Bobs and Lolo will be the opening act of “A Children’s Festival” that takes place on Sunday, June 10 at the Community Theatre at Osoyoos Secondary School. Tickets are only $5 for adults and $2 for children thanks to a grant from OCU. (Publicity photo)

Two highly acclaimed children’s acts will be performing Sunday, June 10 in “A Children’s Festival,” an event aimed at youngsters aged three to 10.

Bobs and Lolo have been nominated four times for Junos as singer-songwriters and they were recently named Canada’s Favourite Kids’ Entertainer in a national poll by CBC Music.

The Purple Pirate, Dustin Anderson, is an award-winning children’s performer who will have adults laughing and children jumping to their feet to volunteer with the friendly buccaneer.

The event is presented by the Osoyoos Concert Series (OCS) in conjunction with Osoyoos Credit Union (OCU), who provided a generous grant last year, said Ted Osborne of the OCS.

Tickets are only $5 for an adult and $2 for a child, a low price that Osborne said was only possible because of the OCU grant.

The event takes place at the Community Theatre at Osoyoos Secondary School.

Bobs and Lolo perform at 1 p.m.

Kids will make pirate hats between the performances and then the Purple Pirate does his show at 2:30 p.m.

Osborne said this is the first time the Osoyoos Concert Series has done a children’s festival that he’s aware of.

The event, he said, is not just for people in Osoyoos, but he hopes it will draw children from Oliver, Rock Creek, Keremeos, Cawston and elsewhere.

“This is for kids and parents, because the parents are going to have a ball watching the kids get so excited and get up there and sing along,” said Osborne.

Children will start out in the seats, and the entertainers will control how they bring children up in front of the audience.

“As part of the (OCU) grant, we said we would like to do something for kids,” said Osborne. “We thought we’ll make it a special day for kids in the South Okanagan.”

This event will be outside of the four regular concerts geared to adults the OCS does from October to February.

“We had been talking over the past few years about doing something for families or making one of our four a family concert, but we thought we’ll try this (instead),” said Osborne.

He asks that parents stay with their children through the event, rather than just drop children off.

“We want parents to come and be a part of it because this is a big event and I think parents will have a great time,” he said.

Also, there will not be a concession at the theatre, so parents should bring bottled water for children. Food cannot be brought into the theatre once the show starts, he said.

Tickets are available at the Osoyoos Times or by calling the Times at 250-495-7225.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

The Purple Pirate, aka Dustin Anderson, keeps kids jumping up to volunteer with the friendly buccaneer. (Publicity photo)