The Taipei City Government and the Taipei Children's Theater Association (台北市兒童戲劇協會) are teaming up again this summer to host the 2006 Taipei Children's Arts Festival (台北市兒童藝術節), a monthlong fiesta of activities and exhibits for kids.
The Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs (台北市文化局) is expanding this year's festival by adding foreign theater troupes and more performances to the lineup, according to Teng Tsung-te (鄧宗德), a department spokesman.
“We're making the festival bigger in a geographic sense, too,” Teng told the Taipei Times. “This year, [museums and venues in] Ilan and Taipei counties will also be associated with the event, whereas last year, the festival was limited to Taipei City.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Elisa Lin (林家宇), Taipei Children's Theater Association spokeswoman, said that 35 museums and cultural centers will participate in the festival, which begins tomorrow and ends Aug. 12.
“Last year, only 20 museums, parks, and cultural centers took part, so it's quite an increase,” Lin said, adding that over 100 events are scheduled.
Among the events, performances by foreign theater troupes from the UK (Tall Stories Theatre Company), Spain (Teatro de las Maravillas) and Austria (MOKI Children's Theater), have received top billing. Additionally, three Taiwanese troupes — If Kids Theater (如果兒童劇團), 123 Troupe (壹貳參戲劇團), and Hai Sun Taiwanese Opera (海山戲館) — are expected to draw big crowds, Teng said.
Although the above six troupes' venues will charge admission from NT$150 to NT$200 per performance, plenty of other children's theater troupes' performances will be free; at least 10 such outdoor performances are scheduled to be held at the Songshan Tobacco Factory (松山煙廠) and in Da-an Park (大安公園) in Taipei throughout the festival.
The festival will open with a free puppet show (Pinokio) to be performed jointly by a troupe from Serbia and Montenegro and Taiwan's own Ju Percussion Group 2 (朱宗慶打擊樂園2) at the Songshan Tobacco Factory tomorrow.
To help kids keep tabs on all that the festival has to offer, the cultural affairs department is circulating free “Kid Passports” (童心護照) — booklets containing detailed information on the shows and exhibits — among Taipei schools and MRT stations.
Holders of the “Kid Passport” are eligible for a discount on festival performances and activities.
The festival, first held in the summer of 2002, is in its fifth year, and is growing rapidly. According to Teng, 40,000 children took part last year; in 2004, 30,000 children participated.
“As the festival expands, we're getting more confident in organizing it,” Teng said.
“Virtually all the domestic children's theater troupes have performed at the festival in the past, and this year is no exception — they're eager to perform. What's more, this year, we've included more privately run cultural centers and museums in addition to city government venues — if a local business has exhibits or activities for youngsters, chances are, it will be included in this year's festival,” Teng said.
“Many of the festival's activities are free to the public and conveniently located, so it's easy for families to attend. Secondly, many of the performances are held in the evening, so working parents have the chance to take their kids to the plays. Holding performances at night is also best in the summer, when daytime temperatures are quite high,” Teng added.
A mini-film festival is also included in this year's children's arts festival; 10 movies geared towards younger audiences will be shown throughout the festival at museums and the Taipei Library. Times and locations are listed on pages 18 and 19 of the Kid Passport, and can also be found at movie.sco.com.tw/movie/mindex.htm. The passport also lists the participating cultural centers and museums, detailing what they will offer in terms of their exhibits and/or activities.
For those who can't locate a passport (they seem to be in short supply at MRT stations), the organizers have an English-language Web site which can be found at kids.culture.gov.tw/ec/en_index.htm and which lists theater performance times and locations. Free outdoor performances will be held nightly from tomorrow through Wednesday starting each day at 6pm, at the Songshan Tobacco Factory.
Free evening plays will also be held from Aug. 8 to Aug. 12, also starting at 6pm, at Da-an Park. Each show will be performed by a different troupe.
Shows for which tickets are being sold will be held at either Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂) or the Taipei Cultural Center, Wenshan Branch (社教館文山分館). Detailed information is included on the festival's Web site or in the “Kid Passports.”
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