'Go out and have a laugh': Festival of Fools kicks off at The Forks

A beloved circus-themed event has returned to The Forks, offering free children's entertainment for Winnipeggers throughout spring break.

The Festival of Fools kicked off Saturday afternoon on the second floor of the Forks Market.

The week-long event was created by the Winnipeg International Children's Festival.

Executive producer Neil Rempel said the idea came to him while running a circus camp for kids during spring break. "I thought to myself 'we have all this great talent coming from all over the world and from Manitoba, no one gets the chance to see them,' so we created this."

Rempel said all the Festival of Fools performers are also teachers at the circus camp. "They just rotate around, cover off their workshops, come here, do a show, go back to circus camp," he said. "So they're busy."

The festival features three shows a day, at 12 p.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. through Mar. 31.

Rempel said they have a variety of different performers, including jugglers and acrobats, and different magicians, including one from the United Kingdom.

"The next show up is the street circus show … and they're fantastic," said Rempel.  "They're climbing and balancing all over each other – feats of strength – it’s a fun show!"

Admission to all shows are free. Rempel said it's important that children's festival events be accessible.

"We try and do that with all of the stuff that we do," he said. "We're open for anybody from any socioeconomic category to be able to come down and still have access to this great world class talent."

He adds it's a great way to keep the kids busy during spring break.

"Kids are not in school. They're at home, they need some place to go, something to do. And it’s a great way to go out and have a laugh, have some fun together at The Forks.”