KIDVENTION 2022
What began as a small idea on how to connect with the community, turned into the largest free community event Journey has ever hosted.
With such a successful event in 2021, we decided to bring back KIDvention in 2022.
What is KIDvention?
KIDvention is a free event that occurs annually. The event is free to attend, and the whole community is welcome.
The day is all about the children and families in our community. The goal is to provide opportunities for local artists to perform, showcase community services, local businesses to build their brand presence, build social links with the community, and for the greater community to feel a sense of support. We also wanted a way to thank families who have contributed to the success of our Journey Durack centre.
The event is held near in Goyder Square, Palmerston. This year, we had 1,000 people join in the fun!
What is KIDvention like?
The day is packed full of family-fun experiences!
Families enjoyed entertainment, performances, live radio, food, music, activities for children, local organizations showcasing their businesses and of course our beloved Wanda who was set-up for families and children to explore and interact with.
Why is connection important to us?
Connection is one of our Journey values. Connections are what make us human. It’s what brings us together. And here at Journey, we are all about connections. But it’s not just connecting with children and parents. It’s also about connecting with the wider community to inspire an educational journey.
Ryan Meldrum
Ryan Meldrum, Co-Founder of Journey Early Learning joined us at KIDvention. Below is what he had to say about the successful event:
“Journey Early Learning Durack created KIDvention with the intentions of connecting people in the community. Journey Durack wishes to be viewed as an advocate for children & families whilst being an engaged member in our community. The event is to support all children, families & local business in our community, where they can engage and have access to services that they may not normally be able to access. Most of all, to have a fun memorable day for everyone.’
Over 2020 and 2021 there was a heavy focus on the Journey values of ‘communication and consideration’ but in 2022 our final value of ‘connection’ is going to a whole new level. This was demonstrated by the outstanding team effort from the Journey team to bring this huge event together to run so seamlessly in Darwin, combine that with 25 committed educators (and a few of us from interstate, including Wanda our Journey truck on tour from Melbourne) to welcome 1,000 attendees from the Palmerston community. Talk about an ALL TIME demonstration of our ‘connection’ value!
The fun was everywhere, the smiles were endless and the community vibe was off the charts. When we say community is important to Journey this is one brilliant example. We have other snippets of magic community connections coming from many other of centres at the moment. We are really walking the talk on community connection in 2022.”
Will KIDvention be back in 2023?
With such positive feedback we received from our vendors, families, and community we are already planning and looking forward to 2023. Watch this space for event details to be announced in the near future.
What is next for Journey in Northern Territory?
We have loved being part of the Durack community we are opening two more Centres that are due to open in 2023.
A centre will be in Durack Heights, right next to our current Durack Centre. This centre will cater for 66 children.
Our second Centre will be in the Nightcliff community and will cater to 96 children.
Both Centres are purpose built and designed with amazing indoor and outdoor environments.
