Olympic Festivities for the Kids

[Editor's note: The Tyee will be running a feature every day covering Olympics-related culture, including recommendations for upcoming events.]

The Cultural Olympiad has gone mad. Schedules are changing daily and starry-eyed crowds erupt from nowhere to chase the once-in-a-lifetime happenings that are spread across dozens of official and spontaneous venues. With all the pomp, politics and protests, it's easy to miss out on some of the best fun -- especially if you're a kid.

If you're looking in the program guide for the Cultural Olympiad, freely available from community centers and venues around the city, it's hard not to notice a major oversight. There are no specific programs for family or kids.

"It's been really hard to find stuff," says Gae Wakabayashi, mother of Shae, outside of Richmond's O Zone on Valentine's Day. "There's nothing really good."

"It's not geared towards kids," echoed Michelle Peacock, another Vancouver resident.

They point out a few glaring errors in VANOC's programming. The family information is not in the program and it is not on the O Zone website. The only listings that are truly kid-oriented are for the O Zone's outdoor ice skating, and that doesn't cut it for everyone, though young Joanna Tong maintains that she really did enjoy the experience.

Peacock pointed out the supplementary websites are filling in the gaps. YoYoMama, for example, has compiled an exhaustive list of family events.

Magical Theatrical Vending Machine: Teatro Tatro

Peacock shared her views in front of the "Magical Theatrical Vending Machine: Teatro Tatro," nestled in the parking lot beside the O Zone, beside a crowd of about 200 for the four o'clock performance on Valentine's Day. The bus, tiled in a carnival kaleidoscope of cartoon imagery, is a hilarious Olympic parody with Broadway timing, Vaudeville style.

"This magical machine is where people can spin the lucky wheel and artists come out and perform," says Marika Kovalcikova, the producer. The bus features snow, smog and sound, while the performance centers around a wheel of fortune that displays different Olympic disciplines, like hockey or cross-country skiing. Kids volunteer to spin the wheel and then the seven performers enact a hilarious parody of the event. Imagine weird like the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but without the whole soul-stealing thing. Also, every show is unique.

The show was produced in Slovakia and the bus actually had to be shipped overseas at a cost of about $8000. The Slovakian government believed in the project enough to contribute another $26,000 to project, and the actors are well-respected in their country.

"People gather when we perform but we are not listed well," explains Kovalcikova, whose aim is to see a Magical Theatrical Vending Machine installed in Europe and Asia. At present, she depends on flyers to inform the public about the performance. You can catch the Machine until Feb. 15th on the west side of the O Zone complex. Further performances can be found here.

LunarFest lights up smiles

Racing from Richmond was no easy feat with the substantial traffic and road closures, but I had no choice. It was the final day of LunarFest, which ushers in the Chinese New Year of the Tiger, and my band was performing. (When I'm not pounding a keyboard I'm beating a drum.)

The sixth floor dressing room of the Sears at Pacific Center was buzzing. Costume fitting, drum tuning and juggling, the artists prepared to perform. Cardboard boxes full of small paper lanterns sat in the corner, overflowing from the 8,000 creations that were submitted by local and Taiwanese children. Though only 2,000 were chosen to be hung in the Lantern Forest on Granville Street, even the extras told stories.

"Look," says Sherry Wang of the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association (ACSEA), "the lantern design is quite different." She points out that the Taiwanese kids expand the eyes and use more color, which is "twice the amount of Canadian kids," who tend to be more minimal in their design, focusing on environmental themes. In Taiwan, children don't have an understanding of what winter really means, so their curiosity is represented in their lanterns. Wang suggests that kids and parents who visit the site on Granville Street can "look and compare [the designs] with others... it's a fun way to participate."

The lantern festival is an ancient Chinese tradition that has recently taken root in Vancouver, though here it is allowed an ambiguous symbolism. Traditionally, the lanterns are brought out on the first full moon of the year to reflect the coming of Buddhism in the time of the Han Dynasty. One legend has it that people could see the gods in the moonlight until a cloud obscured them. The lanterns were created as a means to illuminate them again.

We got the call from a volunteer for the Public Dreams Society (PDS), telling us it was ten minutes until parade time. I feverishly tightened the nuts on the edge of a surdo drum with a broken head.

We were hired by the PDS, Vancouver's community arts collective who have partnered with the ACSEA for an art exchange to Taiwan. They are well-loved for lantern and fantasy events like the Illuminaries festival and the Parade of Lost Souls, although the recent arts cuts in the city have diminished their activities. PDS was awarded a grant that paid for the exchange between the two cities.

