The rainy forecast for Brussels shouldn’t be a problem this weekend when there are so many indoor concerts and dance workshops to go to.
Babies aren’t usually well catered for when it comes to cultural events, but that changes this weekend with the Zakoustic concerts and a cello play café aimed just at them. There are also dance workshops to get the little ones moving, including one for the very smallest of babies who can dance cuddled up to their mamas.
Older children can relive the music of Harry Potter and How to Train Your Dragon played by two teenage orchestras at Flagey. There’s also a family day – and a family brunch – at the Design Museum and a Spanish-language book festival. Buen fin de semana!
Music, maestro!
Zakoustics in Molenbeek and Jette – Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 and 11:30
The wildly popular Zakoustics concerts introduce children of up to 3 years of age to music in a perfect format: they’re short, at only 45 minutes, and they’re in the morning at that magic time in between naps. The organisation has just opened up booking for their autumn season and there are – for once – some slots still available for their concerts this weekend.
Credit: Calins ASBL
Soprano saxophonist Damien Brassart will be playing at Le Baixu in Molenbeek on Saturday and he’ll be joined by a percussionist for more concerts at Ploef in Jette on Sunday.
Find more information here.
Play Café: Cello, De Maalbeek, rue Général Leman 118, Etterbeek – Saturday, 10:00 to 12:00
Etterbeek’s Flemish cultural centre, De Maalbeek, hosts a once-a-month play café for children up to 4 years of age, where children can play while parents can grab a coffee and a chat. They usually have a themed parent-child workshop too.
This week, cellist Noé Beauvois will be coming with his cello for an interactive session for children to discover the positive effects of music. While the centre is aimed at Dutch-speaking families, all are welcome and French and English will be spoken.
Find more information here.
Zouratié Koné, Maison de la Création, Laeken – Saturday, 15:00
Master percussionist Zouratié Koné will be playing music and telling tales in the tradition of West African griots. There’ll also be a workshop and a snack after the concert.
Credit: Maison de la Création
Find more information here.
Symphonic Adventures, Flagey, Ixelles – Saturday, 17:00 to 18:00
The teen musicians of the Brussels Young Philharmonic and ReMuA Young Orchestra will be playing exciting film music from John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon), Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away) and John Williams (Superman and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone).
Credit: BYP
The concert, starting at 17:00, is aimed at children aged 8 and over but there are also free activities, such as drawing, craft, and storytelling workshops from 15:00.
Find more information here.
Get your baby dancing
Mama Dance, Pianofabriek, Rue du Fort 35, Saint-Gilles – Saturday, 10:15 to 11:30
New mothers, with babies of at least four weeks of age, are welcome to this special dance session to move to the music with their babies in a baby wrap or carrier. This is a fun way to start to move and recover after delivery and introduce a baby to music and dancing.
Credit: Mama Dance
These sessions take place every two months outside of the summer with a family dance on alternate months for older children and fathers to join in. If you speak some English, French, Italian or Catalan, you’ll get along fine.
Find more information here.
Parent-child dance workshops, Novanois, 18 Rue Goossens, Schaerbeek – Sunday, 09:30 and 10:30
These are the last parent-child dance workshops of the season by psychomotor therapist Chrystèle Chalhoub. The first session at 09.30, for babies from 6 to 15 months, promises to retrace the paths of how babies become upright.
Credit: Novanois
A second session at 10:30 is an improvisation dance workshop for children between 3 and 8, accompanied by at least one adult per child. These will both be in French.
Find more information here and here.
Flow dance workshop, SKA, Chaussée de Haecht 300, Schaerbeek – Sunday, 14:00 and 15:00
Dancer Célia Rorive and drummer Guillaume Malempré combine contemporary dance and jazz for this show that invites children between 6 months and 3 years to improvise their own dance moves.
Credit: Flow
There are two sessions – one at 14:00 and the other at 15:00 – and they’ll be in French.
Find more information here and here.
And now for something cultural…
Design Museum, Place de Belgique, 1020 Laeken – Sunday, 11:00 to 19:00
A design brunch is just one highlight of the family day at the Design Museum. The exhibitions and a game trail, where children follow a young creator, are open all day and aimed at children aged 3 and up. There are also story sessions and guided tours of the exhibitions in Dutch offered in the morning, with stories at 11:00 and a family tour of the plastic design collection at 13:00.
Credit: Design Museum Brussels
French speakers get the afternoon slot, with stories at 14:00 and a family tour of the exhibition on the history of design for children at 15:00. You will need to reserve and pay separately for the brunch.
Find more information here.
Festival Iceberg, Instituto Cervantes, Avenue Louise 140, Ixelles – Saturday, 10:30
The Spanish cultural institute, Instituto Cervantes, is running its annual literary festival for children this week, but only one event takes place at the weekend. Meritxell Martí and Xavier Salomó will be telling stories to children aged 3 years and up about a curious cat and an incredible grandma on Saturday morning.
Credit: Festival Iceberg
Find more information here.
