The Georgetown Festival also caters for children through its Little Door Festival (LDF) entitled ‘Family Together’, the inaugural pilot of a festival that aims to help parents and children to connect, interact and understand one another.
For the purpose of protecting participants and adhering to SOP guidelines, the Festival will be in a hybrid format, with selected activities happening online and in the Hin Bus Depot throughout the month of January.
The main event of the festival is set to happen on Jan 15 & 16, 2022.
Recognising that children’s opinions are often overlooked or dismissed by grown-ups, LDF is working to create spaces and activities where children are empowered to be themselves, where their aesthetics are appreciated, their opinions respected and their voices heard. With the goal of opening up little eyes to big worlds of wonder, the Festival offers a curated selection of activities designed to help family members better respect and understand one another, and to draw them closer together.
• Drawn Together [Multidisciplinary Performance]
When: 15 & 16 January 2022 | Where: Virtual Event Set your compass, lift your anchor and set sail into adventure on the fantasea in this high sea adventure that combines storytelling and shadow puppetry to tell a thrilling tale about the magic that happens when we take playing seriously.
• When We Were Young [Photography Exhibition]
When: 29 December 2021 – 2 January 2022 | Where: Hin Bus Depot
A workshop and photography exhibition that aims to bridge the gap between parent and child, allowing both to share their stories and open up to each other.
• Do We Really Need Another Children’s Festival?
– Why Children’s Festivals Matter [Online Symposium]
When: 8 January 2022 | Where: Virtual Event Join us for a hard talk with International TYA festival organisers and experts on WHY children’s festivals matter and the value it brings to children and their communities.
• Family Jam [Online Body Percussion Workshop]
When: 15 & 16 January 2022 | Where: Virtual Event
A collaboration with HANDS Percussion group. This music workshop is an opportunity for parents and children to enjoy a valuable experience learning to make music together.
• Hand-In-Hand [Craft Workshop]
When: 15 & 16 January 2022 | Where: Virtual Event
A craft activity for parents and children to get hands-on with handicrafts and work together to create a touching keepsake of their time growing up as a family.
LDF began as the brainchild of Liew Kung Yu, the Festival’s Artistic Director. No stranger to George Town’s festival scene, Liew had previously served as the Artistic Director for George Town Heritage Celebrations for three years until 2015 where he had been working with local communities to celebrate the city’s intangible cultural heritage.
“I have always admired the carefree creativity and aesthetics of children, and have long cherished a dream to create a space where children can just be children, to explore their creativity and experience things that I wish I could have known when I was a child.
“Our goal is to raise the standards of TYA which is something that’s often overlooked and dismissed. We believe, however, that children are very much aware and sensitive about the things happening around them, and that theater and the arts play a valuable role to further develop their minds and ability to understand the world.” he said.
“In Malaysia, it’s unfortunate that most activities targeted at children tend to belittle young minds with shallow entertainment. We (LDF) believe that children should be treated with more respect, and we intend to set a better example by offering children invigorating experiences that not only serves to nurture young minds, but also helps to cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation for the arts from a young age.
“We were fortunate to have people who believed in our vision for this children’s festival, and we’re grateful to be working in partnership with Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA) and George Town Festival who helped make it a reality; as well as to Hin Bus Depot who generously sponsored the use of their venue.” said Liew.
