PREVIEW
International Children’s Festival of the Arts
May 29 to June 3
Downtown St. Albert
Tickets: Adults $13, children $11. Call 780-459-1542 or at www.ticketmaster.ca
Imagination, creativity and fun are what St. Albert’s International Children’s Festival of the Arts is all about.
For the past 37 years, it has encouraged children of all ages to immerse themselves in theatre, dance, mime, music, puppetry, magic and the circus arts.
Once more this artistic six-day event running May 29 to June 3 is anchored on the tranquil, luxuriant banks of the Sturgeon River and its adjoining parks.
More than 50,000 visitors from across the province are expected to attend, making the festival one of the city’s most high profile events. With such a wide-ranging geographical and cultural festival population, organizers present eight main stage shows featuring diverse artistic disciplines.
Last year organizers instituted a free International Children’s Festival of the Arts app recognizable by its butterfly logo. Feedback suggested the one-stop information site was a hit.
“There was a lot of excitement and people were happy to see the festival jump on the bandwagon, and it was a good learning opportunity to see what people wanted,” said Caitlin North, Arden Theatre professional programming presenter.
Brochures are no longer available, however 10,000 printed flyers will be available to the public.
With some shows close to sell-out, especially during Monday to Friday when busloads of students disembark, the fingertip-ready app encourages patrons to book early and avoid disappointment.
One show that will fill quickly is Puzzle Théâtre’s Plastic/Plastique since it will only showcase from Monday to Friday. Originally from Bulgaria, the puppetry company is now established in Montreal.
“Plastique uses simple objects such as plastic bags and proves that anything can be used as a puppet to tell a story. There’s an environmental slant to this and it’s important for our children to hear about how plastic affects landfills. It’s also a fun and charming show but with a message children will understand quickly,” said North.
In another delightful puppetry show, L’Illusion Théâtre de marionnettes presents Thumbelina, Hans Christian Andersen’s enchanting fairy tale about a tiny girl born in the heart of a mysterious flower.
“This company has such beautiful puppets and this is such a recognizable story. They combine puppetry, music and dance. What I like is they use live actors and it goes back and forth between the live actors and puppets.”
New to the festival is Singing Africa with Jacky Essombe. Originally from Cameroon, Jacky Essombe grew up in Paris and now lives in Vancouver. Alongside two band mates from Guinea and Zimbabwe, Essombe's show is steeped in the traditions, culture and wisdom of her ancestors.
“A lot of her work is about the different countries and cultures of Africa. No two are alike and all have different traditions. She’ll be doing call-and-response and easy dance steps. She is genuinely interested in connecting with children, and with cultures and the roles stories have, and how they can move from generation to generation.”
Closer to home, Edmonton based magician-illusionist Ron Pearson solos in The Mystery Wonder Show. He is supported by Erik Mortimer’s Vaudevillian-style piano accompaniment.
“Ron has created a non-verbal show that combines theatre and magic. It was originally a Fringe show and he has continued to develop it. It’s about a down-on-his-luck magician that tries to get a leg up and keeps having mishaps. It’s quite funny and interactive.”
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is back with a black-light production of The Rainbow Fish. It borrows three stories from Marcus Pfister’s award-winning picture book series that takes viewers on an under sea exploration of self-discovery and the power of giving.
Vancouver’s CircusWest instead flies to Neverland, A Peter Pan Origin Story where lost boys, mermaids, pirates and pixies create daring sword fights and high-flying adventure.
“There are 16 performers under the age of 21. All the performers are youth. All are highly trained, and this is the first time they’re performing outside the Lower Mainland.”
From across the country, based in the Ottawa Valley, The StepCrew dance production explodes with lightning-fast feet and sizzling fiddle playing.
“They combine Celtic and Irish music with a full band and four or five dancers. They’re very lively. It's modern tap and traditional step dance. They’re high energy and it’s the closest you’ll get to Riverdance at the children’s festival.”
Traditionally the single fastest-selling show of the festival is St. Albert Children’s Theatre production. This year, it's Junie B. Jones, the Musical.
It’s the first week of school and Junie is in crisis mode. Her best friend replaced her. No one wants to sit beside Junie on the bus. And horror of horrors, she needs glasses.
“Kids crave a sense of belonging and forming strong friendships and finding out who your real friends are. It’s a sweet story about a young girl making her way through Grade 1 and not being hurt by these milestones in life.”
North concluded by saying, “My background is primarily music, but children’s programming has opened up a new world for me. What is amazing and blows me away is how incredibly creative children’s performers are. People often think of children’s entertainment as bouncy castles, but these performers have trained in their discipline for years and will present an art you don’t see every day.”
“I really encourage people to come down and see them whether it’s during the weekdays or weekend. It’s a magical week filled with total craziness and fun.”
In the past five years, the festival budget, supported by government funding, individual donations and corporate sponsorship, has ranged from $1.2 to $1.5 million dollars and will remain within that range.
For ticket information call 780-459-1542.
