Vancouver International Children’s Festival announces programming for 48th edition
Performances in store range from the breathtaking acrobatics of Kalabanté Productions to a life-sized puppet in Where Have All the Buffalo Gone?
Club Origami. Photo by Summer Dean
CIRCUS ARTISTRY, STORYTELLING, and puppetry are just a few of the performance styles in store on the just-announced program for the 48th annual Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
Taking place across Granville Island from May 26 to June 1, the fest features a roster of 11 artists and groups that will deliver a total of 79 performances over the course of the week.
Among the highlights this year are two U.K. shows: interactive dance production Club Origami from Seven Circles (copresented by Boca del Lupo as part of the Micro Performance Series), and I Wish I Was a Mountain by poetry mastermind Toby Thompson of The Egg at Theatre Royal Bath.
For audience members ages one to six, Club Origami invites young participants and their families to rip, fold, and crumple pieces of paper as they discover new ways of thinking, playing, and moving. The show also features creative dance, fashion, and live-music elements. In I Wish I Was a Mountain, based on a classic tale by Hermann Hesse and designed for ages seven and up, the town of Faldum is visited by a mysterious wanderer who’s capable of granting even the wildest of wishes—but two townsfolk get a little more than they bargained for when one turns into a lonely mountain and the other disappears into his own music. With rhymes and jazz, the show homes in on kids’ curiosity through philosophical explorations of actions and consequences.
Won’Ma Africa.
Another highlight is Guinea and Quebec’s Kalabanté Productions, which will bring breathtaking acrobatics and death-defying stunts to the stage in Won’Ma Africa. Entertainers will fuse modern circus and traditional African dance moves in this joyful all-ages show backed by the pulsating rhythm of djembes.
Among the B.C.-based artists performing at the festival, there’s Indigenous singer-songwriter Kym Gouchie, who’s from the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. Joined by her band for a lively all-ages show, she will play music from her latest release, Shun Beh Nats’ujeh/We Are Healing Through Songs. In a similar vein, Sing the World! with Ginalina and Friends will journey through folk songs from Korea, Estonia, Spain, Benin, India, France, and China. Juno Award–nominated Vancouver guitarist Ginalina will be joined by Sarah Yusha Tan on the guzheng (ancient Chinese zither) and Yoro Noukoussi on djembe, donga (talking drum), and kokomba (conga).
Lynny Bonin and Issiah Bull Bear in Where Have All the Buffalo Gone?, with puppet design by Dusty Hagerüd and puppeteer Sofi Munson. Photo by Javier Sotres
Axis Theatre will present Where Have All the Buffalo Gone? in association with Talking Stick, a powerful story about two Métis souls who journey through seven important moments in their nation’s history with a life-sized buffalo puppet. And Cause & Effect Circus will bring its visually stunning Luminarium to the stage, in which three performers blur the line between illusion and technology with high-level circus skills, magical juggling, and whimsical lighting tricks.
Same Same Different is a comedy that showcases the Myrtle Sisters’ zany antics with live music, tap, and swing. Though they have been known to act the same, they explore their differences here, with plenty of shenanigans involved. Liwanda Africa! from Jacky Essombe and friends will take audiences on an interactive French-language journey through the songs and dances of Africa, led by Queen Auntie Jacky and her talented collaborators. The performers are based in B.C., with roots in Cameroon, Benin, Guinea, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
The Libravian. Photo by Anita Murphy
The festival will host a couple more international performances: The Libravian from Ireland’s Brú Theatre, and Whipped Up! by Soap and Rope Theatre of the U.S. In The Libravian, presented in association with Zee Zee Theatre, actor James Riordan brings books to life through the lens of quiet and lovable “libravian” Lynn, who’s suddenly thrust into the spotlight. And in Whipped Up!, a server at a 1950s-style diner gears up for her very first day on the job, only to find that all her customers are babies. The show is designed for ages two and under and features plenty of sensory play to keep little ones entertained.
An annual event, the beloved Variety Show, will return on May 31. Liwanda Africa!’s Essombe will host the celebratory evening, which brings together artists from her own production alongside the Myrtle Sisters, Ginalina, and the performers of Won’Ma Africa and Luminarium.
Tickets to the Vancouver International Children’s Festival are now on sale. Each one purchased includes a special Activity Village wristband, which allows festivalgoers access to a family-friendly arts activity zone. 
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