Enchanting live entertainment for children

Music, magic and make-believe will be the order of the day at University of Southern Queensland's annual Children's Festival from 1-10 June 2007.

The Breez Finance Children's Festival will provide a wonderful assortment of creative opportunities for children aged five years and up. Running over ten days, the program includes three classic fairytales, an interactive art exhibition with workshops and a musical story.

The Ugly Ducking, The Wild Swans and The Twelve Dancing Princesses will take children into a world of fantasy and explore everyday issues like belonging and friendship.

Director of Wild Swans, Bernadette Pryde said the entire festival would provide children with an experience of live, engaging entertainment.

'The festival is often their first experience of the arts. From a young age children can be given permission to enter a world of fiction.

'They are allowed to use their imagination which is different to visual culture where all the images are there for them and they don't have to think about it at all.

'Each story has its own message. In Wild Swans the people who come to see it regardless of whether they are children or adults will see the exploration of what we are willing to do for those we love.'

On the music program, Pee Wee the Piccolo will offer children a chance to 'meet' the many instruments of an orchestra.

Performed by the USQ Orchestra with narration throughout, Pee Wee will be joined by a performance of Saint Saens' zoological adventure, Carnival of the Animals.

Conductor Martin Crook said the vibrant story is about a little piccolo who loses his solo will delight children with its musical colour.

'They get a snippet of each instrument as each instrument represents an animal or a character,' he said.

'It's a charming little story of something that's lost and found again.'

Throughout the Festival, Painted Bridges, an exhibition created by children for children will be showing in the Arts Gallery.

Showcasing the creative collaborations between children living in Toowoomba, central Australia and other parts of the world including Nepal, Nigeria and Indonesia, this interactive exhibition will allow visitors to post letters to the participating young artists from across the globe.

Curator of the exhibition Damien Kamholtz said children will have the opportunity to participate in workshops including traditional hand designs, grass puppet art and drawing and letter-writing.

Please contact the USQ Box Office on 07 4631 1111 or www.usq.edu.au/performancecentre for more information.

Media Contact:  Jane Urquhart, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559