Take a break from the screens and let your children embark on a playful adventure with our A Year of Blessings free audio play series. Join the fun and entertaining stories of Bunnifer and Bunnithy, Little Shrimp, and others as they celebrate major Chinese festivals and explore cultural traditions.
Episode #1
A Year of Blessings: 繽紛新年 Bun Fun New Year
We kick off this Lunar New Year with tales from our bunny friends at the Bao household. In the midst of preparing for the Lunar New Year family feast, twin bunnies Bunnifer and Bunnithy learn the true meaning of new year festivities and a couple of…interesting… recipes along the way.
Episode #2
A Year of Blessings: 蝦仔 Little Shrimp
A brave Little Shrimp with a big heart takes us on a musical adventure through the underwater and underworld to connect with friends, family, and ancestors on Qing Ming, the tomb-sweeping holiday.
Episode #3
A Year of Blessings: Band of Dragons: Sink, Oar, Swim
Star athlete Faye, a 5th-generation dragon boat drummer, has a secret passion for playing music in the band, Skyhorns. When the Skyhorn’s biggest gig yet–opening for Manta Del Rey–falls on race day of the Dragon Boat Festival, our hero is faced with an impossible decision: fulfill traditions, or forge a new path. Faye seeks wisdom from the immortalized Chinese poet, 屈原 (Qu Yuan). With so much on the line, how will our young dragon choose? Will they sync, oar, or swim?
Episode #4 #5
A Year of Blessings: Legend of the Whooshhh
We celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival with Eunice, RoRo, and Mabel. The three chum salmon swim upstream from the ocean, through the estuary, up the creek, and homeward bound into the forest where they will spawn. With rising temperatures and lowering water levels, The Three Chums will need to rely on their enduring friendships, new connections, the myth of Chang Er, and the legend of The Whooshhh—the salmon cannon—to get them safely home.
Episode #6
A Year of Blessings: Operation Double Happiness
A family of Taiwanese Mandarin ducks reside in different parts of Turtle Island. Clara and Cici are identical twins who have been in rivalry since birth and are now estranged, but their daughters Jamie and Mallory are tightly connected–thanks to the interwebs. The two BFF cousins hatched Operation Double Happiness to unite their family for the Winter Solstice celebration in Taiwan. Jamie and Mallory narrate their mission to us in this heist-style, spy-movie episode—think The Incredibles meets 007. Will the wily cousins be able to restore family harmony?
Gateway Theatre is thrilled to collaborate with Five Blessings Collective, a team of Asian-Canadian artists behind A Year of Blessings. By retelling the stories about these Chinese festivals, we hope to share the wonders of these cultural traditions.