Fred Penner and Flyin’ Bob are set to dazzle young audiences at the fourth annual Central Alberta Children’s Festival to be held on Friday and Saturday, June 4 and 5.
The family event that’s expected to attract 7,500 people to the Rotary Recreation Park in Red Deer costs $5 for an “anytime” pass that allows patrons to come and go all weekend long.
Penner, an affable Winnipeg-based children’s musician best known for his CDs and the TV show Fred Penner’s Place that ran to 1997 on CBC, will entertain for an hour on the festival stage at 10:45 a.m. on Friday and 12:45 p.m. on Saturday.
He will also host a workshop for educators on the morning of Thursday, June 3, and will be signing autographs from 3 to 5 p.m. that afternoon in the Snell Auditorium of the Public Library. To register for the workshop, go online to www.fsca.ca
Red Deer acrobat Flyin’ Bob will perform his high-flying act at the festival at 12:45 p.m. on Friday and 10:45 a.m. on Saturday — followed by an array of other children’s entertainers.
Festival organizer Judy Scott said members of the Red Deer Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, Tree House Youth Theatre, local aboriginal and Polynesian dance troupes, and a hoola-hoop entertainer from Edmonton will take the stage throughout the two days.
As well, there are plans for a maze, bouncing castle, and numerous activity centres for children to explore mapping, science and cultural crafts. Among the centres that will allow families to be active and have fun together are the Imagination Station, Bubble Tub and Science World.
Snack stations will be available at the festival, as well as a water station — but patrons are asked to bring their own water bottles to fill up, as a green initiative.
This year’s festival received a $20,600 federal grant from the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage fund from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The event is organized by the Village Gate Parent Link Centre and Family Services of Central Alberta, with the help of sponsors including the Red Deer Public Library, Parkland Mall, Chinook’s Edge School Division, Piper Creek Optimists Club, Servus Credit Union, Understanding the Early Years, and the Alberta Foundation of the Arts.
Anyone else who wants to become a sponsor or to help out at the festival as a volunteer can call Scott at 403-309-8222.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com