The Niagara Children’s Festival is an exciting explosion of creativity, offering live theatre, performances and arts-based activities for young audiences and their families. Join us in downtown St. Catharines May 15 – 18 for a celebration of Arts & Culture for all ages!
The Niagara Children’s Festival extends Carousel Players’ commitment to inventive live performances with a weekend of activity where families throughout the Niagara region can engage with a multitude of cultural adventures designed especially for young people. Programming includes indoor and outdoor performances, paid and free programming, live music, interactive installations and opportunities for children to create things themselves.
Ticketed Theatre Programming
I Wish I Was a Mountain
Based on “Faldum”. A Fairy Tale by Hermann Hesse
Written and Performed by Toby Thompson
Age: 7+
Run Time: 45 minutes
Venue: Theatre @ The Marilyn I Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
Showtimes:
Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 7:00 pm
OPENING NIGHT!
Friday, May 16th, 2025 at 10:00 am
School Performance
SHOW DESCRIPTION
On the day of the famous annual fair, the town of Faldum receives an unexpected visit. A wanderer rides into town and offers to grant a wish to anyone who wants one: ‘what would you wish for, for what would you wish’. Getting what you want can be dangerous, as two of the townsfolk discover; one disappears into his own melody and the other becomes a lonely mountain.
I Wish I Was a Mountain uses rhyme, jazz music, and just a smattering of metaphysical philosophy to boldly reimagine Herman Hesse’s classic fairytale. Do we really need the things that we need? What do mountains feel? How did time begin? Adults are kindly requested to leave all answers to these questions at the door. Children, come as you are.
Direction and Dramaturgy by Lee Lyford
Designed by Anisha Field
Where The Wild Things Are
Based on the book by Maurice Sendak
Originally adapted for the stage by TAG Theatre Glasgow, Scotland
A Presentation House Theatre Production
Ages: 3-7
Run Time: ~65 mins
Venue: Studio C @ the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
Showtimes:
Saturday, May 17th 2025, 10:00 am
Saturday, May 17th 2025, 3:00 pm
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Sail away to the land of the Wild Things! Jump in and help Max transform his bedroom into an exotic jungle, then transport yourself to where the wild things are. After being crowned king of these magical creatures, Max must make a decision: stay and rule the Wild Things or return home. Based on the timeless children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, this interactive adventure by Presentation House is filled with guided play for ages 3 to 7. Together, young ones and their adults can join the wild ride!
This production of Where the Wild Things Are is an interactive experience. Audience members will be seated around the performance area on three large mats, with limited chairs provided at the back for grownups who may require a seat.
Directed by Kim Selody
Hare & Tortoise
Based on Aesop’s Fable of the same name, adapted by By Brendan Murray
A Carousel Players Production
For Ages 5-10
Run Time: ~60 minutes
Showtimes:
Saturday May 3, 2025 at 11:30am
@ The Pelham Community Centre
Saturday May 10, 2025 at 11:30am
@ The West Lincoln Community Centre
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Hare & Tortoise is a whimsical retelling of Aesop’s Fable about two friends who have opposite approaches to absolutely everything. As the seasons change from winter to spring, Hare impatiently waits for Tortoise to wake up so they can hurry up and have their race. But Tortoise has other things to do first: a little spring cleaning, taking care of the garden, and enjoying a holiday. Finally the race day arrives – but things don’t turn out the way Hare expected at all!
Tree: A World in itself
Created for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and adapted for children with intellectual disabilities and/or reduced mobility.
A production from Theatre Motus
Ages: 18 months+
Run Time: 35 Minutes
Venue: Studio B @ The Marilyn I Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
Showtimes:
Sunday, May 18th 2025 at 3:00 pm
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Settle into your cozy nest with the mama bird brooding her luminous eggs. The magical world of the tree will open up to you, with its insects and animals accompanied by soft or rhythmic music. The moon will rise to lull you to sleep with its stars and milky way, to give you the strength to take flight like a baby bird of light.
TREE: A World in Itself, was created for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and adapted for children with intellectual disabilities and/or reduced mobility. This adaptation is a multi-sensory, interactive universe enveloped in soft light, music, and silence, where five characters continually adapt to meet the needs of their audience. In an intimate and welcoming atmosphere, the performance offers a ratio of one performing artist per child to facilitate numerous personalized interactions with audience members.
Tree
a multi-sensory, interactive universe enveloped in soft light, music, and silence
A production from Theatre Motus
Ages: 0-3
Run Time: 35 Minutes
Venue: Studio A @ The Marilyn I Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
Showtimes:
Saturday, May 17th 2025 at 9:00 am
Saturday, May 17th 2025 at 1:00 pm
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Settle into your cozy nest with the mama bird brooding her luminous eggs. The magical world of the tree will open up to you, with its insects and animals accompanied by soft or rhythmic music. The moon will rise to lull you to sleep with its stars and milky way, to give you the strength to take flight like a baby bird of light.
TREE is an adaptation of our show TREE, a world in itself originally created for children with ASD. This version is specially intended for children aged 0 to 3.
Pop! Pop!
By Linda A. Carson, with Monica Dufault & Kim Selody
A Carousel Players Production
For Ages 2 – 4
Running Time: ~50 minutes
Showtimes:
Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 9:30am
@ The Pelham Community Centre
Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 9:30am
@ The West Lincoln Community Centre
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Pop! Pop! is a performance piece with sensory experiences, live music, adorable puppets – it’s lots of fun for children and adults alike. Two characters who are very different from each other are exploring a strange new world and finding surprises in this colourful sensory experience. One instinctively hides, the other instinctively seeks. Together they find lots of surprises that pop up everywhere!
