FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved

Theatre by FFWD Staff These days Joanne James is one of the most excited kids in Calgary. Never mind that she hasn’t been a kid for a year or two, with less than a week to go before the opening of the 14th annual Calgary International Children’s Festival, her enthusiasm overflows. As producer for the festival for every one of those 14 years you’d think a little complacency would creep in, but not with James. "You don’t have to be a kid to come to the festival. You just have to have been a kid at some time in your life," she laughs. "There’s delight and there’s energy. There’s so many things you can respond to in the work that comes to the festival." As much a part of Calgary as the Stampede and the folk festival, the children’s festival is one of the most loved and best attended annual events. Looking over the lineup for this year, it’s easy to see why. In just five days, from May 23 to 27, 14 different companies from all around the world will present some of the best entertainment for kids in 74 performances in and around The Arts Centre. Performers will visit from all across Canada, Kenya, Chile, Switzerland, Vietnam, the U.S. and Cuba. The Olympic Plaza will be transformed with street performers, clowns and musicians. Indeed, downtown Calgary will be transformed for an entire week. Selecting the shows for the festival falls to James. "We have 14 shows this year. There were over 600 applicants to the Festival. That’s my job, to find the very best. We have some of the finest music kids are going to hear all year, and some great theatre." Some of the highlights include: · The Mapapa Acrobats from Kenya · Switzerland’s Horta Van Hoye’s Stories of Faces, where the artist tells stories and makes sculptures out of paper · Axis Theatre’s The Number 14, which uses mask and movement and is set on the Number 14 bus as it rumbles its way through Vancouver · Le Troppa from Chile, who have taken Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth and set it on a train – it will be presented in Spanish · Rick Miller’s MacHomer, which is a one-man show of The Simpsons doing Macbeth · Fred Penner’s 20th anniversary tour · Metis singer-songwriter Ted Longbottom One of the best things about the children’s festival is their effort to keep ticket prices low. This is not an elitist festival for kids from certain postal codes – it’s for families all over the city. Part of the success of the festival is James’s ability to surround herself with a tremendous staff year after year. Like other city events, the festival also depends on volunteers. "We have a very loyal core of volunteers," James explains. "We have people who come back every year and volunteer for us. We have people who take their holidays the week of the festival and come down to volunteer." As a longtime fan of the Calgary International Children’s Festival I share James’s excitement. If you’re a kid, you can’t miss it no matter how old you are. Take your kid, borrow one if you have to, but find time for the event. Where else can you meet a bilingual pink elephant, eat alligator pie, discover why the cat came back, and even walk on the moon?

| Back To This Issue Table of Contents | Back To Main Index |