Reimagine Fun at the Vancouver International Children’s Festival

May 10, 2021
DV
ByDestination Vancouver
3 min read

Fred Penner

The Festival returns from May 31 to June 13 to entertain Metro Vancouver children and families. This year, families can experience the Festival online from the comfort of home and choose from a large selection of diverse professional performances. Performing artists from as far-reaching as India, Australia, Scotland, France and the United States are scheduled to perform.

The reimagined 2021 Festival will offer a mix of Live Online and Pre-recorded Online performances with an extra 7 days of extended show viewing. The Festival, which normally runs for a week, will offer unlimited streaming access until June 13th at 8pm, allowing families to watch online shows multiple times and at moments that work best for them.

The pandemic has been particularly hard on families. To support families and ensure the Festival is accessible and affordable to all, no matter their current circumstances, the Vancouver International Children’s Festival is offering pay-what-you-can pricing this year.

Fred Penner

Highlights of the 44th annual Festival include Canadian music icon and one of Canada’s best-loved children’s singers, Fred Penner. Also noteworthy, When the Colours Ran Away, is an interactive digital arts film and Festival commission by ThinkArts of India. The film uses live action and animation to tell the story about the shenanigans of a group of colours in an Emily Carr painting. Another featured performance, A Piece of You, is a private interactive concert for just your household, where Scottish artist Greg Sinclair takes your personal story and turns it into a song. Furthermore, an exceptional lineup of first-time festival performers and local artists, such as Ideas Bobert, will grace the Festival’s digital stages. There truly is something for everyone.

Fred Penner

In addition to the many incredible shows, the Festival is presenting a series of Online Arts Workshops making it easy for the whole family to be creatively playful together. With six online arts activities to choose from, there are many ways to engage children’s imagination and enhance creativity all while having fun together as a family. All performance tickets include access to the Online Arts Workshops. Ticket-holders can watch the workshops live online or view a recorded version at a more convenient time.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at childrensfestival.ca

With current provincial health orders restricting events and for the safety of patrons, the Festival will not be selling in-person performance tickets at this time. Should BC Public Health Authorities lift restrictions, the Festival will release a limited number of tickets for in-person shows that will take place in venues on Granville Island. The Festival will monitor communications from the provincial health office and make an announcement regarding in-person tickets by the end of April.

Vancouver International Children’s Festival
children’s festival
online theatre
kids music
dance
storytelling
youth entertainment
family events