ST. PAUL, Minn. (Jan. 25, 2018) — Ordway Center for the Performing Arts today announced that it is renaming the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival to the Flint Hills Family Festival and changing its schedule to include evenings and Friday. These changes are an effort to make the festival accessible to more people and reflect the family experience that is enjoyed by all ages and generations.
“Opening the festival on Friday afternoon will allow the 74,000 people who work in downtown Saint Paul to meet up with their families after work and join in the fun,” said Jamie Grant, president and CEO of Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. “We are so excited to watch the downtown streets come to life with inspiring performances, smiling faces, and unforgettable family moments.”
One of the largest and longest-running children’s festivals of its kind in the country, this 18th annual event will continue to have an international focus and feature free outdoor performances, crafts and activities, as well as affordable indoor performances. The festival will now run 4-8 p.m. on Friday, June 1, and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday, June 2. Unlike previous years, the festival will not operate on Sunday.
“The longstanding partnership between the Ordway and Flint Hills Resources is extraordinary,” said B Kyle, President/CEO of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. “I bring my family to this event every year, and am looking forward to walking over to the festival after work that Friday and watching the fun begin. This is such a testimony to community partnerships. I extend many thanks to both the Ordway and Flint Hills for their investment in families.”
More than 770,000 people have attended the festival since its inception in 2001. This includes Family Weekend attendees, as well as the more than 20,000 students and teachers from across Minnesota and Wisconsin who visit the festival each year to attend professional performances, participate in hands-on activities, and engage in artist workshops during the festival’s four School Days.
“The Ordway’s vision and creativity led to this fantastic reimagination of the festival experience,” said Geoff Glasrud, vice president and manufacturing manager at the Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount. “Flint Hills Resources is proud to partner with the Ordway on this incredible family-friendly event, and we’re so excited about what the festival will bring to families across the region in 2018.”
Tickets to all indoor performances are on sale now and can be purchased online at ordway.org/festival or by phone at 651-224-4222. The cost is $8 per seat with select Pay What You Can performances on Saturday, which is available for the 2 p.m. Moon Mouse show on Saturday and the noon Moona Luna show. This year’s full indoor lineup includes:
• Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey: Featuring music, movement, and larger-than-life characters that light up the stage, join Marvin the mouse in a cosmic adventure about celebrating differences.
• Tetris: A physical and interactive dance quartet becomes a real-life Tetris game on stage.
• Moona Luna: A four-member band creates magical moments with danceable tunes in Spanish and English.
• Panda’s Home: Follow an adorable panda bear on an imaginary journey through dance and sound.
The Festival is sponsored by Flint Hills Resources. Additional support is provided by the City of Saint Paul’s Cultural Sales Tax Revitalization Program, Xcel Energy Foundation, and Ruth and John Huss.
For over 30 years, Ordway Center for Performing Arts has been telling stories that exemplify the human experience. Our stage has been a dramatic canvas for artists to create worlds of love and loss, hope and despair, war and peace, victory and defeat. Audiences have been transported to exotic locations, met iconic characters, and embarked on exhilarating adventures. Recognized as one of the U.S.’s leading not-for-profit performing arts centers, the Ordway presents and produces a wide variety of performances throughout the year that encompass the finest in musical theater, concerts, dance and vocal artists. In addition, each year the Ordway presents its Flint Hills Family Festival and serves over 60,000 children through its education programs. The performing arts center houses a 1,900 seat Music Theater, a 1,100 seat Concert Hall, two large rehearsal halls and magnificent lobbies. The Ordway is a proud member of the Arts Partnership, a collaboration comprising the Minnesota Opera, the Ordway, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Schubert Club. For more information, visit ordway.org.
Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery produces transportation fuels used throughout the Midwest, including most of Minnesota’s gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, as well as other products people rely on such as propane and asphalt. Located 17 miles southeast of Minneapolis, Pine Bend has a capacity of 339,000 barrels per day and is among the cleanest, most efficient, and safest oil refineries in the country. Flint Hills Resources directly and indirectly supports more than 4,000 Minnesota jobs and has invested nearly $1.7 billion on upgrades and improvements to its Minnesota facilities since 2010. With about 1,000 full-time employees, the Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery is one of the largest employers in Dakota County. More information about the company is available at pinebendrefinery.com.
