Hey, baby, this fest’s for you

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/06/2018 (2965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kidsfest turns 36 this year, but organizers and entertainers are thinking younger and younger with every passing year.

While children’s entertainers continue to focus on kids of all ages when they take the stage, a growing group of artists is focusing its energies on what might be the toughest of crowds — toddlers and babies.

“When I go see those shows… I watch the audience more than I watch the show,” says Neal Rempel, the artistic director of the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, Kidsfest’s formal moniker. “You get to see babies and one- and two-year-olds who are actively engaged. It’s become it’s own niche.”

“There has to be an interactive and tactile component. That is crucial. Some of the best shows I’ve seen for toddlers, they always finish with babies and toddlers getting to go onstage and touching everything. Get their hands (on items) and whack on things.

Rempel looks forward to welcoming two groups — Quebec-based Plastique and British Columbia’s Ruploops — whose theatrical styles are tailored to the youngest of audiences.

Plastique’s idea of fun is like a toddler’s: give them a plastic bag or two and let their imaginations run wild. Plastique has seven performances scheduled over the festival’s four days and Thursday’s 10 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. shows will be performed in French as part of Kidfest’s Journée Franco-fun Day.

“It’s basically two actors with plastic bags and they play with them the way kids play with inanimate objects,” Rempel says. “As a parent, it’s like when Christmas comes and your little wee ones play with the boxes that the toys come in more than the toys themselves.

“The bags become all these characters. It’s so playful and full of joy.”

Ruploops, who is an educator as well as a children’s performer, offers interactive musical performances using many different types of instruments from around the world.

Rempel is confident young children and parents will warm to these new performers and this new genre of children’s entertainment will become a permanent fixture at future Kidfests.

“That is our hope over the next couple of years,” he says. “Some of the stuff I’m looking at for 2019 is going in that direction in a big way.”

Kidsfest returns to its home at The Forks when all the fun begins Thursday, June 7. As usual, performers will take to the outdoor stages and street performers will entertain all around the site during the fest’s four days. Kidsfest will also take advantage of the nearby Manitoba Theatre for Young People stage, where Plastique and Ruploops will perform.

It’s the first time Kidfest will use the MTYP stage, and Rempel says the move is part of a long-term strategy for the festival

For those interested in circus-performer-style entertainment, Rempel recommends checking out acrobat Li Liu (Thursday and Friday, 10:30 a.m.; Saturday, 1:15 p.m., and Sunday at 3:30 p.m., Festival Park) and Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy. He combines juggling prowess with a crack sense of humour (Friday, noon; Saturday, noon and 3:30 p.m. and Sunday, noon and 2:30 p.m., Festival Park) and returns to Kidsfest after a successful appearance a few years back.

“(Liu) has a very classic circus show. Acrobatic bicycle routines and there’s some contortion involved,” Rempel says. “She’s very highly skilled. We’re lucky to have her.

“(Hilby) was so popular, people just absolutely lost their minds over him,” he says. “The jokes just keep on coming from him. He’s a machine.”

Two of Kidsfest’s cast of Winnipeg performers — Al Simmons and Fred Penner — also return for 2018. Penner, who performs with the Cat’s Meow Band daily at the Big Top (Thursday, 1:45 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon) has missed only one Kidsfest in his career, Rempel says.

Meanwhile, the zany Simmons has five performances at the Big Top (Thursday at noon; Friday, 1 p.m., Saturday, 2:45 p.m. and Sunday at 1:45 p.m. and 4 p.m.).

“We are extremely lucky to have them as a core base of children’s music and entertainment,” Rempel says. “(Penner) continues to pack them in. There’s a new generation of Fred-heads; kids who grew up with his television show now have kids of their own.

“Al is just a special case,” Rempel adds.

“I’m always pleased when Al can come to the festival. The vibe that he brings makes it a goofier place.”

For a full list of performers and schedules, as well as a link to purchasing tickets online,visit kidsfest.ca.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca Twitter:@AlanDSmall