After a strong start to the Ottawa International Children’s Festival earlier this week, organizers are expecting thousands more people this weekend.
By the time the festival at LeBreton Flats wraps up on Sunday, more than 15,000 people will have attended the festival.
“The weekend, we have a couple of really big extravaganzas,” said the festival’s artistic director Catherine O’Grady.
“We have a Korean drumming ensemble, a physical theatre show and theatre shows at Library and Archives.”
On site at LeBreton Flats, there will be jugglers and stilt walkers, activities in the Barney Danson Theatre and circus workshops, as well as an Imagination Station, where visual artists help kids create art, said O’Grady.
“There’s something for all ages and all abilities,” O‚Grady said.
The festival fills a niche in the city, she said. “There isn’t anything in the city that presents professional theatre for young people and their families. There are so few opportunities for families to do stuff that they can experience together and talk about.”
The festival isn’t about passive entertainment, said O’Grady.
“It’s about an interactive, artistic experience, that requires kids to be engaged as active (participants), not passive viewers.”
