Monster Mash: Halloween Special

Monster Mash: Halloween Special is at The MAC on Saturday 31 October, from 11am to 1pm. It's a free, drop-in session, so you don't need to book ahead — you can just turn up with the kids and get stuck in.

Ronan Smyth is leading the session. He's a Belfast-based interdisciplinary artist and a recent Belfast School of Art graduate, currently working on a practice-led PhD on the social and political aspects of the handmade. His work focuses on workshops and public engagement, so this is right in his wheelhouse rather than a side project. The face painting is handled by professional make-up artists Fran Gordon and Sunita Shaw, whose screen credits include How to Train Your Dragon, Game of Thrones, Derry Girls and Dungeons & Dragons — a fair bit of high-profile work for a Halloween morning in the city.

It's worth keeping in mind that The MAC is set up for families. It's signed the Kids in Museums Manifesto and is one of 750 UK organisations that have pledged to meet the Family Arts Standards. There's an award-winning Playroom, a parenting toilet with baby-changing facilities, a breastfeeding chair, and a children's menu in the CaféBar. They also run drop-in Imagination Stations filled with art supplies and activity sheets from 9am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, so if you arrive early or want to hang around afterwards, there's plenty to keep smaller hands busy.

So, if you're looking for something to do with the kids on Halloween morning, this is a good shout: Monster Mash at The MAC on 31 October, 11am to 1pm, free and drop-in.