EVENTS:
30th Birthday Celebration and Festival Kickoff
Wednesday, April 30
5:30 PM: Shadow Town interactive installation (Basement Lobby)
6:00 PM: Welcome remarks, City of Philadelphia Proclamation and celebratory toast (Outdoor Plaza, weather permitting)
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Me and My Shadow performance (Zellerbach Theatre)
In-School Performance: Snowflake
Thursday, May 1
9 AM – 12 NOON
B.B. Comegys School, 5100 Greenway Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19143
Performer Gale LaJoye gives workshops and performs a one-man silent comedy about a street character who entertains himself by recycling found objects into comic treasures.
Children’s Festival FUN ZONE
Thursday–Friday, May 1–2
9 AM – 5 PM
Suggested photo op times: Thursday, 10:45 AM – 11:15 AM and Friday, 11 AM – 12 Noon
Crafts, face-painting, DJ Dave Cornwell, percussionist Joe Tayoun and Rhythmic Friends
and
Saturday–Sunday, May 3–4
10 AM – 5 PM
Suggested photo op times: Saturday, 10:45 AM – 12 Noon and 12:45 PM – 2 PM
Give & Take Jugglers, Balloon Twisting with Chuck Walker, crafts, face-painting, DJ Dave Cornwell, percussionist Joe Tayoun and Rhythmic Friends
ADDRESS:
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
3680 Walnut St.
Outdoor plaza and lobby
For more information, call 215.898.3900 or visit annenbergcenter.org.
One of Philadelphia’s most magical annual events, the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts’ Philadelphia International Children’s Festival celebrates its 30th birthday with five days of enchantment for kids — from children’s theatre, puppetry and live music from around the world to face-painting, juggling and laughs in the outdoor FUN ZONE.
The festival kicks off on Wednesday, April 30 at 5:30 PM with a 30th Birthday Celebration and City of Philadelphia proclamation. The event is co-hosted by PAPAYA (PA Performing Arts for Young Audiences) and features the environmental installation SHADOW TOWN, a unique opportunity for families to interact and participate in a unique artistic experience. Led by PAPAYA artistic director for producing Whit MacLaughlin, kids can cast their shadows large on the ceilings of the Annenberg Center’s basement lobby and throw their voices across the room to hear their “shadow-voices” bounce back.
All ticket holders are invited to visit the Children’s Festival FUN ZONE, open at 9 AM on weekdays and 10 AM on weekends and featuring a host of engaging, hands-on activities for the whole family. Located on the Annenberg Center’s Outdoor Plaza, the FUN ZONE will offer arts and crafts, face painting and a variety of performances, from juggling to live music and more. The FUN ZONE is free to all ticket holders.
At the heart of the Philadelphia International Children’s Festival is a full slate of lively and low-cost children’s theatre productions. In collaboration with PAPAYA, Australia’s Patch Theatre Company brings the quirky, fanciful Me and My Shadow, a visual poem about a girl who finds a way to be friends with her shadow. Using paper, light, water, sound and words, Me and My Shadow seeks to explore the frustrations and joys of true friendship. Another story of companionship, The Snail and the Whale follows a tiny snail who hitches a ride on the tail of a humpback whale. Performed by London’s Tall Stories children’s theatre company, The Snail and the Whale was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe and The Independent called the production “delightful, funny and imaginative.”
Other performances include Lightwire Theater’s electroluminescent puppetry in The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise & the Hare; marionettes capturing the beauty of everyday life in The Cashore Marionettes’ Simple Gifts; the one-man silent comedy Snowflake by Gale LaJoy; and an exploration of hip-hop and classical music in We Shall Not Be Moved: the Hip H’opera Project, locally produced by Opera Philadelphia and Art Sanctuary. For a full schedule and ticketing information, please call 215.898.3900 or visit annenbergcenter.org.
