Washington DC Kids Euro Festival

MAITLAND, Fla. - Oct. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Washington DC is a perennial favorite family vacation destination, which offers a great opportunity to see the American government in action and learn about the democratic process. This fall you and your children can do some learning of a different kind on your Washington trip, as the capital hosts the Kids Euro Festival from October 16 to November 13, 2013. The event, among the largest performing arts festivals just for kids in the US, comprises over 200 programs held at numerous locales all over the city, through the cooperation of the 27 European Union embassies based in Washington together with 30 local cultural institutions. Fantastic fun for everyone from toddlers to grandparents, admission to the Festival performances is free of charge, although advance booking is required in some cases.

What’s On

A great variety of performances and films are offered at the Festival. Depending on your brood’s ages and interests, you can choose from simple stories to elaborate stage shows. There is a vast assortment of singing, dancing, magic, animation, mime, clowning, street theater on stilts, plays and puppetry, all geared specifically toward youngsters. Productions are professional and high quality, yet generally last less than an hour, in recognition of children’s relatively short attention spans. Workshops, many of them especially for the very young, feature story telling combined with hands on crafts or other engrossing activities, followed by snack time.

Family Days

The month long Festival is highlighted from time to time with special all day family activities. These range from a Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) gala to Open Houses at La Maison Francaise. There is also a day dedicated to special needs children and their families. Activities include arts and crafts workshops, more performances, face painting, trying out musical instruments and an Imagination Playground workshop where budding builders construct mansions, rockets, sci fi creations – whatever their imagination dreams up – with foam blocks. While the Festival does not include food service, you might want to follow up with a restaurant dinner featuring the cuisine of a country that particularly fascinates your offspring.

Junior Ambassadors

The French-American Cultural Foundation organizes the annual Festival as part of its goal to promote understanding between France and the United States. Youngsters who visit Kids Euro will have the chance to get a taste of the various European cultures without setting foot on an airplane. They can, however, receive a “passport” card and have fun collecting stamps on it from various Festival performances. Anyone who submits their card to the French Embassy in Washington complete with 3 stamps, plus a paragraph about why they like Kids Euro, will receive a Junior Ambassador medal and have their name entered in a prize draw.

Washington DC has so much to see and do that you’ll appreciate staying in a comfortable hotel with easy access to everything. The nicer and lower priced Washington DC hotels tend to fill up fast, though, so it’s a good idea to reserve in advance (http://crshotels.com/).