It's play time at Flipside

There will be more than 20 activities at the festival, themed The Games We Play

- Srinidhi Ragavendran

Try your hand at plate spinning, ball juggling or diabolo spinning at the Esplanade on June 7 and 8. Held at the arts centre's Courtyard, the free circus arts workshop targeted at young families is part of Flipside, an annual celebration of circus, puppetry, physical theatre and comedy.

The festival's theme is The Games We Play, so audiences are invited to revel in the joy of play. Over two weekends from May 30 to June 8, there will be a rollicking mix of local and international acts, with more than 20 free and ticketed workshops and performances.

Flipside started in 2004 as a light-hearted counterpoint to the then Singapore Arts Festival, but it has since evolved to focus on circus arts and a street festival vibe.

Ms Lynn Yang, 38, the festival's programmer, says: "There isn't any other platform in Singapore that presents this kind of work, the type you might see at international street or fringe festivals. There's nothing else quite like it dedicated to this form here."