Free Community Events & Performances
Bike Parade & Market
Join us for our Niagara Children’s Festival Kick Off Party! The FREE Bike Parade & Community Market is a chance for families to gather and celebrate arts, culture, community, and active transport in one evening of fun.
What’s a Bike Parade?
Bring your bike, or borrow one from our friends at Bike Me Up Niagara, and use materials provided to decorate it as if it was parade float. From streamers and signs to flashing lights and sparkles – your bike is sure to turn (helmeted) heads! Then, saddle up for a GIANT group ride through downtown St. Catharines led by Niagara Glow Riders!
5:30-6:30pm
– Browse goods from local artisans
– try to solve the interactive Pirate Mystery Adventure!
– Stock up on snacks or treat yourself from local food vendors
– Decorate your bike using materials provided, or bring your own!
6:30-7:00pm
– Cycle one of two loop routes (short & long) as a parade pack! — Return to the market homebase at Silver Spire United Church just in time for a….
7:00-8:00pm
– Family Friendly Dance Party with DJ Marinko!
There is no cost to participate in the Bike Parade, but we’d love to know if you’re planning to attend! RSVP for a free ticket to help us plan ahead
Weaving, Spinning, Fibres & Fun
An exciting hands-on look into the history of the Canada Haircloth Company which operated where the Marilyn Walker Centre is today. Our costumed interpreters will cover what kind of raw material get spun into yarn and how to turn that yarn into textiles. Hands on elements include guess where the fibre comes from, spinning fibre into yarn, and weaving a textile. Participants will get a cardboard loom to take with them and use their knowledge at home.
Saturday May 17 & Sunday May 18 at 10am on the Front Lawn
All Ages
Ni Nagamoon
Ni Nagamoon (Neheyiwak for “my song”) is a First Nation cultural sharing created and performed by Niagara-based performing artist, Nicole Joy-Fraser. Through storytelling and original hand drum songs, Nicole shares her Anishnaabe teachings, based on her journey and reclamation of Indigenous heritage.
Saturday May 17 at 1pm
Sunday May 18 at 1:30pm
60 minutes, All Ages
PK Hummingbird Steel Orchestra
The PK Hummingbird Steel Orchestra has been bringing Trinidadian soca to the Niagara Region for over 20 years! They provide free steel pan lessons to youths and their family, giving our members opportunities to learn music and perform within their community. Join us in the Raceway for 2 performances from the Steel Orchestra!
Saturday May 17 at 11am & 12:30pm
45 minutes, All Ages
Les Kakous
The Kakous, invite you to an encounter where fiction meets reality. The giant underground cavities where the Kakous usually live have been disturbed by a sudden change in their ecosystem. Forced to leave their unfathomable habitat, these two giant bipeds venture into unknown areas, sometimes urban and arid. What future awaits them? Will they live the same tragic fate as their distant cousin the Dodo…? Take a few steps into the unknown and join Los Kakous on this uncertain and improbable journey.
Saturday May 17 at 12pm & 2:30pm
Sunday May 18 at 12pm & 3pm
30 minutes, All Ages
Amadou Kienou
Master drummer Amadou Kienou hails from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa, once part of the vast ancient Mandingo Empire. A descendant of the Dafin people, Amadou was initiated as a djeli or griot (an oral historian), one of a long line of griots whose role is to preserve and transmit their people’s history, culture, and values. Nowadays, bringing the traditional to the contemporary, Amadou delights international audiences with his unique polyrhythmic expression of emotions and memories.
Sunday, May 18 at 12:30pm
60 minutes, All Ages
Bubbles & Sidewalk Chalk
Dance through a sea of bubbles and make bubbles of all shapes and sizes. Create a giant mural with sidewalk chalk
Ongoing throughout Festival in the Raceway
All Ages
Face Painting
Let your inner sparkle shine with fun and creative face painting by Happy Ducky Face Painting!
Saturday May 17 & Sunday May 18, 10am-4pm, The Raceway @ The Marilyn
All Ages
Creation Station & Kite Making
Get creative with kite building and crafting for all ages!
Ongoing festival Programming May 17 & 18, 2025
Ages 2+
Dino-Pal Discovery
Urgent! Dino friends needed!
Our newest dinosaur is feeling gloomy, and we need your help! Join our team of Pal-eontologists and learn all the tricks to becoming a dino’s best friend. Play ring toss, dig for fossils, and learn to speak “dino” as you complete your quest to make our dinosaur smile!
Dino-Pal Discovery is a free, family-friendly event for kids from 2-10
Ongoing festival Programming May 17 & 18, 2025
Ages 2+
AND SO MUCH MORE!
We can’t wait to see you at the Niagara Children’s Festival!
We acknowledge that the land on which we create, teach, and engage with our community is, was, and always will be the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, the Attiwonderon, the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation, and the Wendat Peoples. We recognize that Carousel’s workspaces are located on lands covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and are part of the Dish with One Spoon wampum covenant.
We recognize that we have a role to play in reconciling our relationship with the Indigenous people of this region, and we are actively working to uplift the voices of Indigenous creators through our programming, new play development, and community collaborations.
Learn more about the Truth & Reconciliation Commission and the 94 Calls to Action
Questions about your festival pass or how to get involved with the festival? Reach out to festival@carouselplayers.com.
