Imagine at the Southbank Centre

The Southbank Centre's annual festival for children boasts activities for all ages, from opera for babies to vampire-themed Valentine's Day celebrations for teens.

Imagine 2013 offers more than 100 free and ticketed events, with plenty to keep families entertained during half-term.

Highlights include:

• Readings from leading authors including David Walliams, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Anthony Horowitz, Cressida Cowell, James Patterson, Simon Mayo, Cathy Cassidy, Laura Dockrill and a rare appearance from Judith Kerr

• Interactive performance pieces that take audiences around the site, including a chance for adults to put on a pink shell suit and relive life as a 9 year old in Bryony Kimmings’s show Mega

• A day looking at the rise of the alternative family, putting children of same-sex parents centre stage featuring actress Sophie Ward and Coronation Street star Charlie Condou

• A chance for children to get up close and personal with life-size dinosaur puppets in the UK premiere of Erth’s critically acclaimed show Dinosaur Petting Zoo

• The Red House Book Awards, the only national book award voted for entirely by children

• Theatre for children, including the London premiere of The Queens Knickers

• Animated films Magic Piano and The Chopin Shorts by BreakThru films, with live accompaniment from young pianists.