Published on May 20, 2026

Theatre for Young Audiences Meets the Fun of French Comedy at the Children’s Festival!

Join us at the 45th annual International Children’s Festival of the Arts from May 29 to June 1, 2026 in downtown St. Albert! This year’s event hosts seven Feature Performers over four days, and tickets are selling fast!

Feel the Magic with Feature Performances and Ticketed Activities!

With a simplified cost structure, attending the Festival has never been easier. Weekend tickets (Saturday and Sunday) are sold as One- or Two Performance Passes and come with an all-inclusive Activity Wristband, which gets the ticketholder into all Ticketed Activities, all weekend long (both Saturday and Sunday and includes Toddler Town and the Open Art Studio!). Activity-Only Passes are also available, but we highly recommend you catch at least one of our must-see Feature Performances while you’re on site, if you can (they’re just that good!).

If you’re planning to come down on either Friday or Monday, Feature Performance and Ticketed Activity admissions are each sold separately at a reduced rate (but there’s no all-access wristband on these days, so make sure to plan accordingly).

Feature Performance Must-See: Goupil et Kosmao

While we genuinely think all of our Feature Performances are the BEST, one definite must-see that you won’t want to miss is Goupil et Kosmao coming to us all the way from France, with shows on all four Festival days! Performed by Etienne Saglio, who is an acclaimed magician whose work has delighted audiences all over France, this show is a mix of magic and puppetry and will bring together delight and wonder in the most wonderful way.

In this North American premiere, the great cabaret magician Kosmao is ready to wow the crowd with his incredible slight of hand and illusions. The tricks are dazzling and everything seems to be going perfectly until his unlikely assistant, Goupil, shows up and decides to do things his way!

You see, Goupil isn’t your ordinary assistant. He’s a fox… or, well, he used to be a fox… now he’s a magician’s apprentice, of course! Together, Kosmao and Goupil create a world of laughter, surprises, and a little bit of chaos, too.

Goupil et Kosmao on stage performing

Presented in quintessential French comedy theatre style, the wordless presentation of Goupil et Kosmao will leave you amazed, endeared and in awe. Because while it is “just a magic show”, how they pulled it off might be the most magical part of it all!

Programming from Around the World!

Other must-see Features at this year’s Fest include Koo Koo (a dance party for the senses hailing from Minneapolis), Fizzlewit and the Magic Colours (the sequel to the original and incomparable Fairy Finding Tour), 360 ALLSTARS (an urban street circus troupe from Australia), Yuki the Juggler – All the Way from Japan (who is actually from Canada, complete with a high-stakes final trick you’ll be holding your breath over), Missy D (the original femcee herself) and Disney’s Finding Nemo, Jr. (presented by the incredible St. Albert Children’s Theatre).

Koo Koo on stage performing

360 Allstars on stage performing

Festival After Hours

Once the kids are all tucked in for the night, parents (and teachers, and friends, and anyone who is 18 or older) can sneak away for an evening of fun of Koo Koo at Endeavour Brewing on Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m., where the band will be lighting it up for a night of hilarity and decompression (or a way to help mentally prepare you for your upcoming weekend at Fest!). Tickets are $20 each.

On Saturday, May 30, The Arden Theatre will keep the lights on late for an evening performance of 360 ALLSTARS at 7 p.m. While this one is all-age friendly, The Arden Concession will be open ahead of showtime for snacks and bevvies. This show is one you will want to take in as it features a variety of athletic performers stationed in Australia but hailing from all over the world. They will wow you with their street circus tricks and seeing them at night is a great way to squeeze in an extra show with all the must-see Feature Performances at the Festival. Tickets are also $20 each for this performance.

The Festival begins next week in downtown St. Albert! Schedules, tickets and other details can be found at childfest.com