. Please contact the box office directly on 02 4323 3233 to book.
Duration: The Shark Dive Experience goes for 45 minutes – Please arrive 15 minutes early to prepare for your dive.
Age: Children 5+ (and adults).
Cost: Tickets $30 | Groups of 4+ $27.50 | School Group/Vacation Care $22.
Where: Laycock Street Community Theatre, 5 Laycock Street, Wyoming.
Contact: Phone – 02 4323 3233 Email – [email protected]
Mario the Maker Magician is theatre for kids who can't sit still! See it at the Art House!
If you've got a child who wriggles in their seat, calls out, wants to join in and thinks "sit quietly" sounds like torture... keep reading.
Mario is a maker. He designs and builds his own robots, inventions and props from everyday materials. He's also a magician. Put the two together and you get a show that's unlike anything we've seen before.
Kids are encouraged to yell out. To cheer. To laugh. Balls fly through the audience. Water gets squirted from a giant drink bottle. Confetti fills the air.
Mario has had sold-out shows at the Sydney Opera House and appeared everywhere from Sesame Street to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. But don't let that fool you into expecting a polished "sit quietly and watch" performance. This is the opposite.
It's Loud. Chaotic. Full of surprises. Somehow Mario knows exactly when to bring the kids' crazies out... and exactly when to settle everyone back down again.
If your kids love making things out of cardboard boxes, sticky tape and whatever they can find in the recycling bin, they'll leave inspired by Mario's simple message: "Do what you love. Use what you have. Have fun".
Still wondering if it's your kind of show? Spend 30 seconds on Mario's Instagram and, if you're like us, you'll be begging for a seat.
Mario The Maker Magician
Age group: Recommended for ages 4+.
Show duration: 60 minutes, no interval.
Dates: Tuesday 6 Oct 6pm | Wednesday 7 Oct 11am.
Tickets: Adult $25 | Encore Member $20 | Child Under 12 $20 | Family Pass (2A,2C or 1A,3C) $75 | Vacation care $15.
Phone: 4335 1485
Where: The Art House, 19-21 Margaret Street, Wyong.
Teddies doing the worm and awesome acrobatics: Wolfgang in the Stars hits Laycock
Teddy bears doing the worm. Flying dinosaurs. Gravity-defying acrobatics. Welcome to Wolfgang in the Stars.
Created by internationally acclaimed circus company Circa, Wolfgang in the Stars follows young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his wildly imaginative adventure through galaxies filled with roaring space dinosaurs, floating asteroids and surprises around every corner.
We saw Circa's last family show and absolutely loved it. It was funny – like really, really laugh-until-you-snort, mums,-watch-your-pelvic-floor-type funny.
The new production keeps the same brilliant slapstick timing and high-energy physical comedy, but somehow takes the spectacle up another level.
There are shadow puppets, live video projections, LED juggling, tiny bicycles, teddy bears doing the splits and performers balancing three people high. There's a live wind synthesiser performer who creates everything from trumpet, flute, tuba and string sounds on the stage. And then there are the moments that make you go "WOW"! Picture a performer balancing on a rolling cylinder… that's balanced on another rolling cylinder… that's balanced on another rolling cylinder. It's the sort of moment that makes your jaw hit the floor.
If you're after a school holiday show that's imaginative, surprising and just downright fun, Wolfgang in the Stars should be on your list.
Wolfgang in the Stars
When: Tuesday 6 October – 11am & 2pm.
Duration: 45 min (no interval)
Age: Children 3+ (and adults).
Cost: Tickets $25 | Vacation Care $20.
Where: Laycock Street Community Theatre, 5 Laycock Street, Wyoming.
Contact: Phone – 02 4323 3233 Email – [email protected]
50+ free and affordable activities at Central Coast Council's services these holidays!
Central Coast Council's services have put together a wonderful program of free and low-cost family activities running across the Coast these spring school holidays – from hands-on workshops and art classes to theatre shows and sporting fun. There's something happening almost every day of the holidays – and a lot of it is free.
Gosford Regional Gallery is hosting dozens of art workshops these holidays. Kids can learn how to crochet Granny squares, paint like Banksy, Make a Japanese Zen Terrarium, do finger knitting, make jewellery, decoupage a trinket dish to take home and join in umpteen other creative pursuits. Every workshop runs for two hours and costs $30 (including all materials).
