Carousel Players will celebrate its 50th anniversary by hosting more than 30 family-friendly activities in nine Niagara towns and cities. The three-day family festival will be held on the long weekend from Saturday, April 16 to Monday, April 18, 2022. The festivities will be taking place across Niagara reaching all corners of the region including Welland, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Niagara on the Lake, Grimsby, Fonthill, West Lincoln, and more!
Families will be able to enjoy a variety of activities presented by Carousel Players including film screenings, drama workshops, and live performances.
The event is a blend of free and ticketed (paid) events for attendees. Families can purchase a Festival Pass to gain full access to all activities, live performances, and digital play screenings; single event tickets are available for just $10. Attendees can register online for the free activities and view the rest of the festival collection on Eventbrite.
Free Events:
- Drama Playground Live*
- Mask Explorations*
- Creation Station
- Sidewalk Stories
- Spring Fling
*Registration is required
Ticketed Events:
- Pop! Pop!
- The Velveteen Rabbit
- HBD2Me
- Meet Chloe
While Carousel is thrilled to be performing live again, the festival will also feature digital pieces created during the pandemic which includes Happy Birthday To Me, and Meet Chloe. The films capture the struggles of children living in a virtual world, and the fight to put black women in the Canadian history curriculum. There will be post-screening artist talks, to allow audience members to meet and chat with the actors!
Carousel’s 50th celebration will also host live performances including The Velveteen Rabbit, Carousels’ first live performance since 2019.
An exciting, new adventure, Pop! Pop! is Carousel’s first ever early years service for children ages 2-4 and their caregivers. It is a live performance piece with imaginative sensory experiences, live music, and adorable puppets, you never know what surprise will pop up next; lots of fun for anyone ages 2-92!
Pop! Pop! Dates:
- April 16: Niagara Falls History Museum, Niagara Falls – 10 am *Sold Out
- April 17: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines – 10 am
- April 18: West Niagara Agricultural Centre, West Lincoln – 10 am
Pop! Pop! features actors Katherine Cappellacci, and Kaylyn Valdez-Scott, as well as stage manager Sara Allison. The creative team includes director Monica Dufault, the puppet & costume designer as Alexa Fraser, and music composition & direction by Joe Lapinski. Set design by Kelly Wolf, playwrights are Linda A. Carson, and Monica Dufault, and Kim Selody as production dramaturg.
Live performances are at the heart of Carousel Players and we can’t wait to see you in person again!
About Carousel Players:
Carousel Players is an award-winning professional theatre for young audiences based in St. Catharines. The company is committed to the development of new work and the production of theatre that entertains and challenges their audiences. They present inspiring and creative plays for children in schools, theatres and other performance venues. Carousel Players is a non-profit charitable organization that was started in 1972 by Desmond Davis, a Professor of Drama at Brock University in St. Catharines. Visit Carousel’s website at www.carouselplayers.com.
