Achi news desk-
Some talented Calgarians are serving up a real treat for local families this weekend. They hope their new show will get kids off their screens and into the great outdoors.
Green Fools Puppet Theater has teamed up with Calgary Pro Musica to present a production called “Rocky Mountain Fairy Tales.”
It features puppets depicting people, trout and dragonflies exploring the wonders of Alberta’s wilderness locations such as Heart Mountain, Crandell Lake and Castle Mountain.
The action is accompanied by live music and spoken narration by Samantha Whelan Kotkas, who also wrote the screenplay.
“In our digital age, where everything is fed to us, I tell kids, ‘Look for those moments of magic,'” Kotkas said. “Look at a mountain lake when it shimmers.”
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The show will be projected live on a large screen placed behind the puppeteers.
“We’re creating this world where kids can watch the movie, they can watch all the cool technical stuff,” said Green Fools artistic director Dean Bareham. “We’re not hiding anything, they’re going to see all this happen.”
The story was inspired by the real-life adventures Kotkas enjoyed growing up in Calgary.
“As a little kid, I would spend hours hiking in the Rocky Mountains,” Kotkas said. “The children we perform this for I hope to have the same experience, that joy and that love for the outdoors.”
The show includes interactions with fairies representing water, fire, wind and forests.
“It’s so important for kids to get out in nature and experience these things,” Bareham said. “We’re so connected to our iPads and to technology that I don’t think we get out enough. So we try to encourage children to get out, go and explore the special magical places that are just outside our city.”
There will be two performances of “Rocky Mountain Fairy Tales”: at 1pm and 3:30pm on Sunday, April 28 at the University of Calgary’s Rosza Theatre. Ticket information is available on the Calgary Pro Musica website.
People taking part in the show hope that the family-friendly walks featured in the production will lead audience members to explore the foothills and mountains near Calgary.
“We live in such a beautiful place,” Kotkas said, “and I think it’s very important that we love it, so we keep it.”
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
