Canmore Children’s Festival: More Fun than a Barrel of Balloon-Benders
by Michele Tipman Stott
If you like music, dancing, juggling, balloons, science, building, dressing up, laughing and having fun, the Canmore Children’s Festival is the place to be this May. Take the opportunity to learn from masters of silliness like Dean of the Green Fools, Jason That Funny Magic Guy and jugglers James O’Shea and Bob Palmer. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with plenty to entertain. (Oh, and the kids might enjoy it, too!)
The festivities kick off Friday, May 21 at the Canmore Collegiate High School with ‘teen’ night and continue Saturday with workshops, hands-on fun, storytellers, roving performers and unparalleled shows in the Village Square and on Canmore Collegiate Theatre’s main stage. Organizers for this, the Children’s Festival’s fifth annual event, expect a turnout surpassing 3,000 young and young at heart along with an army of 100 volunteers, without whom the festival could not be made possible.
Friday, teens and pre-teens are invited to check out The Impromaniacs, Washboard Hank, the Line-Up Maintenance Crew and Double Vision as the festival warms up with Big Friday, an event for children aged nine and older. There will be henna tattooing, body painting, hair extensions, dreadlocks, caricatures and games and, of course, plenty of opportunity to hang out with friends. There is even a café set up for parents who would rather skip the body painting and dreadlocks.
Saturday workshops are certain to be a hit. For ages eight and older, Jason Wehum teaches the art of balloon bending, Dean of the Green Fools offers introductions to clowning and to stage fighting, slapstick and stilt-walking. For kids aged eight to 11, the Friends of Kananaskis offer a hands-on investigation of the world of water insects. For the younger children, ages five to eight, the Friends have a workshop to celebrate Bow Valley Spring.
Anyone aged nine and older is invited to join master jugglers James O’Shea and Bob Palmer for a one-hour ‘juggling and tomfoolery’ workshop followed by an opportunity to show off these new skills at the Village Square. Storytellers and songsters will also abound at the festival. Join Peter Puffin, winner of the 1999 Emerald Award for Environmental Excellence, for an interactive sing-along and skit time.
Local acting troupe the Pine Tree Players present their pint-sized counterparts, the Pine Cones, in A Bump in the Night, a musical theatre show created by kids for kids. This will be their first production for the Canmore Children’s Festival and Denise Miller’s show Laugh and Cry with Coyote, which mixes stories, songs and ballads from her Native and Celtic roots, is recommended for ages eight and older.
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There's a lot of fun and make believe, including dress-up time for this young wizard at the Canmore Children's Festival.
Also, be on vigilant lookout for roving performers like Loonie Tune, Jason the magic guy, Dan-the-One-Man-Band and others roaming the festival looking to create fun. Between events, kids are invited to visit the imagination tent for face-painting and dress-up. Children and their parents can also stop by Solara Canmore’s LEGO Mountain tent where 15,000 LEGO bricks await aspiring architects. Build something just for fun, or enter Solara’s draw with a chance to win great prizes.
If you go:
In order to secure your child’s place in the workshops, pre-register by emailing monika.helbig@telusplanet.net
Remaining workshop spaces will be up for registration May 22 in the workshop tent.
The $10 admission includes pizza, pop and most events. Tickets are required for some performances.
For a complete schedule of times and ticket prices check out www.canmorechildrensfestival.com
Michele Tipman Stott is a Canmore-based freelance writer and mom of two small children who will thoroughly enjoy the Canmore Children’s Festival.
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