Media Release

For Immediate Release
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009

HarbourKIDS: Respect

A three-day festival for kids ages 5 to 12

Saturday, Sunday & Thanksgiving Monday,

October 10, 11 & 12,

11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Admission is FREE!

TORONTO, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 – Harbourfront Centre is thrilled to present an exciting three-day festival of FREE family activities themed around the idea of respect.

HarbourKIDS is Harbourfront Centre’s family programme designed for kids from five to 12 years old. Each festival centres around a “Big Idea”. This Thanksgiving weekend, the Big Idea is “Respect”.

HarbourKIDS: Respect encourages kids to view art, culture and the world around them in new ways. When you treat kids with respect, you teach them to respect themselves. We’re exploring all the different ways kids can learn it, give it and share it!

For complete event details and full schedule, visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/harbourkids.

Highlights of HarbourKIDS: Respect

Mike Ford
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 1:30 p.m. – Studio Theatre
Ex-Moxy Früvous member and Juno-nominated artist Mike Ford uses a variety of musical styles to tell lively tales from Canadian history. Mike will invite kids to respect the history, characters and landscape of our beautiful country. Mike will also incorporate “vicinity literacy” into his act – the respect for what is immediately around you.

The Hunchback Cabaret!
Saturday and Monday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. – Brigantine Room
A conceited puppet named Larry (Bryce Kulak) and a hunchback named Cordy (Colin Maier) with amazing musical talent perform an exciting cabaret for children! Although they make a fantastic performing duo, they don’t always get along. See how they reconcile their differences while learning to respect one another.

I Eat Kids
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 2 p.m. – Redpath Stage
Toronto’s newest and hippest musical sensation is a six-member band made up entirely of kids, ranging in age from seven to 11 years old. They have gained wild popularity with kids and adults alike around the city, and you’ll see why at their 30-minute set each day of the long weekend. The mutual respect displayed in this group’s collaborations proves that you really can accomplish anything, no matter how old you are!

Morro and Jasp: The Bully Show
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 12 p.m. – Lakeside Terrace
Clown favourites Morro and Jasp are back to connect with kids through an interactive theatre piece where the audience plays witness to an act of bullying. Children are encouraged to voice their opinions and share ideas on how to deal with bullies.

Rock Plaza Central
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 4 p.m. – Sirius Stage
Rock Plaza Central is a five-piece Canadian indie band including Chris Eaton (lead vocals, banjo, guitar), Blake Howard (drums), Scott Maynard (bass, guitar), Donald Murray (mandolin, trumpet, guitar) and Fiona Stewart (violin, trombone). They are thrilled to be part of HarbourKIDS: Respect, having recorded with a Grade 3 class on Toronto Island a few years ago. They look forward to playing to a younger audience and hope kids sing along, dance in the aisles and let their voices be heard!

Music with BITE: Planet Alloy!
Sunday, 1 p.m. – Brigantine Room
A refreshing experience where children can pull up a comfy cushion and sit in front of the stage for an enjoyable, interactive music performance tailored for the youngest audience members. After the concert, children can enjoy a complimentary Natrel® milk beverage and cookie. In partnership with Jeunesses Musicales.

All Aboard to Planet Alloy! – The year is 2084. Man has intensified space travel in a quest to find new planets and civilizations. Commissioned by the Colonel, two space rangers set out on an expedition to the uncharted Planet Alloy. Their mission: to establish contact with the planet’s inhabitants who, musical intelligence has it, have no vocal cords. The language of music (featuring trumpet, trombone and French horn) will have to say it all. An unforgettable intergalactic voyage!

IN THE NATREL® NATURE ZONE

Cirque Dirt
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Kids can participate in two hands-on activities lead by Garden Jane. Kids learn about and meet worms, making their own worm homes! Not into creepy crawlers? Make your own rain sticks and shakers with eco-friendly materials.

Earth Rangers
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 12-3:30 p.m.
You might already be familiar with the Earth Rangers – they travel around with their fuzzy and furry “animal ambassadors” to schools and appear on TV shows, teaching kids everywhere about animals and wildlife, while educating about the necessity to respect and protect them.

Home Sweet Home!
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Animals need homes too! Kids build trees, dams, nests and other kinds of habitats for the animals of HarbourKIDS: Respect.

MORE CRAFTS & ACTIVITIES

Get Your Buttons On!
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. – West Arcade in York Quay Centre
All weekend long, kids get the chance to make their own buttons with images of the people, places and things they respect.

LEGO™ Land O’Lakes
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. – Lakeside Terrace Tent
Kids help create a model of the Great Lakes while lakeside! They will learn to respect and protect this incredible natural wonder while creating fish and other wildlife that live in and around the Great Lakes out of LEGO™.

Redpath Acts of Sweetness
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. – Redpath Tent (Ann Tindall Lawn)
At this all-weekend-long craft station, kids will help local birds stay fed during the cold winter months by building a pine cone bird feeder to put in their very own backyard!

Respect! Protect!
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. – Marilyn Brewer Community Space
Complimenting the RESPECT: Boreal Forest exhibition, this hands-on activity gives kids the opportunity to respond to the images from the exhibit and learn about the animals that live in the Boreal Forest.

MORE TO SEE…

Script Superheroes
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. – Studio Theatre
What does respect mean to kids? Experience the culmination of a six-week playwriting workshop for kids all about respect. The finished scripts will be read on stage by adult actors, an empowering experience for young writers and audience members alike.

RESPECT: A Photo Odyssey Celebrating Canada’s Boreal Forest
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
This might be your last chance to see the breathtaking exhibition of our country’s great Boreal Forests, one of the Earth’s most crucial resources – it closes soon! Take a stroll through the outstanding outdoor works of art from nine renowned photographers and be reminded how important it is that we respect the environment.

Play/Ground
Develop your children’s respect for visual arts by visiting this newly-opened exhibition featuring a mini merry-go-‘round, swing set and customized golf cart!

PawsWay Presents…
Kids will learn about obedience training, pet safety and fun dog sports at these hands-on exhibits, developing a better understanding and new respect for our versatile canine companions.

Cassandra Hartman & her Dancing Dogs – learn basic obedience moves to music
Saturday, 1 p.m. – PawsWay Tent (Ann Tindall Lawn)

Fast ‘n’ Furry Dogs – demonstrations of today’s most popular sports for dogs
Saturday & Sunday, 3 p.m. – PawsWay Tent (Ann Tindall Lawn)

Freestyle Disc Champion Rally – amazing freestyle disc demos
Sunday, 1 p.m. – PawsWay Tent (Ann Tindall Lawn)

Cat and Jack – learn about safety for dogs & children
Monday, 1 p.m. – Redpath Stage

HarbourKIDS Club Membership
Sign up to be a HarbourKIDS Club Member and receive your very own “Splooshy” tattoo! Pick up a copy of our Kid’s Guide to Harbourfront Centre and explore our site on an interactive discovery walk! If you want, we’ll send you periodic emails to let you know what fun family events are coming up at Harbourfront!

*MEDIA NOTE* High-resolution images available on request.

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Media Contact:
Rosie Shaw
416-973-4381
rshaw@harbourfrontcentre.com

235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2G8
Phone: 416-973-4600 | Fax: 416-973-6055 | harbourfrontcentre.com