WHO TO CALL: Community Editor Entertainment Editor Andrew McCredie Layne Christensen 985-2131 (147) 985-2131 (118) rst LY SHIA A eA ly LR spotlight feature HE VANCOUVER International Children’s Festival is all grown up. What began as a theatre festival for children and young people has grown into a world-class, million- dollar arts jamboree that reg- wWarly draws crowds of 80,000 little people and their parents. Each spring hundreds of school- aged children from as far away as Washington state are bused into beautiful Vanier Park to see and hear their idols Raffi, Fred Penner and Sharon, Lois and Bram; experience strolling street enter- tainers and clowns; have their faces painted and cram in to see performers from South Africa, China and South America under ihe big, candy-striped tents. In short, they come to have almost every kind of fun. And fun, like music, is an intemational ‘language. “We like to say that we’ve had per- formers from every continent except Antarctic,” laughs festival promoter Janet Miller. Although there’s never been an official count taken (the festi- val doesn’t have turn- stiles) the biggest year for attendance a Port Day... nee 4 | B Table Hopping...........15 & TV Listings... STORIES was the year the festival invited Raffi, Fred Penner and Sharon, Lois and Bram. Ninety thousand tykes and their parents flooded into Vanier Park, creating a kind of prepubescent Woodstock, minus the drugs and mud, of course. (“It was almost too big for the park,” Miller recalls.) The festival was the brainchild of former executive director und West Vancouver resident Ernic Fladell. A former social planner with the City of Vanconver, Fladell was the mind behind Habitat, the United Nations Conference on Housing that Vancouver hosted in 1976, He dreamed up the idea for a cultural program to coincide with Habitat, and that program grew — and grew like someone who ate all of their veggies — into the children's festi- val. The festival is now considered a major force in children’s entertain- ment, and its influence is felt far beyond Vanier Park. Every year executive director Marjorie MacLean, who took over from Fladell when he retired three ane gin Photos Jeff Malmgren CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINERS, face painters, clowns and street performers from as far away as South Africa and China will come together beneath candy-striped tents years ago, travels to different loca- tions in search of musical talent. The festival also works closely with Lower Mainland schools. pro- viding both in-class performances as well as arranging for school-day fes- tival visits. And Vancouver, which was the first, and is stil] the biggest children’s festival in the world, has become a model for other cities thinking of start- ing their own chil- dren's festivals, “Anywhere you go in North America, Vancouver is rec- ognized as the definitive chil- . dren's festival,” when the International this month. critics’ AVERAGE 1. Forrest Gump (new). 006 0.) oe 2. Terminal Velocity (new) Puppet Masters (new) 4. Quiz Show 5: Shawehank Redéripiion’ 6. The Specialist 7 Blue Sky 8. The River Wild 9. Angeis'in the Outfield 10. Stargate WW: selection of VIDEO GAMES! »New release Super Nintendo & ‘Sega Genesis arriving: ~ EVERY WEEK! - Vancouver Children’s Festival hits Vanier Park fater See More page 24 VIOLENCE . COARSE SEX &- LANG. Much Some Thriller ~ Drama’. NEW LEASES ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP IZ. , JUST ARRIVED! FREE BASEBALL CAPTO FIRST 50 PEOPLE TO RENT IT WITH THIS COUPON! ©”