Children’s festival still creating pathways to DreamBIG
As it celebrates its 50th birthday, we look back at the history of the DreamBIG Children’s Festival, formerly Come Out Children’s Festival, which has ignited a love of the arts for generations of young South Australians since its first parade through the city in the 1970s.
It has educated and entertained generations of South Australian children over the years, and now the iconic DreamBIG Children’s Festival is marking a major milestone: its 50th birthday.
The festival was first staged in 1974 as the Come Out Children’s Festival, with its colourful street parade along King William Street almost a rite of passage for many young South Australian school students.
It has gone on to become the longest running children’s festival in the world, but sadly the street parade was discontinued in 2013, replaced with other opening event activities and events, often involving the River Torrens footbridge.
This year, in honour of the 50th birthday anniversary, numerous parades will be held at regional schools across the state, as well as an event on the opening day this week at Adelaide Festival Centre.
Current festival director Georgi Paech says the DreamBIG parade in particular invokes great memories for many South Australians.
“So many people remember Come Out from when they were growing up – particularly the Come Out Parade, which thousands of children have participated in over the lifetime of the festival,” Paech says.
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“Taking part in an event like that, those memories of joy, celebration and togetherness have a long-lasting impact on how you see yourself and your role in your community.”
DreamBIG is now run with two program streams – one for schools and one for the public – and this year more than 175 schools will take part, including 28 from regional areas.
The theme of this year’s festival is ‘I Was, I Am, I Will Be’, in honour of the history of this unique event, as well as its future as the major event on the arts calendar for young South Australians.
Creator and actor Stephen Noonan has created a one-man show for this year’s festival called The Boy & the Ball, which he pitches as “a story of how one friend can become many”.
“The performance emerged from a two-year artist residency at Kilkenny Preschool, where I witnessed firsthand the joyous yet complex world of early childhood friendships,” Stephen says. “This delicate ‘rite of passage’ fascinates me – how four-year-olds navigate their first independent social connections.”
Noonan has had a 40-year relationship with the children’s festival, starting out as a volunteer while still a student himself.
“My journey with this festival began in 1985 as a high school student working front of house at the Royalty Theatre on Angas Street,” he says.
“Four decades later, I’m presenting my own solo show that has taken me from Cuba to Italy, Malta and Serbia! The festival has been both my artistic foundation and launchpad – a testament to how South Australian arts initiatives can nurture global careers.”
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“I have performed in over 10 different DreamBIG / Come Out Festivals with companies like Restless Dance Theatre, KneeHIGH Puppeteers, University of Adelaide Drama Department, Slack Taxi, Sally Chance Dance, The PaperBoats and now my very own solo performance in 2025 The Boy & the Ball.
“What makes this festival exceptional is its unwavering focus on young audiences – their interests, curiosities, and unique sense of humour. I firmly believe we shouldn’t just be creating ‘audiences of tomorrow’, but ensuring every age group has access to high-quality cultural experiences, whether literature, music, dance, or theatre.”
Many high-profile local artists have been part of the festival leadership team over the years – such as Andy Packer and Sally Chance, who have both gone on to establish their own, world-renowned arts companies for children.
“I’ve inherited an amazing legacy,” says Paech, who is in her first year as director. “Much of the reason that this festival is so beloved is due to the work of all the festivals before me.”
The name change, from Come Out to DreamBIG occurred in 2017 via a competition which was won by a Prospect Primary School student. In her research as director, Paech says she found the original charter for the festival – a discovery that revealed how the festival’s character has remained unchanged by the rebrand.
“What is amazing is despite how much the world has changed over the last 50 years, the crux of the festival is the same. Much of the description of the festival in 1975 is the same as how I’ve described it today.”
Highlights of the festival this year include performances such as Imagine LIVE – an adaptation of Alison Lester’s much-loved picture book – and The Princess, The Pea (and the Brave Escapee) by the Australian Chamber Orchestra that retells the fairytale from the point of view of the princess
“But as I said, we’re all about young people being creative themselves – there are lots of great opportunities for children to be part of the art, such as Mini Spin, a dance rave for kids led by three Deaf dancers, and String Symphony, where young people in the audience will be asked to puppeteer a giant marionette themselves,” Paech says.
“DreamBIG is about inspiring young people to imagine the best version of themselves and our hope is that DreamBIG 2025 will ignite a spark in our young audience that leads to really bright futures.”
DreamBIG Children’s Festival runs from May 7 – 17