Bellport Children's Festival Announces Return to Isabella Rossellini's Farm

BELLPORT CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL is a whimsical storytelling festival for children aged 3-12 and their families. A program packed day will be held on Isabella Rossellini's Farm in the historic seaside town of Bellport, NY on 20th July, 10am-5pm.

Confirmed speakers include host and creative partner, Isabella Rossellini, author and illustrator, Jessie Hartland (My Tiny Pet), author and illustrator, Carin Berger (A Curious Menagerie), and founder, Elizabeth Starkey. Multi-arts line-up includes Three Little Pigs by WonderSparks Puppet Theatre with live piglets, and Unusual Creatures Show by Michael Hearst.

New this year is Immersive Fairytales, a collaboration between Britain's Storystock Traveling Circus of Storiesand Bellport's Gateway School of Performing Arts, who will bring hilariously- hyped fairytales, such as The Mad Hatter's Tea Party into the Meadow, and Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and Hansel and Gretel into the Wild Woods, where a real House of Sweets designed by @PerilousPaper with a live Witch will greet guests.

The Gateway School of Performing Arts is located as a central part of The Gateway, Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County, Long Island's oldest continual professional theater now celebrating its 70th anniversary. The Gateway school's legacy began in the 1950s training such icons as Robert Duval and Gene Hackman to name a few. Currently offering classes in all types of theater and technique, many students go on to have professional careers on Broadway, Television, and Feature Film. The Gateway's students also can participate in the Main Stage season where they work with working actors and members of the Actors Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

BELLPORT CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL is hosting Crayon Collection's first Color Kindness event on the East Coast. As Ambassadors for the Crayon Recycling Program, Suffolk County Central School District, Bellport libraries and stores are collecting gently used crayons that would otherwise end in landfills. At the Color Kindness event, families will bundle collected crayons to donate to schools in need.

In the festival's Village of Tents, hands-on workshops for children include illustration, spinning, crafts, puppetry, woodworking, wordcraft, and comic drawing, led by Parrish Art Museum, Lisa Konnerth, StoryStock, Jessie Hartland, WonderSpark Puppets, Little Miss Workbench, Carin Berger, and HeyItsTomDuffy. In the Meadow, live animal workshops from Quogue Wildlife Refugeand Center for Environmental Education and Discoverywill encourage children to touch, inspect and respect unusual creatures. In the Wild Woods, open exploration of folktales, fairies and forest skills led by Aishling Forest School.

A highlight for children will be the inaugural opening of The Runcible Spoon Café, run by children for children, that's right, no adults allowed, except maybe renowned restaurateur, Andrew Tarlow who may lend kid staff a few 'runcibles'. Parents may sit under the trees to enjoy wood-fired pizza from Stone Creek Inn, and pastries from Mademoiselle and Lili's Baked Goods. Artisan makers in the Pop-up Emporium include Terrace Books, Hazel Village, Oeuf NYC, Little Miss Workbench, Mr. Boddington and others.

Back by popular demand, the beloved Quangle-Wangle Story Contestencourages children 5-12 years to Create A Crazy Creature in words or pictures. Judges will award winners with personal feedback and their story's permanent publication at Brookhaven Free Library.

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