Fairy tales come true！A 10-meter chocolate fountain delights at New Taipei City Children’s Art Festival

Written/Compiled and Reported by Chen Guanxin, MOOK Travel Life Network

During the summer vacation, cultural and artistic events are taking place across Taiwan. This year’s “2012 New Taipei City Children’s Art Festival” runs from today until August 12 at Civic Square. During the event, Civic Square will be transformed into a fairy-tale kingdom and will feature activities such as obstacle courses, DIY workshops, and fantasy theaters. In addition to attractions like the water dance pyramid and water maze, there will also be a chocolate fountain over ten meters tall—the tallest in the world. Moreover, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings, performances will be held by France’s mechanical puppet troupe La Machine, as well as domestic groups like the YOYO Family. On August 12, a parent-child COSPLAY costume competition will also be held, with the first prize being a cash award of NT$15,000.

This year’s “New Taipei City Children’s Art Festival” centers around fairy tales and is held at New Taipei City Civic Square, featuring a series of installations, experiential activities, games, and art performances. Among them, the fairy-tale kingdom chocolate fountain, over ten meters tall, continuously flows with richly aromatic chocolate syrup. The water dance pyramid and water maze offer a refreshing “rainbow water dance.” For interactive games, there are DIY courses like the “Old Goat Laboratory” and challenge games such as the “Fairy Tale Village Obstacle Course.” Participants can create eco-friendly toys and water guns from recycled bottles, and by completing 10 challenges in the obstacle course, they can enter a lucky draw for a chance to visit Hong Kong Disneyland with their family.

In addition, fantasy theater performances are scheduled for 19:30 every Friday evening, and 18:00 every Saturday and Sunday evening during the event. This year’s performing groups include three overseas troupes: France’s mechanical puppet troupe La Machine, the stilts puppet troupe Une De Plus, and the animated musical theater Carton Park. Domestic groups such as the Dance Bell Theater, If Kids Theater, Cai Feng Music Troupe, Haishan Theater, New Image Creation Troupe, Jiuge Children’s Theater, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, and the YOYO Family will also perform, entertaining both children and adults with diverse acts including acrobatics, drama, percussion, and animated music.

This year also features a “Parent-Child COSPLAY Costume Competition,” with registration open from now until August 3. The competition has two stages: the first stage is the preliminary round, “Telling Stories Through Photos,” where participants design creative fairy-tale stories through cosplay photos and written descriptions, with 30 teams advancing to the finals. The second stage, the finals, will take the form of a “Live Fashion Show” at Civic Square on August 12, with the first prize being NT$15,000.

Additionally, this year’s Children’s Art Festival collaborates with various municipal museums, libraries, arts and culture zones, and the Xinzhuang Arts Center to offer a variety of experience courses, film screenings, and performances. These include the “Hand Puppet Workshop” at Xinzhuang Arts Center, the “Play with Clay, Learn English” DIY course at Yingge Ceramics Museum, the “Historic Site Theater” at Tamsui Historic Site Museum, the “Adventure Summer” animation film festival at Vieshow Cinemas 15, and the “Toys & Puppets Exhibition” at the 435 Arts and Culture Zone. These offerings add an artistic touch to children’s summer activities. Event website: www.newtaipeicitycaf.tw.

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