Step away from the Wii and step right up to the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL! Acrobats and aerialists are famous for doing the things everyone else is afraid to try. If there’s something YOU want to try, half the battle is just showing up. Learn to juggle, hula hoop, hang upside down, or do a cartwheel! Kick off the summer season by getting off the couch and into the swing of Circus!

UNDER THE BIG TOP!
The Westjet Stage is the MAIN ATTRACTION at the Toronto International Circus Festival

CANADIAN NATIONAL YOUTH CIRCUS
The Canadian National Youth Circus (CNYC) is a non-profit organization that promotes and encourages youth involvement in the circus arts. Our little HarbourKIDS have been working diligently in preparation for the Toronto International Circus Festival – come see what they have accomplished and show your kids that they can do it too!
WestJet Stage
DAILY, 11:45 am

CABOTINAGE
Acrobatics, opera and tomfoolery are all interlaced in this colourful spectacle, in homage to high-flying adventurousness and grandiose imagination. Four motley characters from Îles-de-la-Madeleine's Vague de Cirque share their inventive universe, their creative inspiration and their exceptional physical prowess. Exaggeration, mockery and eccentricity are the order of the day! 30 minutes of laughter and amazement for young and old!
WestJet Stage
DAILY, 1:00 pm

46 CIRCUS ACTS IN 45-MINUTES
How many wondrous circus acts can be stuffed into 45 minutes? Exactly 46, with barely a pause to applaud. Lively music keeps the pace as a handful of multi-talented clowns and contortionists to animal acts and acrobats from Australia’s  C!RCA bend, fly, juggle, and balance in a suspenseful  battle against the clock. 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes is fast, furious, and fun for everyone!
WestJet Stage
DAILY, 4:00 pm

THE SWEET VARIETY OF CIRCUS
Incredible juggling, side-splitting interactive comedy, playful clownish antics and a wealth of unusal skills make up the variety of circus-inspired acts that sugar-coat the Redpath Variety Stage, punctuated at regular intervals by the esteemed host!

Please note! The Redpath Variety Stage has a running order but performance times are approximate and subject to change without notice! Go to the ARTISTS page to find out who's on!

The Redpath Variety Stage runs from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm each day

PUPPET PLAYHOUSE

THE GIANT MAGICIAN
The Giant Magician is a string marionette comedy incorporating clowning, magic and puppetry from Panadream Theatre in Montreal. Follow the Giant Magician as he explores his powers, bringing to life a host of unique characters including a flying dragon and a lamp that yodels! Join the young conjurer as he discovers what magic truly is.  40-minutes
Studio Theatre
DAILY, 12:00 pm

QUEEN OF PARADISE’S GARDEN
Featuring puppets by Slovenian Theatre Artist Darka Erdelj, Andy Jones tells the story of Jack in the Queen of Paradise's Garden. "Jack" is a well-known figure in traditional Newfoundland fairy tales - (Jack Meets the Cat) and these are stories which Andy has learned over the years from an older generation of Newfoundlanders. Always a hit with audiences of all ages – from 3 to 93! 30-minutes
Studio Theatre
DAILY, 2:00 pm & 3:30 pm

TUMBLE & SWING ACROBATIC WORKSHOPS
Jumping! Balance! Spin in the aerial hoop! HarbourKIDS from ages 5 - 14 can try out aerial and acrobatic equipment inside York Quay Centre's Brigantine Room! Try tumbling, aerial hoop, aerial silks and mini-trampoline under the guidance of circus professionals from the Centre of Gravity Circus Training Studio!
Brigantine Room
DAILY, 11:00 am - 4:30 pm

AERIAL HOOP LOOP-DE-LOOP
One by one kids will have the opportunity to take the challenge of spinning around in an aerial hoop facilitated by a circus professional from Zero Gravity Circus.

SKILLS WITH SILKS
The silks are one of the most stunning acts in the circus. See how beautiful you can be as you climb, twist, hang and swirl on this amazing apparatus.

BOING! BOING!
Who doesn’t love jumping on the bed? Well, this is even better! Catch some air on the mini-trampoline and experience weightlessness, just like an astronaut in space!

NATREL CLOWN CLUB
The Natrel Clown Club was such a big hit at last year’s festival that it’s back and bigger than ever! In 2010, over 1500 children “graduated” from clown school, having practiced their funny walks, funny voices, and picked out their clown names. This year the Natrel Clown Club will be expanded, with more stations, more space, and more fun! Using games, jokes, physical comedy and interaction, kids will see themselves transform into bona fide clowns. Complete with graduation ceremony, a clown diploma and the coveted red nose, kids will leave feeling free to truly be themselves. As the day goes on there will be more and more kids who become members of the Natrel Clown Club, and a community of red noses will emerge.

Parents can wait at tables in the Brigantine Tent for their little clowns to finish school. As the jesters and jokers of tomorrow emerge, parents are invited to witness a brief graduation performance. Kids can then get a free sample of Natrel milk as a reward for their hard work!

Three full days worth of interactive circus activities for the young, the old, and everyone in between!

