“White Waves Roaring” Gushes Down – Yilan Children’s Folk Games Festival Kicks Off with Cool Fun

▲ On the first day of the annual Yilan Children’s Folk Games Festival, a large number of tourists flocked to the event. (Photo / Taken fromYilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame FestivalFacebook)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The Yilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival grandly opened today at the Dongshan River Water Park, ushering in a 51-day summer extravaganza. This year’s opening performance echoed the theme “Jump,” with the Lanyang Dance Troupe, New Image Creation Theater, and Impact Reality Percussion Ensemble presenting the joyful atmosphere of learning across different eras. Traveling through time—from aquatic creatures to the modern day—Yilan County Magistrate Lin Tsong-shyan also made a cameo dressed in a sixth-grade uniform, joining the kids in playing hopscotch and radiating youthful energy.


▲ This year’s Children’s Folk Games Festival is themed “Jump.” (Photo / Provided by Yilan County Government)

Lin Tsong-shyan stated that the mission of the Children’s Folk Games Festival is to help everyone rediscover the naturalness and innocence of childhood. Here, he hopes everyone can become like children—playing in the water, jumping, running, and rolling without any restraints.

This year within the festival grounds, water play features a newly built attraction “White Waves Roaring,” along with “The Magical Voyage of Seed Boats” establishing cross-border connections with Japan’s Setouchi Triennale. The Children’s Folk Games Festival has also, for the first time, planned a “Little Ones Creative Play Kingdom” for children aged 0–6, and features amazing performances by 39 folk music and dance troupes from 18 countries around the world.