17th ANNUAL GRAND KIDS FESTIVAL SET FOR SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2012

Come one, come all – come to Galveston’s Grand Kids Festival for loads of family fun! Continuing a long tradition of presenting entertainment for the entire family, the 17th annual Grand Kids Festival will be Friday April 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday April 14 from 10am to 5pm, on Post Office Street from 20th to 23rd streets, in historic downtown Galveston.

Tickets for the Friday preview event are $10 per person (no advance discount) and include admission to both Friday and Saturday. Tickets to Saturday’s festival are $5 for Adults, $3 for Children 5-12 and Free for children 4 and under. If purchased in advance, Saturday’s tickets are available at half-price! Full-price tickets may be purchased at the festival gates. Additional fees may be charged for some activities.

Presented by The Grand 1894 Opera House as a gift to the community, and designed to introduce families to the arts, The Grand Kids Festival includes three outdoor stage areas, a Storytelling tent, an Artisan’s tent as well as performances on The Grand’s indoor stage. Over 40 different booths offer children a chance to sample a wide variety of arts activities. Entertainment offerings range from presentations by student choirs, bands and dance companies from throughout the Galveston/Houston area, to professional family entertainers including The Texas Gypsies, Celtaire, the acrobatic Cirquetacular, Louisiana singer, songwriter and author Johnette Downing, Storybook Theatre, the Tipi Tellers (the giant teepee is back!) and much more.

An annual highlight of the festival is the production staged by Missoula Children’s Theatre. Sponsored by Target, this year’s show is “The Tortoise and The Hare,” and will feature a cast of 50-60 area students. Students are invited to audition to appear in this production. Auditions will take place on Monday, April 9, 2012 at The Grand at 4:30pm. Two presentations of the performance are scheduled during the festival.

Sponsors for the 2012 festival (to date) include: Texas Commission on the Arts, The McGovern Foundation, Jamail Galveston Foundation, Yaga’s Children’s Fund, The Permanent Endowment Fund of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church, The Alice Taylor Gray Foundation, American National Insurance Company, Armin Cantini, Classic Auto Group-Galveston, Center Point Energy, Moody National Bank, The Commodore Hotel-Galveston, Rotary Club of Galveston Island, Galveston Kiwanis Club, The Galveston Rotary Foundation, Houston Family Magazine, The Party Connection, Galveston.com and Company, Pediatric Dental Care and Lyda Ann Quinn Thomas, as well as many friends of the festival and in-kind donors. In addition the Missoula Children’s Residency at the festival is supported by Target. Additional support is provided by the hundreds of volunteers who help present this event each year.