Central Coast Libraries: Libraries are definitely not just for bookworms these school holidays! Kids can get stuck into LEGO robotics, Cricut workshops, journalling and Dungeons & Dragons, or create air-dry clay monsters, galaxy jars, fairy gardens and birdhouses. There’s entertainment too. Catch JD's World of Magic, a family-friendly magic show at Kincumber Library, or head to Gosford Library for a Nerf gun battle – we kid you not: how fun is that! There’ll also be English, Spanish and Mandarin Storytimes, plus a special Rainbow Serpent Storytime with Barang Regional Alliance. And one of the standouts these holidays is Starr's Planetarium Space Experience, where kids will step inside a planetarium for an immersive 360° journey through the solar system, planets, stars and constellations.
Bookings open Monday 14 September.
Laycock Street Community Theatre has an excellent line-up of shows these holidays. Grab your Maltesers and take a seat at Alice in Wonderland, Wolfgang in the Stars, The ULTIMATE Magic Show with Illusionist Jonas Jost and Erth's Shark Dive.
To see what's on offer every day across Central Coast Council's services, click the link below.
Fire, fireworks and flying acrobats: Cirque Nouvelle is coming to Wyong
If you love the old-school nostalgia of the circus – the striped tents, slapstick comedy and juggling – but also want fire, fireworks and an LED lightsaber battle... buckle up. Cirque Nouvelle is rolling into town.
This internationally acclaimed production takes everything us parents and grandparents loved about the circus as kids and gives it one seriously impressive modern upgrade that doesn't hold back on the spectacle.
Aerialists soar above the stage. Fire jugglers send flames flying. Acrobats flip and tumble, performers balance precariously on chairs stacked three high and Cyr wheel artists spin around the stage inside enormous metal hoops. Throw in dancers, fireworks and that LED lightsaber battle and there are moments when you genuinely won't know where to look.
The mix of old-fashioned circus fun and huge modern production is what makes Cirque Nouvelle such a fabulous one. Kids still get the silliness, juggling and wow circus moments we all loved growing up, but they're wrapped up in a slick theatre production with a big cast, spectacular staging and truly phenomenal circus talent.
After sell-out seasons around Australia, Cirque Nouvelle is coming to Wyong for one night only these school holidays. Grab the popcorn and hold onto your seats – this is circus turned all the way up.
Cirque Nouvelle
Age group: Recommended for ages 4+.
Show duration: 75 minutes, no interval.
Dates: Tuesday 29 September 6pm.
Tickets: Adult $65 | Concession/Student $60 | Encore Member $55 | Child Under 12 $45 | Family Pass (2A,2C or 1A,3C) $199 | Groups 10+ $55.
Phone: 4335 1485
Where: The Art House, 19-21 Margaret Street, Wyong.
Website: https://www.cameorascale.com/cirquenouvelle
Flowers, Butterflies, Baby Lambs! Celebrate Spring in Bloom at Hunter Valley Gardens
If, like us, your perfect spring day looks like sunshine, picnics, patting baby lambs, standing among butterflies, feeding koi fish and wandering through gardens bursting with spring flowers, then we may have just found your perfect outing.
Hunter Valley Gardens is inviting families to slow down and quite literally smell the flowers these school holidays, with a beautiful spring program that sounds like a beautifully wholesome day out.
There’s plenty for little hands to get stuck into along the way too. Kids can make their own lanterns, create daisy chains, try wood painting, have their faces painted and get a henna tattoo, while weekends bring extra activities including beeswax candle making and bonsai workshops.
And when they’ve had enough of slowing down, there are rides! Take a spin on the Ferris Wheel, Swing Chair, Tea Cups and Carousel, or race the kids down the Superslide.
We often share the big events at Hunter Valley Gardens – the ones with plenty of fanfare – but we love that this time, the Gardens themselves get to be the star. It’s a chance for your family to explore 14 hectares of gorgeous gardens and marvel at the flowers bursting into bloom. You can wander through all 10 themed gardens, including the Lakes Walk, Italian Grotto, Indian Mosaic Garden and Storybook Garden, where you’ll find Jack and Jill rolling down the hill, Humpty Dumpty and Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
Honestly, this sounds like such a lovely way to spend a spring day with the kids.
