5 Kids Euro Festival Events You Don’t Want To Miss | November 4–5
Your #KidsEUFest Weekly Round-Up
The 10th annual Kids Euro Festival is wrapping up this weekend with more fun activities for your whole family! Thanks to the 28 EU Member States and local organizations, we hosted more than 90 unique performances, concerts, workshops and films. Most importantly, we reached thousands of children in the DC-metro area. Here is our final round-up of events you don’t want to miss during our closing weekend! All events are free, but most require a reservation. See you next year!
This weekend: November 4 & 5
1. Film Screenings including EU Short Film Series | United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia
Various locations and times (click on links below for more information)
On Saturday, 11/4, and Sunday, 11/5, take your family to the EU Short Film Series for a trip around Europe — through film! Watch eleven different short animated and live-action films from seven countries. On Saturday, you can attend the Short Film Series at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center and the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital. Sunday, catch the short films at the Hillwood Estate. The Embassy of the United Kingdom is also screening Swallows and Amazons Saturday and Sunday at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. Full of action and mystery, this film is based on the classic novel by Arthur Ransome and follows the adventure of four children on summer vacation.
2. Color’s Garden | France
National Gallery of Art | 11/4, 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM and 11/5, 11:30 AM
See the work of French artist Henri Matisse come to life in this theatrical performance with the characters Color, Line and Shape. Using projections, animations and a lively jazz score, this theatrical fantasy offers new understandings about art and its expressive power. At the end of the play, families are invited to make collages and take a self-guided tour of the National Gallery of Art. No reservation required. Seats are first come, first served.
3. Guji Guji | Sweden
House of Sweden | 11/4, 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM
What happens when a crocodile is raised by ducks? Find out in the Swedish theater group Boulevardteatern’s performance of Guji Guji, adapted from the book by Chih-Yuan Chen. Through dancing and miming, this performance explores differences and similarities, love, friendship and thinking for yourself. No reservation required.
4. Pantin Puppet Making | France
Shepherd Park Library | 11/4, 3:00 PM
Join the French Embassy in this fun, puppetry workshop for children ages 5 and older. Make your own traditional French jumping jack puppet and learn about the outrageous escapades of folk characters, Pierrot, Columbine and Harlequin. No reservation required.
5. Film Screenings | Czech Republic, Sweden and Belgium
Various locations and times (click on links below for more information)
Sunday, 11/5, is your last day to catch some incredible children’s films! With a diverse offering, there’s something to please everyone in the family. The Czech embassy is screening Toys in the Attic at the Shakespeare Theatre. This film is full of Cold War symbolism, making it an entertaining and educational flick. The Embassy of Sweden is showing Tsatsiki, Dad and the Olive War at the House of Sweden. Over in Greece, a family is hit by the financial crisis and it’s up to their son to save a beloved hotel and olive grove. The Belgian film, Birds of Passage, is a special story about two friends that raise a duckling that changes everything. Watch it at the Hillwood Estate.
Now in its 10th year, Kids Euro Festival brings Europe’s most talented children’s entertainers to the DC metro area each fall for two weeks of free performances, concerts, workshops, movies, storytelling, puppetry, dance, magic, and cinema. With programs both for the general public and for school groups, more than 10,000 DC-area children and their families enjoy Kids Euro Festival programs each year. For more information, visit kidseurofestival.org or follow the Kids Euro Festival page on Facebook.
