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The Kamloops Arts Council excitedly announces that the Children’s Arts Festival is set to make its in-person return on Saturday, September 17, 2022. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., guests are invited to attend Riverside Park East to partake in a fun-filled, creative day featuring artistic, musical, and theatrical activities and performances for children ages 2 to 12. The Children’s Arts Festival is completely free of cost, so all who are able are encouraged to join this long-standing community event.
The theme for this year’s Festival is entitled “Rivers to Rainbows” and aims to celebrate the water, earth, and sky that surrounds us. Vendors will not only draw inspiration from all Mother Nature has to offer but are also encouraged to be conscientious of their booth’s impact on the environment. To keep our rivers and rainbows beautiful, the Kamloops Arts Council hopes to see all workshops be executed with primarily recycled and/or recyclable materials to keep the event as sustainable and eco-conscious as possible. The Arts Council also hopes to bring educational elements to the Festival this year, with workshops on topics such as water filtration and garden care, as well as explaining the magic behind the formation of rainbows. Performers will aim to incorporate eco-friendly messaging into their presentations as well, while adorned in their most prismatic outfits.
Aside from attending the workshops, guests are welcome to dress up in their most fantastical, rainbow-themed costumes to match the artist and community booths. Children aged 2 to 12 will have the opportunity to show off their colourful costumes and eye-catching art during the big, beautiful rainbow parade at the conclusion of the event, though a costume is not mandatory to participate, only encouraged. Guests also have the opportunity to spruce up their looks further with face or hand paint, as well as henna, all of which will be available free of cost at the festival.
Along with the show-stopping parade, guests can expect a plethora of hands-on activities such as button-making, origami, and paper “stained glass”, to name a few. There will also be story-telling, interactive songs, dancing, and so much more supplied by performing artists from all over British Columbia. To ensure that the fun can continue all day long, food trucks are anticipated to be present in the park so that families can enjoy the full breadth of all the Arts Festival has to offer without stepping foot outside of Riverside Park.
Additionally, if the day’s excitement begins to feel overwhelming, the Arts Council plans to have a “quiet zone” for those that may need a breather.
For those unavailable on September 17, the Arts Council aims to host Rivers to Rainbows workshops before the big day to create crafts that can be enjoyed outside of the festival, as well as to be used in the concluding parade.
Running for over twenty-two years, The Children’s Arts Festival affords a great opportunity for children of all backgrounds to engage in amazing arts activities at completely no cost. The Festival aims to make memories that will last a lifetime and with its imaginative theme of Rivers to Rainbows, it is guaranteed to make an impact. The Festival is shaping up to be a fabulously magical, educational, sensational day, and The Kamloops Arts Council hopes to see lots of smiling, rainbow-adorned faces on Saturday, September 17, 2022 in Riverside Park.
Interested in being a part of this year’s festival? Email Marta at events@kamloopsarts.ca
For more information, please visit the Kamloops Arts Council website at
www.kamloopsarts.ca.
