CALM AMID WHIRLWIND
St. Albert International Children’s Festival introduces project designed to make the event more enjoyable for youngsters with special needs
Children’s festivals are often bright, noisy, crowded affairs during which youngsters are reminded to sit still and keep quiet.
This particular set of contradictions can be hard to cope with for many children, but particularly for those who have autism or other sensory processing disorders. That’s why, for the first time, the St. Albert International Children’s Festival of the Arts has launched a program, designed along with the Centre for Autism Services Alberta and Autism Edmonton, to help children with special needs.
Funded in part by a $25,000 grant by the Edmonton Community Foundation, the pilot project offers a variety of supports, such as sensory kits equipped with noise and light-dampening devices to help manage overstimulation, and calming zones in trailers where folks can go for a quiet break. New tools for navigation, including colour-coded zones marked with flags, will make it easier for everybody to get around.
“We thought we were always inclusive, but as we began to talk to parents in the community, we learned there was actually a more significant proportion of the population that were nervous about the festival, saw barriers and found it overwhelming,” says Caitlin North, festival programmer.
Kristi Rouse hopes having extra support will enable children like her nine-year-old son Nathan, who has autism spectrum disorder, to attend the festival without being upset by the plethora of sounds, sights and lights. She remembers taking Nathan to the festival when he was about three.
“It was way too much for him,” Rouse says. “Add in the complexity of language challenges, and that they can’t express that it’s hurting to be there. So they communicate in the only way they know how, and that is to react adversely. He had a meltdown, and autism families know a meltdown.”
Suffice to say, Rouse wasn’t in a hurry to go back to the festival. But now Nathan is older, and with the help of the sensory support kit’s sunglasses (to dim the glare) and headphones (to dull the sound), he could enjoy a children’s show that otherwise might not work for him.
This year, for the first time, slight adjustments have been made to make one festival show more inclusive. The Rainbow Fish, produced by the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, takes place on Sunday, June 3 at 11:30 a.m.
“It’s a much more relaxed environment and that’s something I’m looking to develop more as we move into programming for next year,” says North.
The show is a black-light puppet performance set in a shimmering seascape. Mermaid Theatre artistic director Jim Morrow says it’s a gentle show suitable for children with sensory disorders. It’s also a “non-shushing” show that encourages children to interact vocally with the performance, so if a child needs to make a little noise, that’s OK, too.
“A lot of entertainment for young children is loud and flashy because you’re trying to stimulate the child,” Morrow says. “We slow things down instead of speeding things up.”
Of course, the sensory pilot program is only one of the highlights of the 37th annual festival, which is the largest of its kind in North America and sees 50,000 attendees. There are eight main stage shows in four venues, and six of them run throughout the festival, including the weekend. North says she aims to bring in a diverse range of artistic performances, including dance, theatre, puppetry and circus arts.
Highlight performances include a reboot of Thumbelina that blends dance, puppetry and live music, and Neverland, a Peter Pan origin story that sends aerialists, tumblers and jugglers whirling across the stage. Ontario’s The StepCrew fuses Irish step dance and modern tap. Singing Africa with Jacky Essombe! immerses children in the traditions, history and culture of Africa.
There are 10 sites with activities covering a variety of visual arts, performing arts, plus roving animators and crafts. Métis Roses, presented by the Musee Heritage Museum, is a display of beadwork, with a moving introduction to the Witness Blanket, a large-scale art reconciliation project. Beadwork Blossoms lets children learn more about Métis crafts, hear traditional stories and make their own flower bead bracelets to take home.
“Kids can get in there and get their hands dirty and learn to make things,” says North.
A free app for your smartphone helps plan the day on-site. It’s also possible for parents and children to visit the festival without spending a cent, as there are numerous free activities such as outdoor stage shows, a photo booth and airbrush tattoos.