Where: The Hunter Valley Gardens, Pokolbin.
Age group: All ages.
Dates: Open daily, Saturday 26 September – Sunday 11 October 2026, 9am–5pm.
Inclusions: All activities and workshops free with entry. Activities and workshops operate on a first-in, first-served basis with capped numbers. Arriving early is recommended. Most activities run 10am-2pm – see programs here. Rides additional.
Cost: Adult (16+ yrs) $42. Children (4-15 yrs) $31. Children (3 yrs. & Under) FREE. Family (1ad+2ch) $97. Family (2ad+1ch) $104. Family (2ad+2ch) $128. Extra Child (4-15yrs) $28. Companion card FREE. Rides: $6 each or 6-ride pass for $30. Gourmet hampers can be purchased from the Gardens too. You can get annual passes too; see website for details.
Want to have your school holiday activities included here too? To advertise your events or holiday camps on Playing in Puddles, click here.
Written By: KATIE STOKES
Founder & Editor
After working in print and online media for more than a decade, Katie launched Playing in Puddles in 2017. A mum of three young boys and local of the Central Coast, Katie loves discovering and sharing all that’s happening in our region.
More Activities to Enjoy these School Holidays
Have you visited the Central Coast's 70 Attractions?
Be a tourist in your own town! We have animal and adventure parks, farms to visit, go-karting, laser tag, play centres and more. You'll find them all here.
Indoor Adventures on the Central Coast
Escape the cold! Find fun play centres, trampoline parks, and indoor adventures here.
100+ Playgrounds! Discover a new one today
We have more than 100 playground reviews on Playing in Puddles. Click here to discover a new playground near you.
The 29 best kid-friendly cafes on the Central Coast
We've coffee-tested them all. Come check out our family-approved cafes – where kids are very welcome. Click here to discover a new cafe spot near you.
More school holiday camps
Art and Digital School Holiday Camps on the Central Coast
Miss May's Paint Station
What: Full day, half-day and 2 hour painting sessions. joyful, hands-on art workshops in Terrigal where young creatives can experiment with new mediums and techniques… and take home a finished artwork every single session.
Where: Terrigal Girl Guides Hall.
Ages: 6-13 years old.
Central Coast Creative Hub
What: One-day art camps (full days and half days available). From Water bead Puffy Slime and Picasso Mixed Media wall hangings to Clay pot Fairy Houses.
Where: Point Clare.
Ages: 4.5 years old - 15 years old.
Luna and Co art classes
What: One-day art camps. From air-dry sculpture to acrylic painting.
Where: Niagara Park.
Ages: Different ages across different classes.
Coding camps
There are multiple businesses that run online and in-person digital camps - from coding and website building to DJ and youtube workshops. These businesses sometimes run camps in person on the Central Coast. Check their websites for details.
+ CIY Club
+ Code Camp
Sport School Holiday Camps on the Central Coast
AFL
What: A six-hour footy camp in Woy Woy run by AFL NSW/ACT, the official organisation behind Australian Rules Football.
Where: 1 Dunban Rd, Rogers Park, Woy Woy.
Ages: Kids aged 5-12.
Motiv8Sports Central Coast
What: Two- and three-day sport camps plus 4-on-4 football tournaments.
Where: Multiple locations across the Coast. These can vary so check website for details, but generally Erina and Warnervale.
Ages: 5-15 years old.
MVP Football school holiday soccer clinics
What: One- to three-day soccer camps.
Where: Umina.
Ages: Under 6s+.
Brazilian Soccer Schools, Central Coast
What: Three-day soccer camps (half day and full day available).
Where: Tuggerah.
Ages: 5-16 years old.
Dean Heffernan and Central Coast United soccer camps
What: one- and two-day soccer camps (half day).
Where: Tuggerah.
Ages: Under 8s - Under 16s.
Rose Football Academy
What: Half-day soccer camps.
Where: Killarney Vale.
Ages: Kids aged 5-12.
Mighty Mariners Holiday Clinics, Central Coast
What: Three- and two-day soccer + activity camps (half day only).
Where: Tuggerah.
