Easter break is #HappeningInSunderland from 12-27 April!
With the kids off school, it can be a chore to find plenty of things to keep them occupied...
We have pulled together this guide for you, jam-packed with city-centre activities and events which are fun for the whole family.
Getting Here
Kids go Free!
12-27 April
You and your family can have a bus-tastic escapade around Sunderland while travelling by bus. Here's to family adventures on the bus! *Terms and conditions apply. Please visit northeast-ca.gov.uk/bus
Bridges Shopping Centre
Marmalade Trail
14-25 April
Pick up a map from the Customer Service desk, follow the marmalade splats, and unscramble the hidden words. Return your map for a sweet treat and a chance to win an egg-citing Easter prize!
Teddy Storytime
15, 17, 22 & 24 April, 11 AM - 2 PM
Bring your favourite teddy to listen to stories read by springtime characters!
Easter Cards & Bunny Baskets
15 April, 10 AM - 3 PM
Easter Bonnet Making
17 April, 10 AM - 3 PM
Meet Paddington™ Bear
19 April, 11 AM - 3 PM
Springtime Planting
22 April, 10 AM - 3 PM
Teddy Bear Sand Art
24 April, 10 AM - 3 PM
Local Heroes NE
Sunniside Food Market
Saturday, 26 April, 10 AM - 4 PM.
This pop-up community market supports new and emerging food and drinks businesses across the North East. From brewers, bakers and cheesemongers to world-class street food vendors - our northeast food and drink traders are delighted to be bringing themselves to our doorstep.
Geek Retreat
Available every day - FREE to play board games, playpen and arcade games! LEARN MORE
Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens
Dino Egg Hunt
Ends 26 April
£1 per Trail. Can you find all the baby dinosaurs that have hatched from their eggs? There are 8 to find, hidden around the Museum galleries and Winter Gardens. Find them all and claim a themed prize.
Super Sunderlandscape
Ends 5 May
Add your drawings to the growing Sunderlandscape inspired by the Sheila Fell exhibition and the wonderful wild places we know and love in Wearside.
Bear's Museum Adventure: Daring to Dinosaur
14 April, 10 AM & 11:30 AM
Join Bear and Hannah Graham, the Storyteller, for an amazing Museum adventure. Explore the Winter Gardens to meet the time-travelling dinosaurs! The recommended age for this activity is 4+ because some of the story and trail's interactive elements are unsuitable for toddlers. Younger siblings are welcome if held by parents/carers on laps (or in buggies) for their safety. Accompanying adults and non-participating siblings go free. Children with SEND are welcome and this story will include Makaton signs and speech. BOOK NOW
Dino Easter Cards
14 April, 1:30 PM
Make an Easter card with a baby dino hatching from an egg! Drop-in session.
Bloom & Bop
16 April, 1 PM & 2:30 PM
Borrow some earphones for a silent garden disco as you groove and move around the Mowbray Park Community Garden! Follow the bloom and bop trail to discover some fabulous flower facts and make recycled paper blooms. BOOK NOW
Earth Day
22 April, 11 AM
Discover ways you and your family can help protect the planet. Drop-in session.
Farmyard Frolics
23 April, 1:30 PM
Make a mini farmyard model with buildings, cows and tractors inspired by Sheila Fell’s paintings and help to make a giant farmyard collage with the mighty Lake District mountains towering behind. Drop-in session.
Wild Weather Wonders
25 April, 11 AM & 1:30 PM
Draw the wildest weather you can imagine on our Wild Weather window and paint your amazing weather pictures inspired by artworks in the Sheila Fell exhibition. Drop-in sessions.
The Beacon of Light
Holiday Club
14-24 April
Children can participate in a range of activities during school holidays, including football, baking and multisport. Among the varying activities, catering to children of all abilities from aged 4-14, are the following:
• Football (2 day)
• Train Like a Pro Day
• Beauty sessions
• 1:1 Coaching
• Holiday Club (2 day)
• Baking, Arts and Crafts
• Disability Football
• Disability Multi-sports
Book online HERE
Atlas Theatre Company
Little Drama Class
The Play Cafe Seaburn
16 & 23 April, 2 PM - 3 PM (3 PM- 4 PM FREE Play & Stay)
Little Drama Classes are designed to be both fun and educational and aim to inspire a love of literature! Every Wednesday BOOK NOW For children aged 1-5 years
Harbour Printworks
Punk Inspired Flower Pressing Zine Workshop
Port Independent, Sunniside SR1 1QD
12 April, 11 AM - 1 PM
inspired by the bold, punk-infused designs of Jordan Quinn! Led by Jordan, this hands-on session blends DIY zine-making with experimental paper design, allowing you to contribute to a community-printed zine while also creating your own to take home. This workshop is all about encouraging creativity, boosting confidence, and having fun. BOOK NOW
LUSH Sunderland
Slow Down Bath Bomb Workshop
LUSH Sunderland, Bridges Shopping Centre
18 April, 1 PM
A day to celebrate poetry of all kinds, in all languages! Join us to make a poem-filled bath bomb and read some poetry! You will make your own Slow Down bath bomb! A bathing & poetic soporific, sedative & balm for the spirit; to evoke moments of reflection & serenity. Cool citrus and comforting florals to allow a moment to be more gentle with yourself. This regal, milky-blue bath bomb is a restful tonic for a busy life, inviting you to feel calmly uplifted in its waters. BOOK NOW
Sleepy Bubble Bar Workshop
LUSH Sunderland, Bridges Shopping Centre
17 April, 2 PM
At Lush, we know how to set you up for a good sleep, so join us to make for a fun and interactive bubble bar workshop! Get ready to learn how to create your very own Sleepy bubble bar and immerse yourself in big fluffy clouds of lavender and tonka so the sleepy wanderers can get cosy and unwind. You'll also get to grab some samples and routine ideas to help you relax before bed! BOOK NOW
Future Collaborations
Future Collaborations Festival 2025 - Warm Digits, Me Lost Me and OldMan
Pop Recs, SR1 1UP
26 April, 2 PM
A festival like no other! This year the incredible lineup includes Warm Digits, Me Lost Me, OldMan, Camel Island, Samuel Frame, Token, Erratics, Ophir, and the AutismAble Youth Music Group. Future Collaborations Festival is all about neurodivergent people leading the way, creating a space where neurotypical and neurodivergent artists collaborate and shine together. BOOK NOW
Stables at Sheepfolds
Sunday Market
Sheepfolds Stables, Easington Street, SR5 1BA
13 April, 10 AM - 3 PM
Artisan food and drink market, in conjunction with Local Heroes, 2nd Sunday of each month. Visitors can wander around the many stalls and purchase from a range of local independent traders offering the very best produce from crafted gifts to specialist breads and cakes, organic vegetables, charcuterie and more!
