Excitement is building at the 6th annual Ilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival (宜蘭國際童玩藝術節). In just the first two days of the event, approximately 32,000 adults and children have visited the event held at the Chinshui Water Park along the Tungshan River (冬山河親水公園) in Luotung. Hundreds of thousands more are expected in the next 40 days as the Ilan County government hopes to exceed last year's number of 840,000 attendees.
"It's very fun and cooling!" are some of the words heard most often in the park, as adults and children alike dive into the main playing area at the center of the 20 hectare space. At T-Battle, boys shoot long water guns at each other. On the Reverse Water Labyrinth, bodies tumble on the soft but sinking surface and roll from side to side as water squirts from above. The Water Labyrinth has proven to be the favorite place among teenagers -- with techno music heard from most everywhere in the park and the water shooting up from their feet, they dance. One college student from California said that, "It's like a rave -- a really clean rave, but everybody is having so much fun!"
PHOTO: EMILY WU, TAIPEI TIMES
Indeed, that was the intention. Ilan County Commissioner Liu Shou-Cheng (劉守成) previously said the point of this festival is to "let our Taiwanese children have a fun and joyful summer. ... The government that can bring children happiness is a good government," he said.
PHOTO: EMILY WU, TAIPEI TIMES
Besides the games, giggles and laughter can also be heard from the various exhibition halls, as children weave their way through sound-making bamboo at the Sonorous Sculpture or as they travel to the corners of the Magic Garden, where original drawings of Hans Christian Andersen's stories are being shown. Among the exhibits is an illustration of The Little Match Girl, by popular Taiwanese artist Jimmy Cheng (
Reported to be the first and only festival in the world dedicated to children, it has attracted tourists from all parts of Taiwan. For visitors, the festival is an escape from hum-drum average days, but Ilan residents have a different perspective.
PHOTO: EMILY WU, TAIPEI TIMES
One taxi driver, age 42, who grew up in Ilan, voiced his discontent. "We Ilan people enjoy peacefulness and quietness. I live right next to the water park and I enjoy not needing to close my front door at night when I go to bed. But this festival, although revitalizing the town, disturbs our normal living routine. There're too many cars on the street now, too many people walking around."
His sentiment is not sahred by many, however.
"[The festival] has been a good time for the town because it boosts the economy," said another taxi driver who grew up in Ilan. "Hotels that are normally empty are now overbooked, and restaurants are getting more money as well. As for us [taxi drivers], there isn't too much difference in our income each day, but it's nice seeing new faces in town."
These new faces include not only Taiwanese from other areas, but the foreigners from various dance groups, an essential part of the festival. This year, 24 international groups are visiting. Thus far, some 13 groups from Australia Brazil, Chile, India, Nepal, Peru, South Africa and many other places have already performed. Most of the dancers, ranging from 8 to 17 years old, are on their first visit to Taiwan.
"Although it's very hot, we love it here because the organization is superb," said Mario Garcia Siani, the leader of a group from Paraguay.
The Ilan County government has assigned each visiting group one or two translators to serve as tour guides. What's more, over 200 college students have volunteered to help with the event, many serving as security guards outside the visitors' dorm rooms at Ilan Technical University, where the guests from every corner of the globe have free reign of the university's basketball and volleyball courts. "They treat us very well," Siani said.
While the groups are mainly here to perform, Dragan Pantelic, art director of Yugoslavia's Folk Dancer Ensemble Talija, said they are finding personal time. "We steal time and have fun." When not rehearsing, all of its members scatter and enjoy the water. "We run fast and play hard so the organizers can't find us!"
According to Ilan County government, NT$100 billion has been spent in years past preparing for promoting the 44 day-long festival. Last year's revenue reportedly contributed NT$200 million to Ilan County coffers. When asked what the expected revenue for this year should be, Liu modestly replied that it should be more than the county spent on the event.
With some 40 days of the festival remaining, and given the excitement among both attendees and international guests, the festival is on track to be a huge success.
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