Kidsfest celebrates 40 years of fun

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/06/2022 (1558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CODY SELLAR

STAFF REPORTER

WINNIPEG

It’s been 40 years of singing, dancing, acrobatic fun. It’s been goofy fun, happy fun, pure and unadulterated fun — which is a child’s favourite sort of fun, the kind without adult things mucking it up (that is what unadulterated means, right?).

The Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, or Kidsfest, will be celebrating its 40th anniversary when the four-day festival kicks off at The Forks June 9.

Neal Rempel, the festival’s executive producer and head honcho for the past 23 years, said he was so busy getting things ready, he hadn’t given any thought to the milestone. When pressed, Rempel took a moment to consider. He’s been working at the festival in one capacity or another since its first year in 1983.

“I’m a parent and I’m a grandparent, and it’s like watching a child grow up,” Rempel said.

The first Kidsfest played out at Assiniboine Park before moving to Kildonan Park. It became the first public festival at The Forks in 1989, and the festival has remained there since.

Rempel said the festival has always had a simple goal in mind.

“We’re trying to bring families together and help create family memories through the arts, because the mission is basically to help demonstrate the worth of the live arts experience,” he said.

On the back of two years of show closures due to the pandemic, the need for live performance is likely greater than ever, Rempel said.

Another important aspect of Kidsfest is its multiculturalism, Rempel said.

“We make sure that every child is represented on stage. So, they see somebody up there doing something fantastic, they think, ‘you know what, maybe I can do something like that,’” he said.

Rempel, who performed circus acts at the show in some years, said performing for children is a singular experience.

“They are the toughest audiences and the best audiences. They’ve got a bullcrap meter that is keenly, keenly honed,” he chuckled. “They know if you’re not being truthful.”

Al Simmons is one performer whose wacky authenticity regularly wins over these discerning audiences.

Simmons, who has been playing the festival since it began and estimates he’s hit the stage for 30 of its 40 years, said playing these sorts of shows is his “life force.”

“Hearing laughter — just me on stage making people laugh makes me feel better,” he said.

It also lifts the crowds spirits, only one of the reasons Simmons said festivals like Kidsfest are “absolutely crucial.”

“You leave there with all the memories and the laughs and that lasts you for years. In the kitchen, helping do dishes with the family, you remark on something you saw at the festival, or you re-enact it or something — that really holds the family together,” Simmons said.

The Juno-winning performer credits the Winnipeg festival for being a driving force in his career.

“I could say that the kids’ festival is what inspired me because I would be there every year. And every year I would think, well, what am I going to do next year because I don’t want to repeat what I did,” he said. “And I’m still using the material I thought up for that.”

Other performers include Fred Penner, the Kif-Kif Sisters, RupLoops, Coffieman and more. Find more information or buy tickets ($11.50-$40) at www.kidsfest.ca