Vendors with popcorn, candy and colorful T-shirts filled the lobby of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as a Penn tradition celebrated 20 years of bringing art and culture to children throughout the region.
On Sunday, the Philadelphia International Children's Festival kicked off a weeklong stint of acrobatic, musical, comedy and dance performances specifically geared toward the smallest of audiences.
Since its inception in 1985, the festival has had a clearly defined goal: "For children to see, touch and feel multicultural, ancient and modern art forms that will help them begin to find and understand their place in the world," according to a press release. This year, the festival will help fulfill this aim for an estimated 20,000 young people and their families.
Presenting some of the highest quality performing arts -- created especially for children -- are groups and individual performers hailing from China, Canada, Kenya and West Africa, as well as the United States. Performing on the stages of both the Annenberg Center and the Iron Gate Theatre, the acts include BAM, Jamie Adkins, Gansango Music & Dance, Jabali Acrobats, Jack-Five-Oh, Mark Jaster and Stars of the Peking Acrobats.
Thirteen-year-old spectator Marissa Hamilton said of the performances, "I like the costumes and the masks and the dancers and the music."
In addition to the several scheduled performances held indoors, on the outdoor plaza of the Annenberg Center will be jugglers, musicians and storytellers on some afternoons. Also, international artisans will share their skills with the children in attendance, helping them create their own paintings, instruments and tapestries, among other treasures.
While the festival's events and performances are indeed designed with a younger audience in mind, adults can certainly enjoy the experience as well.
"It was exciting for both kids and adults, which I think makes it especially attractive," Department of Pediatrics professor Gary Blobel, parent of 4-year-old Andreas, said of Sunday's happenings.
Several families, including the Colemans of Bucks County, have made the festival an annual event.
"We've been here lots of times," said Judy Coleman, mother of 10-year-old Aidan and 5-year-old Anna.
Brian Joyce has attended the festival every year since it began, but not as a spectator. Joyce has worked with the festival since its conception and for the past 12 years has been the director. However, this festival will be Joyce's last, as he is stepping down from his positions as both festival director and director of audience services and children's programming at the Annenberg Center.
Joyce is leaving the festival feeling proud of what it has accomplished and hopeful of what it will continue to become in the future.
"It's a tremendous honor to watch [the festival] grow in its 20th year," Joyce said. "Most arts events don't continue to grow in their 20th year."
"I think that children are more important to our future, and art is more important to their future than anything I could imagine," Joyce added. "It's been an absolute blessing."
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
