DreamBIG Children’s Festival 2023 Schools Program Launched Today

DreamBIG Children’s Festival is returning bigger and brighter than ever, inspiring kids to explore ‘Our World’, with the school program launched today and set to celebrate Adelaide Festival Centre’s 50th Anniversary next year.

Thousands of students from across South Australia will unite at Adelaide Festival Centre, surrounding city locations and schools and be entertained by 240 artists across 57 events and workshops from May 17 until May 27. The families and general public program will be revealed in January.

 

Next year’s festival theme of ‘Our World’ features music, dance, storytelling, puppetry, interactive play, the famous silent disco, and quirky luminescent creatures. Plus, a special art exhibition to celebrate Adelaide Festival Centre’s milestone 50th Anniversary, asking students to imagine what the world will be like on their own 50th birthday… stay tuned for a look into the future!

Minister for Arts, the Hon Andrea Michaels MP:

DreamBIG Children’s Festival allows children to experience a lifetime of wonder and awe, of new ideas, and of deep and rewarding discoveries. I encourage all teachers and students to engage with the rich opportunities provided through DreamBIG’s focus on Our World.

DreamBIG Children’s Festival Co-Creative Producers Susannah Sweeney and Georgi Paech:

DreamBIG returns next year in full force, bringing local, national, and international artists to perform for South Australian students. Young people are more aware than ever of the complexities and challenges faced by the planet and the arts can help audiences understand the world we live in. We hope kids and families feel inspired to become more creative, compassionate, and thoughtful citizens.

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM:

DreamBIG is always a highlight in Adelaide Festival Centre’s calendar, and we warmly welcome teachers and students to Our World at Adelaide Festival Centre on the banks of the Karrawirri Pari, River Torrens. We especially look forward to celebrating our 50th Birthday with students across the State through arts, imagination, and creativity.

The DreamBIG Opening Event at Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre on May 17 will feature up to 2000 students singing “My Island Home” and in a DreamBIG first, the choir will be led in a mass dance event by youth dance ensemble, Dusty Feet Mob.

Other festival highlights include:

• Erths Prehistoric World – see the prehistoric creatures of your imagination come to life on stage with this enchanting show by world renowned puppeteers.
• Fluffy – An interactive wonderland of 200kg of swirling, fluttering recycled paper that is part narrative, part make-your-own adventure!
• Possum Magic – A magical stage adaption of this much-loved Australian tale, produced by Monkey Baa Theatre Company.
• Found Objects – Five exceptional dance and physical theatre artists present an epic outdoor dance theatre work using everyday objects.
• Wild Dog – Six Dog Night – An immersive and interactive workshop led by senior Kaurna Elders sharing stories about one of Australia’s most misunderstood cultural symbols – the dingo.
• Write Now Festival – A new one day event for aspiring writers in secondary school, giving young people the chance to discover career pathways as a working writer.
• Sea of Light – children paint their way across the high-seas wonderland with a magical UV torch and see their art light up with every brushstroke in this immersive installation by South Australia’s Patch Theatre.
• We Come From Far Far Away – award winning storytelling from Norway that takes place in a Yurt sharing a gripping story of refugee boys escaping from their country to another.

DreamBIG Children’s Festival is South Australia’s largest biennial arts festival dedicated to schools and families and places its audience at the centre of fresh, inventive, imaginative, and inspiring arts experiences. Up to 220 schools attend the iconic festival and more than 300 schools engage with the program via the Teaching and Learning Resource created by the Department for Education, due to arrive in schools this week.

 

More than 2.5 million children have participated in the festival since its inception in 1974 (as Come Out Festival), and it remains and intrinsic part of growing up in South Australia.

Dream BIG Children’s Festival is divided into two program streams – the school’s program where children participate in events and performances through their school, and the general public program for families.

---

For more information click HERE

Photo Credit: Nat Rogers