The Philadelphia International Children’s Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary from April 25 to May 1. This year’s festivities will be concentrated at the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, located at 3680 Walnut St.
The show, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, is an accomplishment of Penn Presents, the performing arts division of the Annenberg Center. The seven-day event is the largest and oldest of its kind in the United States. It features more than 60 performances designed to educate, entertain and expand children’s cultural horizons, as well as to provide a rewarding experience for parents, performers and educators.
“Easily, the most rewarding thing is realizing that kids are not just kids – they are also human beings,” said Robert Drake, a member of KID’S CORNER, a children’s radio program that will be a featured event at the Festival. “Hearing the unique level of knowledge and the passion for life in the voices of the kids is inspiring!”
The Festival’s Web site chronicles its history since inception. The Philadelphia International Children’s Festival has brought together more than 350,000 young people and families of all backgrounds through both the performance arts and hands-on visual arts created expressly for children.
Among some of the activities is StageWorks, which will be held at the Annenberg Center’s Outdoor Plaza. The event will feature established and emerging regional performing artists, jugglers, storytellers and musicians.
For more hands-on entertainment, the festival features PlayWorks, also at the Outdoor Plaza, which will showcase international artisans currently living in the region. They will work with children, creating crafts such as African drums, Hmong tapestry, Pazanki egg painting, Native American dream catchers and Peruvian sundials.
There are also various special events scheduled, including the annual “WXPN’S ‘Kids Corner’ with Kathy O’Connell, Live from the Festival” on Tuesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. This year’s broadcast will recreate the sound and feel of an old-time radio play, complete with actors from Brat Productions, the 30s-style band Swing City and old-fashioned sound effects.
KID’S CORNER is a daily radio program produced by WXPN-FM and is a service of the University of Pennsylvania. Its primary mission is to provide entertaining and educational programming for children through its interactive segments.
Tickets for the Philadelphia International Children’s Festival are $12 for the first show and $6 for the same number of tickets purchased for each additional show. For tickets and other information, call (215) 898-3900 or visit their Web site at www.PennPresents.org.
Sara Getz can be reached at sgetz418@temple.edu
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