Expo Pavillion
Mushroom Tales: Fungus Family Storytelling
Keel Square
22 April, 11 AM - 12 PM and 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Led by Olly from Threads in the Ground, in this family workshop you will learn about the magical powers of mushrooms to build, make art, feed people, and support the planet - and then you will work together to write (and illustrate!) a story on the windows of the Expo Pavilion. LEARN MORE
Mushroom Sculpt
Keel Square
Ends 24 April
Climate hope organisation 'Threads in the Ground' have been working with Sunderland communities to design a new living modular sculpture that will be displayed in the Expo Sunderland Pavilion in April. Created by Sunderland residents from ''Mycelium Based Material” (MBM) - dense matts of fungus grown within moulds – this sculpture will go on to fruit edible mushrooms and will then naturally compost.
Arty Party
Keel Square
26 April, 11 AM - 3 PM
Join The Art Cafe for some arty family fun at the Expo Sunderland Pavilion this Easter! Make, create, draw, play and party like the artist you are. All materials provided - bring your whole family and get stuck in.
Sunderland Empire
Hairspray: The Musical
Sunderland Empire Theatre, SR1 3EX
14-19 April
Featuring some of musical theatre’s biggest hit songs, Welcome to the 60s, You Can’t Stop the Beat, Good Morning Baltimore and many more. Hairspray is the hilarious, joyous, and inspiring musical for all! BOOK NOW
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Sunderland Empire Theatre, SR1 3EX
22-27 April
Based on Ian Fleming’s timeless story for children and later made into the famous 1968 film, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, we meet absent-minded inventor Caractacus Potts, who restores a broken-down old racing car with the help of his children, Jemima and Jeremy. Soon, the family discovers the car has magical powers, and along with the delectable Truly Scrumptious and Grandpa Potts, they end up on a fantastical adventure to far-off lands. Their heart-warming journey makes CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG a fun-filled hit for all the family. BOOK NOW
The Fire Station
The Craziest Showman
The Fire Station, SR1 3EX
17 April
CBBC’s brightest comedy stars Danny and Mick bring their particular brand of lunacy to their latest high-energy show, causing chaos on stage and bringing screams of laughter from the whole family. With a full supporting cast of international circus acts, dancers and singers, 'The Craziest Showman’ is like no other family adventure. BOOK NOW
Sunderland Aquatic Centre
Atlantis Adventure Mega Inflatable Sessions
Sunderland Aquatic Centre is offering 22 extra sessions of the Atlantis Adventure Mega Inflatable over the Easter school holidays. Price: £7.80 per 60-minute session. Participants must be aged 5+ (5/6/7-year-olds must be accompanied in the water on a one-to-one basis by an adult), be confident in deep water (2m), and be able to swim 25m wearing a buoyancy aid. To book, call 0191 514 4300
Fun N Float Sessions
Sunderland Aquatic Centre has added 42 extra Fun & Float Sessions this Easter holiday, providing the perfect opportunity for families to relax and have fun with floats. Price: £5.95 (adults), £4.65 (children). To book, call 0191 514 4300
S.E.N.D. Atlantis Adventure Mega Inflatable Session
14 April, 10:30 AM - 1 PM
Prepare for a splashing good time at the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) - Atlantis Mega Inflatable! This unique event combines the Easter with the fun of aquatic activities, ensuring a memorable experience for families in receipt of free school meals. Join us for a day filled with laughter, joy, and aquatic fun this Easter season! Don’t forget to wear your best swimwear! BOOK HERE
Funded HAF Family Swim, Hot Food & Soft Play Sessions
14, 15, 24, 25 April, 10 AM - 2 PM
Together for Children has partnered with Sunderland Aquatic Centre to offer FREE sessions over the Easter holidays for 4-8-year-olds. To book, call 0191 514 4300
Funded HAF Junior Gym (2-Week Membership)
Limited availability. Sunderland Aquatic Centre is providing FREE Junior Gym Memberships for 11-15 year olds, with only 24 spaces available. To book, call 0191 514 4300
Soft Play Easter Egg Hunt
15 April, 9 AM - 5 PM
Sunderland Aquatic Centre is hosting an Easter-themed soft play egg hunt. Price: £3.75 (1-3 year olds), £4.40 (4-8 year olds). To book, call 0191 514 4300
Easter-Themed Soft Play Party
23 April, 12 - 2 PM
Sunderland Aquatic Centre invites children to enjoy Easter crafts, games, and lots of fun. Limited to 20 places. Price: £5 per child. To book, call 0191 514 4300