Very little dashes a child’s enthusiasm and love of play – least of all a bit of rain.
Judging by the smiling faces tromping through the International Children’s Festival site last week, the five-day cultural extravaganza was a big hit.
St. Albert cultural services director Kelly Jerrott agrees, adding that because of the dampening rain, everyone put in extra energy to fuel the festival’s success.
“My comments to the staff were that it was a great festival and I was so proud of them. The volunteers were amazing and I’m so appreciative of the passion they put into it and what we were able to give back to the community.”
In particular, Jerrott tips her hat to festival crews who worked extra hard hauling in truckloads of woodchips to spread through Lions Park, a high traffic area. And after storms, crews checked smaller tents to keep rainwater from pooling at the top.
Organizers estimated that 55,000 visitors were on site. Although all the final numbers are still being finalized, Jerrott reports 17,000 tickets were sold for site activities and 23,000 tickets for mainstage shows. Mainstage performances reveal an uptick from last year’s 20,946 sold tickets.
Pete the Cat, 3rd Street Beat and ZooZoo were hailed as three of the best sellers while St. Albert Children’s Theatre Little Mermaid was completely sold out before the festival launch.
Alluding to the numerous sell-out shows, Jerrott states that organizers pay close attention to school programs and work closely with teachers to match the right show with participants.
In addition, the Saturday wristbands targeted for families with a flexible schedule sold out and Toddler Town doubled its attendance.
The $1.4 million festival is funded through business sponsorship, government grants, individual donations and ticket sales.
