Vancouver International Children’s Festival 2012 on Granville Island

While my blog is normally a lifestyle and travel blog (dining out, fine and performing arts, dance, theatre, travel features, history), most of my readers know that I am an uncle several times now, and that my nephews and nieces are one of my top priorities. So when my nephews are in town, particularly L who is now four years old, I’m always keen to bring them to do children’s-focused activities. And slowly but surely I’m learning about all that the kidlets and youngins have available for activities. Like the Vancouver International Children’s Festival 2012 on Granville Island.

You can check more on the Vancouver International Children’s Festival 2012 Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter at @VICF.

A world-renowned festival of performing arts for young audiences, the Vancouver International Children’s Festival has been educating, entertaining and inspiring young audiences since 1978.

As someone who grew up trained in the arts (I’m a competitive dancer and a former theatre actor, and like my four brothers, I play classical piano), I love festivals like the Vancouver International Children’s Festival. The schedule of events is here. Tickets to the event start I think at $18 per single event, and you can find the prizing bundles and packages here. I love the fact that there will be a number of shows in French.

I thought it’d be important to show the Age Policy, something that is often debated in the arts. Personally I love children but I know they can be disruptive in some performances. Note the age policy for VICF here.

The Festival is family-friendly. All ages, including babies, are admitted to the following Festival SoundStage shows: Élage Dioiuf, Kutapira, Journey Through Sound, Will Stroet, along wiith age-appropriate activities. Babies under 12 months are admitted at no charge to the Festival SoundStage.

For all other venues, all patrons require a ticket. The age ratings for each show have been developed to ensure a positive and enriching theatrical experience for everyone. Children younger than the ages listed on the individual shows and babes in arms (children under 12 mos.) are not permitted in the theatre venues as they may become frightened or disruptive.

I didn’t have the time to talk to the organizers so at this point I don’t know if I will have any tickets to give away yet, but stay tuned and check back! UPDATE: The organizers have given me stuff to give away, so check out my contest:

Win a Family 4-Pack of Site Activity Passes to the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, taking place May 29 to June 3 on Granville Island. The passes are good for 1 day and allow your family to access the world of art & music in their 3 activity zones. If you win, you’ll be able to enjoy these activities by picking your tickets up at VICF Box Office on Granville Island.

All you need to do to enter my giveaway is tell me your favorite family activity, be it on Granville Island or elsewhere in Vancouver. I found out when I last babysat L and E, my nephews (1 and 4) that we had an amazing time at Stanley Park, where the train is. What about you? What do you do with your family? When we were little, my parents and I and my brothers we all used to go to the movies on Sunday night and then have dinner as a family. Even as I’ve grown older, I do that still.

An additional entry can be earned by posting on Pinterest (if you have a Pinterest account) a photo of your favorite family activity, and pinging me back either on Pinterest, or on Twitter. My Pinterest account is here. Or you can just repin the pin originated from this blog post.

A third entry can be earned by posting the following text on your Twitter account:

Shared w/ @hummingbird604 my favorite family activity http://is.gd/1IMGyO 2 enter 2 win a Family On-Site Pack for @VICF – what’s yours?

I will draw a winner on Sunday May 27th at 2pm.