It also brought a series of 10 fantastic art installations under the theme of "Love, Light and Life," all of which are displayed on Granville Street until March 1st.

As our band prepared to enter the throng on the streets, Luminous Flux, a youth ballet troupe from the Langley Dance Academy and our parade companions for the day, made final adjustments to their wings and masks while Chris Murdoch, a local contact juggler, practiced with a crystal ball. He was inspired by David Bowie's character the Goblin King in the movie The Labyrinth. His work can found be found here.

The ballerina costumes were created by Bruce Voyce, one of five local artists who participated in a cultural exchange to Taiwan as part of the PDS/ACSEA collaboration. They were formed from recycled, multi-colored plastics that were shaped and layered. He described his experience in Taiwan as spectacular.

"Taiwan has specific temples, covered in dragons and phoenixes, symbolizing the emperor and empress." He was inspired to use a dragon theme because he was impacted so strongly by the mythology. "Culture and religion combine in these temples... religious activities are more festive." In Taiwan, explained Voyce, rituals are often expressed using "puppets [or] boxing matches."

He pointed out that the National Taiwanese Craft Research Institute (NTCRI), whose curators hosted his visit, has an incredibly sophisticated sense of art -- something Canada could learn a lot from. "[They] have better facilities and equipment than anywhere I have seen here," said Voyce. The facilities are complete with "ultrasound analysis and electron microscopes" for analyzing materials.

Five more Taiwanese artists also contributed to this aspect of LunarFest. Their work is displayed as landmarks in the Lantern Forest. This stroll is perfect for a family outing, but the light-show focused installation pieces are easily overlooked in daylight. Wait until night for best viewing.

As our band stepped out into the darkened streets, teeming with expectant and exultant crowds, we felt good... like hometown rock-stars playing a familiar stage. Who knew we would be upstaged by ten-year-olds?

The Ten Drum Percussion Art Group, a large troupe of young drummers who play traditional cymbals and Chinese drums with names like "Low War" and "Red Flower," met us at the end of the parade route. Their acrobatic stick techniques stunned the large crowd gathered to witness the finale of LunarFest. Our band had the good fortune to meet them at the finish line for an impromptu jam on the 13th and 14th, where we all ushered in Year of the Tiger to thundering applause.

Unfortunately, the Ten Drum kids were only in town for two nights. However, we may see more of them soon -- they are part of a world-record breaking school of Taiwanese percussion. The school has recently been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional World Music Album.

Sampling the absurdia of Big Nazo

For kids, the Olympics must seem like an extraterrestrial visitation. That's why Big Nazo deserves a special mention. According to photographer Wayne Worden, every kid in town should be given the opportunity to experience this absurd space theatre.

Big Nazo started as street theatre and then morphed into a busker troupe, finally evolving into performing at children's festivals with a rock band and performance art ensemble. Now, it is part "creature cabaret and mutant science project," explains troupe spokesperson Erminio Pinque. Picture Monsters Inc. on psychedelics and you have it.

"We're creative but subversive... all of our creatures are weird, grotesque and bizarre individuals -- a tribe that has invaded Vancouver... to discover the environment," says Pinque. They speak "an alien language, as an invasion of alien immigrants trying to figure it all out."

Just like most kids that I know.

Brought to Vancouver by the Place de la Francophonie on Granville Island and based in New York, Big Nazo has created an interactive puppet party that defies description. They will be performing on Granville Island on afternoons around 2 p.m., though Enrique mentions that their schedules have been shifting somewhat in that time slot.

They will do an afternoon "stroll with about 10 characters, and a huge 5:30 p.m. parade every day (unless they change it to 4 p.m. as they did this afternoon)," cautions Pinque.

There are also tentative volunteer opportunities for "friends" where participants have been joining the spectacle. Over the past few performances, pre-selected performers have joined the six Nazo crew members, along with a marching band such as the East Van Carnival Band, to perform a "30 to 40 minute 'Creature-Invasion' which is pretty amazing to behold."

Eager aliens should show up around 4:30 and politely inquire. Pinque mentions that there may be always be some more spaces available for "friends."

"In any ecosystem there is always innocence and goodwill," says Pinque. "We serve that purpose... celebrating life and bringing joy if you discover us."

You can discover more about Big Nazo here.