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Performances, interactive creativity classes and more are part of the 10th annual Children’s Arts Festival in Richmond on Family Day, Feb. 12. The event is presented by Lansdowne Centre.

Photo courtesy City of Richmond

Imagination, creativity and fun go into Children’s Art Festival

By Don Fennell

Published 4:22 PST, Wed January 10, 2018

Last Updated: 2:12 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021

Fun awaits kids of all ages at the upcoming Richmond Children’s Arts Festival.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on Family Day (Monday, Feb. 12), the popular event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Richmond Cultural Centre will be filled with creative interaction, entertainment and more.

Presented by Lansdowne Centre, the festival will feature multiple zones in which participants can enjoy fun performances, engage in hands-on arts and crafts or sign up for creativity classes led by professional artists.

General festival admission, which is $5, allows participants to check out the Sonic Garden and Art Alley presenting live performances by Big Easy Funk Ensemble, Kutapira, The Blues Berries, Magic 2 Go, and Circus West among others.

The festival’s many Imagination Stations offer the chance to create everything from tie dye t-shirts to scratch animation with Cinevolution.

Some 30 artist-led creativity classes affords participants access to a hands-on interactive class led by a professional artist, with a range of visual and performing arts including puppet making, hip hop music, and clay creations. Registration at richmond.ca/register or by calling 604-276-4300 is required for all creativity classes, with the fee including general admission. Many creativity classes sell out in advance of the festival.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary, children will also have opportunities to shape and participate in this year’s programming. New this year will be a cardboard challenge inspired by the documentary film, aine’s Arcade, that featured a cardboard arcade created by a nine-year-old in East Los Angeles. Participants can create their own arcade games from cardboard and other recycled material. There will be a sneak preview event at Lansdowne Centre on Saturday, Feb. 3 from noon to 3 p.m. including a mini arcade atmosphere with fun music and balloons. The top 10 games from the Lansdowne event will be featured at the festival on Family Day.

Youth will also have a chance to run away to the circus. Figuratively-speaking, of course.

Circus West will be visiting local classes to give students a peek into the world of circus. A few of the students participating will be incorporated into the performance with the Circus West cast, to be given the opportunity to perform at the festival in front of a live audience.

Advance sales of general festival admission passes are now available at Lansdowne Centre; visit customer service during mall hours to purchase (cash only).

The Richmond Children’s Arts Festival is presented by Lansdowne Centre with support from Cowell Auto Group, Ikea Richmond and Kin’s Farm Market. Community partners are Minoru Seniors Centre, Richmond Art Gallery and Richmond Public Library.

For full event details, visit www.childrensartsfestival.ca.