GEORGE TOWN, April 29 ― Most of the theatre performances (and even arts festivals) we’ve had here are for adults but this year, we are going to have an arts festival for children under 12 years of age.

The Little Door Festival is a two-day festival that will be held in July and it is now calling for parents and their children to participate in its “When We Were Young” Workshop and Photo Exhibition.

“The open call is for families to submit their photos, especially photos of the parents when they were children themselves, alongside with photos of their children,” said festival manager Koe Gaik Cheng.

She said many children have never seen their parents' photos when they themselves were young so this workshop and photo exhibition aims to cultivate a deeper understanding between the children and their parents.

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“This is to show the children that their parents were also children once and this can open up conversations to build closer relationships between them,” she said.

About 10 families will be selected to join a workshop to bring parents and their children together through the sharing of each others' stories and finally have their photos exhibited from July 16 fo 25.

The inaugural Little Door Festival has a line-up of arts events, activities and workshops aimed mostly at children between the ages of four and 12.

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There will be a children’s theatre performance, Drawn Together, about a boy going on an adventure and tickets to the performance will be sold in pairs for a child and an adult.

“The tickets are only for children and the children will bring the adults with them,” she said.

Among the other activities planned for the festival are an outdoor picnic, storytelling sessions, a children themed market and workshops for children.

The artistic director for the festival is Liew Kung Yu, a fine photography artist, who has worked with communities in creating successful programmes and workshops for young children.

As it is a new festival, Koe said they are working with limited resources so the number of activities and events will also be limited.

“It is a small festival but we still hope to make an impact on those who participate and attend,” she said.

The entire festival, including the performance, will be held at Hin Bus Depot and some of the events are ticketed events.

The activities in the festival will focus on experiential learning for the children and creating a space where children can feel welcome such as a child-sized door just for the children.

The closing date for the open call is May 9. While the photo exhibition is from July 16 to 25, the festival itself is a two-day event from July 17 to 18.

Find out more about the festival at https://www.facebook.com/littledoorfestival or email at [email protected] or WhatsApp them at +6012 985 1293.