2023 Press Release

The 2023 WeeFestival will launch a month-long citywide celebration of unforgettable artistic encounters for early childhood from May 16- June 11. The four- week dynamic and diverse program of performances and events for children newborn to six years olds features music, dance, puppetry performances in English, French, or with no words at all!

The 7th since the festival’s launch in 2014, features seven small-scale, intimate and aesthetically-rich performances from artists and companies from around the world and across the Country. 

For preschoolers, opening week features exquisite puppetry and live music with String from le Mouton Carré (France) which plays over the May holiday weekend followed by Echoing Crest, an imaginative oceanic world of rollicking sea shanties and live painting on stage by les Chemins errants (Quebec). Old Man and the River, joins the festival after a week at the Ottawa Children’s Festival, with performances in multiple locations.

For infants and toddlers, WeeFestival is delighted to share four sensory-rich and immersive performances featuring live music, dance, and design. Acclaimed musician and arts education specialist Emmanuelle Lizère (Québec) brings two of her creations- Babula Laina  and Tintinnabule, while the unique collaboration between Indigenous, Polish, and French artists invites audiences to experience a performance underneath the trees in an outdoor piece G’zaagiin maleńki-I Promise You a Forest from Voyageurs Immobiles. In the final week, BB by the acclaimed choreographer Makiko Ito with her ensemble of musicians and dancers will engage very young audiences in a magical and transformative interactive performance from Wonderland Collective (Netherlands).

Artistic Director Lynda Hill says: “In a city of festivals, WeeFestival is the only contemporary arts festival dedicated to our very youngest citizens of Toronto! We’re beyond excited to share these unforgettable performances with young children and their grownups. This year’s four-week format stretches out over time and geography in order to reach schools and families in five different neighborhoods and to give our very young audiences an opportunity to experience a different show each weekend and the time to reflect in between!”

In addition to the featured performances, WeeFestival will offer a range of special events and initiatives engaging schools, daycares, families with interactive workshops, creative skills workshops for Early Childhood Educators, and a three day conference for professional artists and theatre for young audience researchers.  Full details of all special events will be available on the festival website by May 1, 2023.

WeeFestival will take place at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre Extraspace and The Spadina Theatre of Alliance Française in the Annex, The Redwood Theatre in the Upper Beaches, Native Earth’s AKI Studio in Regent Park, Small World Centre near Queen West, and Assembly Hall, next to Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke. Finally, Theatre Aquarius with Centre Francophone Hamilton and the Aurora Cultural Centre will offer WeeFestival performances for their audiences in Hamilton and Aurora respectively.

Le Théâtre français de Toronto, returns this edition as the WeeFestival’s Francophone Programme Partner supporting efforts to reach Francophone and francophile families and students. 

Full schedule/details below or at https://weefestival.ca/box-office/
For general information regarding the 2023 edition of the WeeFestival please visit www.weefestival.ca

2023 WeeFestival Programme in Chronological Order

String | Le Mouton Carré (France) | Puppetry, Live Music | 2.5 years +
May 18- May 21 – The Redwood Theatre

Children and their grownups will fall in love with this brave and curious little being made of string and twine, who embarks on an odyssey of challenge and discovery! A beautiful story about growing up performed with intimate puppetry and live music.

Echoing Crest | Les Chemins Errants (Québec) | Music, Visual Arts, Theatre  | 2.5 years +
May 25 – May 28 – Tarragon Theatre Extraspace

Set in an island world of sea breeze, rolling waves, and rollicking sea shanties, two characters meet and play together through music, song, and joyful painting! This is a beautiful production that embraces young children with music, rich design, and gentle, mischievous play through art.
Echoing crest is a multidisciplinary and bold work, which is the result of a fruitful collaboration between choreographer Emmanuelle Calvé, Théâtre Motus and Les Chemins errants. The work proposes to bring the visual arts to the stage. In a visual poem that borders on performance, it’s a small praise for JOY! Yes, yes, joy!

Old Man and The River  and Le Vieil Homme et la Rivière | WeeFestival (Ontario) | Puppetry, Without Words | 2.5 years +
May 26-June 2 – The Assembly Hall & The Spadina Theatre of Alliance Française.
A grumpy little old man lives in his little house in the woods by the river. Every day is the same and he likes it this way-until one day, a magical creature leaps into his world and everything changes! This beautifully designed puppetry work performed without words to an enchanting musical score, reveals a storybook world where rivers sing, trees laugh, and curious dragonflies come to visit. With its themes of friendship, communication, play, adjusting to change, Old Man and the River is perfect for the youngest theatregoer.
Old Man and the River will be presenting at The Spadina Theatre of Alliance Française,May 26-May 28 with a pre-show and post-show program in French and at Assembly Hall from June 2-June 4 with a pre-show and post-show program in English. 

Babula Laina  | Emmanuelle Lizère – Tigouli Productions (Québec) | Interactive Music Concert | 0-15 months
May 30-June 1 – Small World Centre

Two musicians invite babies and their caregivers to curl up on soft cushions and be carried away by sounds and music in a space filled with the rich textures of fabrics, ribbons, sticks, wool sculptures, and satin ribbons. In this unique concert created especially for infants and their caregivers, the musicians weave together the rhythms and sounds of the cooing and babbling of the babie’s voices, with drums, bells, mouth harps, cellos, and whistles to create a beautiful meeting of musical sharing. 

Tintinnabule | Emmanuelle Lizère – Tigouli  Productions (Québec) | Interactive Music Concert | 0-15 months
June 2-June 4 – Small World Centre

The ringing of tiny bells, the singing of large silver bowls and the resonance of cello strings mix with melodies of today and yesterday in this concert for infants and their caregivers. The young babies move freely on a comfy carpet while Tigouli plays and improvises in this extended musical moment full of softness and connection.

G’zaagiin maleńki-I Promise You a Forest | Voyageurs Immobiles (Québec) | Immersive Music and Sound Art Concert | 12 months +
June 1-June 4 – Assembly Hall

Inspired by the seasons and the Indigenous Medicine Wheel, an Abitibi experimental cellist, an Anishinabeg artist and traditional musician, and a Polish-born director, unite to create an immersive space full of sounds, textures and poetic movement for young children to discover. Drum, cello, voice, breath and the stage tell the story of the encounter of these three women who intertwine past and present, tradition and contemporaneity in a poetic and inclusive process.

BB | Wonderland Collective (Netherlands) | Dance, Live Music | 6-18 Months 
June 8-11 – Native Earth’s AKI Studio

Dancers and musicians weave gently through and around the space responding to the curious babies and toddlers!. Together they create unique theatrical moments of playful connection! Respected dance artist Makiko Ito proposes a dialogue between performers, babies and their caregivers in this pioneering performance dedicated to early childhood.

Spark Arts for Schools Returns

The 2023 WeeFestival’s Spark Arts digital series will reach students in their classroom in Toronto and beyond with four productions, each of which is offered as an inspiration to spark unique artistic projects for the classroom. The Spark Arts series includes: Granddad Anansi from U.K’s Half-Moon Theatre and Z-arts, Kwi’ah: THe Girl Who Heals from British Columbia’s Axis Theatre Company, A Bucket of Beetles from Indonesia’s Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Old Man and The River from WeeFestival.