The International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap was a youth-oriented festival dedicated to the performing, visual, and interactive arts. The festival is held each September at

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, which is the United States' only national park devoted solely to the performing arts. First conceived in 1971 as "International Children's Day", the festival provides opportunities for children to share aspects of their culture through the arts. The idea and impetus for the festival came from Joan C. Blair, also on the Fairfax County Arts Council. She convinced the founder of the Wolf trap National Park for Performing Arts,

Catherine Filene Shouse Catherine Filene Shouse (June 9, 1896 – December 14, 1994) was an American researcher and philanthropist. She graduated in 1918 from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. She worked for the Women's Division of the U.S. Employment Service ...

, to support the festival. The International Children's Festival is sponsored by the Arts Council of

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

in cooperation with the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. Proceeds from the annual festival support the educational programs and services of the Arts Council of Fairfax County. It is held annually in September, typically on the 3rd weekend of the month. By the end of 2011, it was decided to conclude the tradition, amid financial issues.

Performances

The two-day weekend festival features many performers from several countries in musical and dance performances in four stages representative of their cultural heritage. The performers are dressed in traditional clothing and play many traditional songs which they dance to. Also featured are an Arts and Technology Pavilion with hands-on technology stations, international experiential tents where attendees can meet the international performers, learn the moves they saw on stage, and participate in craft projects to help them learn about international culture, and the Creative Kids Workshop featuring pavilions for hands-on arts projects and an instrument petting zoo.

Curriculum

An educational curriculum co-developed by the Arts Council of Fairfax County and Fairfax County Public Schools supports the learning opportunities available to students at the International Children's Festival. The curriculum is directed toward fifth grade classes and is also available for home-school and private school programs. Each year since 1994, the Festival has been the designated fine arts field trip for the entire 5th grade population in

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headqu ...

– resulting in over 13,000 students coming to Wolf Trap during the week to see and meet the featured performers. The year 2001 was a particularly interesting year for the festival as thousands of students were en route to Wolf Trap when the events of

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

took place.

Community involvement

The Festival includes not only the featured international performers, but also dozens of Fairfax County and Washington DC metropolitan area arts organizations. In total, the festival features over 400 area performing and visual artists representing a diverse range of art forms, genres, and cultures. With the assistance of the community, each year free tickets, gifts, and snacks are provided to nearly 2,000 Washington DC area children and their families who would otherwise be unable to attend. The International Children's Festival relies on over 3,500 volunteer hours from 700 volunteers from local corporations and service organizations. Volunteers for the actual festival must be at least 16 years of age and available to work a 3.5-hour shift. For over 15 years,

Bob McGrath Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, musician, and children's author best known for playing original human character and music teacher Bob Johnson on the long-running educational television series ' ...

from

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

acted as host and consultant to the International Children's Festival.Bob McGrath Biography

References

External links

International Children's Festival Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Children's Festival At Wolf Trap Tourist attractions in Fairfax County, Virginia Children's film festivals in the United States Film festivals in Virginia Vienna, Virginia