Giant stilt characters, innocent clowns, a wandering minstrel, a wind-up doll, an organ grinder – and even a lion tamer! All are part of the eclectic cast of characters set loose by Zero Gravity Circus to roaming the grounds at Harboutfront Centre all weekend long.
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

PICK-UR-PIC: BLAST TO CIRCUS PAST
Step back in history to a time when the Circus reigned supreme. In PICK-UR-PIC, you get to dress in traditional circus attire, choosing what kind of performance and act you will be present on your own circus flyer. In front of an old-fashioned Circus backdrop, ropes, ribbons, stools, stuffed animals, and other circus performer props will be available for kids to transform themselves and their families into a circus act from the early 20th century.
West Arcade
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

BALLOON VIRTUOSOS!
Check out the crazy balloon sculptures from ZERO GRAVITY CIRCUS! These zany balloonatics are ultra-talented - they have mastered how to make a handful of balloons into an interactive activity, a souvenir and a conversation piece, all in one creation.
Ann Tindal Lawn Tents
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

HOOP-A-LOOP
Did you know that it is impossible to be in a bad mood while hula hooping? It’s true! Moving & grooving! Twirling & smiling! Participants learn to manipulate this classic plaything under the guidance of upbeat professionals with exceptional skill in the manipulation of hula hoops, Everyone is welcome to come and play!
Ann Tindal Lawn Tents
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

LEGO FUNHOUSE
LEGO has always been a big part of teh TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL. Incredible creations abound as little LEGO architects build worlds of their own and display them for all to see. Join us tin the Lakeside Terrace for more astounding LEGO construction – but this year there’s more! Did you know that LEGO makes board games? Well they do, and we’ve got some! It’s the world's first collection of games that you build, play, and change. With the unique buildable LEGO Dice and changeable rules, LEGO Games are a new way to have fun together with family and friends.
Lakeside Terrace Tent
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

CIRQUE DIRT: OUTER SPACE UNDER GROUND
Join us at the Cirque Dirt tent and learn why the earth rains, not the sky. We'll introduce you to billions of microorganisms and share how trees communicate through the earth. Learn how water and soils connect and how you can build an inch of soil. A hands on experience…but don’t worry, handwashing stations will be available! Backyards are our local outer space. We know so little about the world under our feet. Soils are like oceans. So much life. So much going on. The many thousands of species in small amounts of soil are likely to remain unknown for the forseeable future.

Visit HarbourKIDS favorite Garden Jane, and learn about the world beneath our feet! Kids will be able to touch, see, and smell different kinds of soils, be a scientist and perform some simple interactive soil tests, plant their own succulent to take home, and lots more!
Ann Tindal Lawn Tents
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

CIRCUS SHOWROOM: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Take a breather from all the high-flying activities and stroll through circus history. Photographs will line the walls and miniature circus figures will be on display for all to see.

The Circus Showroom has something for everyone! Take a photographic trek with the magical Kathleen Finlay. A clown’s journey to relight the stars is told through photographs and text from her new book, Starfall. Check out historical circus posters and circus-inspired artwork, then create some of your own by adding to our Circus Future wall. You can even fool around with funhouse mirrors!
Marilyn Brewer Room
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

ORANGE DROP
Blue bin, green bin, orange drop! So many colours! What goes where? Stewardship Ontario makes recycling fun with mini-workshops throughout the day. The objects we regularly throw away can have a second life and making use of them helps us all create more sustainable communities. Visit the Orange Drop station and write or draw your ideas for sustainable living on magnetic whiteboards. Ideas and pictures will be posted online so participants can share their creations with their friends and family.
York Quay Centre
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

BEYOND IMAGININGS: "SHOW US YOUR GREENBELT” PHOTO CONTEST
For the past several months, amateur photographers have been invited to submit their best photos of Ontario’s Greenbelt to our “Show Us Your Greenbelt” Photo Contest. Harbourfront Centre, in celebration of the launch of the second stage of their large-scale, photographic exhibition along Toronto's waterfront, invited shutterbugs young and old to capture the Greenbelt experience on film and send it to them for the chance to win a bicycle and a “Tour de Greenbelt” jersey. Now, the top five photos have been selected and will be on display in York Quay Centre for the duration of the TORONO INTERNATIONAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL.
York Quay Centre
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

ALL ABOUT MISS LOU: WHAT'S YOUR STORY?
FIn the illustrious words of Miss Lou: “Howdy and Tenki!” (How do you do and Thank You!). While you’re roaming around at the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL, stop by Miss Lou’s Room on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00pm – 5:00pm and hear stories from around the world!

The Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley O.M., M.B.E., Dip R.A.D.A., D. Lit (Hon) or simply Miss Lou, wore many hats throughout her life: story teller, writer, poet, broadcaster and cultural icon. She was a major force in the preservation of Jamaican folklore and culture. She helped introduce the descriptive and expressive language of “the people” to a broader audience, bringing Patois to the world.

Miss Lou's Room will be animated with volunteer storytellers bringing their passion for the spoken word to our audiences; we need to see where we came from in order to know where we are going. The space will also be animated with stories from diverse cultural traditions. Not only do we want to hear and remember her stories but we want to hear yours too!
Miss Lou's Room
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

CANADIAN FAMILY FUN ZONE
Join the fun-loving team from Canadian Family Magazine for some good times!
Kids Zone Tent
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

THE EVERYDAY TALENT DISPLAY
It’s your turn to shine! Not every talent will get you a job in the circus – but it should! Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Wiggle your ears? Recite the alphabet backwards? At the Everyday Talent Display, kids are invited to enter into the ring and showcase their talents. A small set of costume pieces, props, music and "rehearsal" space will be available to assist in the creation and execution of original dances, skits or other creations. Participants present their talents to parents and other participants who gather to witness what happens in the big top ring. After each performance, their talent will be celebrated and added to the list. The list serves as documentation of the varied talents at the festival which could include almost anything! From dancing and singing to folding origami, blinking with both eyes, or just smiling sweetly – every talent is worthy of applause at The Everyday Talent Display!
Kids Zone Tent
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

INFO ZONE
Sign up for our HarbourKIDS e-newsletter to keep in touch with family activities year round at Harbourfront Centre!

You can also and find out more about Zero Gravity Circus, their workshops, classes, partners and performances!

And don’t forget to enter our contest
– prize draws on Monday, May 23rd!
Ann Tindal Lawn Tents
DAILY, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm