Arts festival at Harbourfront

Luminato — This event swept the city off its artistic feet last summer, and it’s back to douse the town in new, creative adventures. There’s a dizzying amount going on (including a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Indian and Sri Lankan performers), but I’ll try to keep to family-oriented stuff here. The big buzz for the all-ages crowd is Sanctuary Song, the emotional story of an elephant recalling her life in and out of captivity and her keeper’s promise to finally free her. The performance mixes opera, dance and theatre and is being put together by Theatre Direct and Tapestry. It plays at the Berkeley Street Theatre from June 6 to 14 for various afternoon and early evening shows. Personally, I love puppets and I’m excited about Rocket and the Queen of Dreams, put on by Toronto’s Roseneath Theatre at Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. It blends shadow theatre, puppetry and live performance with a full original score and an enticing story about monsters and dreams. It plays from June 8 to 15 at various times. Do you kids love Dan Zanes, just about the only cool guy doing children’s music these days? Zanes is doing two shows at The Music Hall on June 15 at 1 and 4 p.m., tickets are $35 for adults and $25 for children. He’s all over town as well and is showing up at the Ontario Science Centre on June 14 for an interactive workshop on the science of sound, the Kiehl’s Store on Yonge Street on June 9 and Harbourfront Centre on June 14 for a family jam session. He’s also doing some stuff with the Toronto Public Library on June 10 and 11. The festival runs from June 6 to 15 and to get more details on all that’s going on — and there’s a lot — visit www.luminato.com and call 416-368-3100.