Ages: 6-14 years old.
Newcastle Jets community soccer clinics and Mini Olympic clinics
What: One- and two-day camps (half day only).
Where: Speers Point, New Lambton, Lochinvar, Maitland, Adamstown, Belmont.
Ages: 6-12 years old.
Skateboard, Scooter, BMX and Rollerskating school holiday camps at Slam Factory
What: One- and three-day camps in specific disciplines: skateboarding, rollerskating, BMX or scootering.
Where: Slam Factory, Tuggerah.
Ages: Kids aged 5+.
Horse riding and Animal School Holiday Camps on the Central Coast
The Outlook Riding Academy horse riding holiday camps, Terrigal
What: One-, two- and three-day horse riding and activity camps (full day only).
Where: Terrigal.
Ages: 5-16 years old.
Glenworth Valley Horseriding camps
What: Half-day junior beginner horseriding camp and full-day level 1 beginner horseriding camp. (This is a 1-day camp)
Where: Glenworth Valley.
Ages: 5-16 years - different ages for different camps.
The Australian Reptile Park's Little Kids to Keeper, Big Kids to Keeper and Inclusive Kids to Keeper experiences
What: One-day experience. A fully escorted workshop offering exclusive behind-the-scenes access and hands-on animal experiences.
Where: The Australian Reptile Park, Somersby.
Ages: Little Kids 2 Keeper: ages 7-12 years. Big Kids 2 Keeper: ages 13-18 years. Inclusive Kids 2 Keeper: ages 7-18 years.
Adventure, Ninja and Active School Holiday Camps on the Central Coast
Glenworth Valley Adventure Max School Holiday Camp
What: One-day adventure camp. Activities vary depending on the season, but may include horseriding, quad biking, laser tag, kayaking, abseiling and team games (full day only).
Where: Glenworth Valley.
Ages: 7-16 years old.
Ninja Kids Erina
What: Obstacles, warped walls, trampolines and monkey bars. Full days, Half days and 2-hour workshops available.
Where: Ninja Kids Erina, 3/5 Bonnal Rd, Erina.
Ages: 5-12 years old.
Obstacle Course Racing School
What: Obstacles, warped walls and monkey bars. Full days and come-and-try casual sessions available.
Where: 2/5A Pioneer Ave, Tuggerah.
Ages: children from crawlers to 14+. See their website for more details.
Roundabout Circus school holiday camps
What: One-day, half-day and 1.5-2 hour camps are available in everything from aerial silks, trapeze and lyra to tumbling, juggling and hula hooping.
Where: Wyoming.
Ages: All ages. Different ages across different classes.
School Holiday Workshops (camps that run for just a couple of hours)
The following venues run school holiday workshops that kids can attend for a couple of hours. It's a great way to give kids the opportunity to learn a new skill or gauge their curiosity in a different activity.
Ice skating at Erina Ice Arena: 1.5-hour ice skating workshops for children aged 7-15 years old | Erina.
Ninja classes at Australian Warrior Fitness: 1.5-hours of "Australian Ninja Warrior"-style obstacle training for children aged 6-12 (split into age groups) | North Gosford.
Ninja classes at Ninja Kids Erina: 2 hours of fun obstacle course play for children aged 5-12 (split into age groups) | Erina.
Ninja classes at Obstacle Course Racing School: 30-45 minute classes of "Australian Ninja Warrior"-style obstacle training for people aged 3-14+ (split into age groups) | Tuggerah.
Art classes at Gosford Regional Gallery: 2-hour art classes in everything from jewellery making to expressive drawing. Different classes for different age groups from ages 6-adult | East Gosford.
Roundabout Circus: 2-hour classes in anything from silks and trapeze to tumbling and juggling. All ages (classes are split into different age groups) | Wyoming
Other Central Coast school holiday camps to look out for!
From time to time the following venues run school holiday camps and workshops. Check their website for dates.
+ Marine Discovery Centre
+ Charmy Indoor Sports
This feature may also contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see our full disclosure for further information.
Written By: KATIE STOKES
Founder & Editor
After working in print and online media for more than a decade, Katie launched Playing in Puddles in 2017. A mum of three young boys and local of the Central Coast, Katie loves discovering and sharing all that’s happening in our region.
