The Seattle International Children’s Festival will celebrate its 10th season in downtown Tacoma with a new name: Giant Magnet.

Organizers of the event, which has been bringing performers from around the globe to the Puget Sound area for more than two decades, decided the old name was too limiting and too long and didn’t include the Tacoma portion of the festival, which launched in 2000.

Giant Magnet producing director Brian Faker is a Tacoma native who grew up in the Parkland/Spanaway area.

“There’s always that little tickle you get when it’s Seattle coming down here to show us how it’s done,” he says. “The Tacoma show has its own character and its own vibe.”

Faker says Giant Magnet, which opens today at Seattle Center and Sunday at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts in Tacoma, is a celebration of world cultures through the arts.

“We are trying to attract children and artists into the same space, so it’s a meeting of different cultures,” he says. He points to one example, the old-time string band known as the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The trio is performing in the Giant Magnet festival without its female member, who is due to give birth soon. Remaining members have invited supporting musicians who will play instruments like the bones, and use hand percussion. They call themselves the Gentlemen of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Friends.

“I love when young people make great music by reaching into the past traditions of their elders,” Faker says. He says the performers can show kids that those traditions can be “every bit as cool” as modern music.

This year, the Tacoma Giant Magnet festival will feature a lineup that includes the Chocolate Drops, European jugglers and acrobats, Sufi dancers from India, a German magical clown, Japanese music and more.

There’s a variety show featuring multiple acts on Sunday, and additional performances by six groups Monday. The Monday shows are primarily aimed at school groups, but also are open to the public.

Faker says Giant Magnet strives to deliver performances that are out of the ordinary.

“That’s what keeps us going,” he says.

Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635

debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com">debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com

Tacoma Giant Magnet Performances

A GLOBAL VARIETY SHOW

Details: Celebrate 10 years of the festival in Tacoma with musician Kuniko Yamamoto, the Gentlemen of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Friends and emcee Hacki Ginda.

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Theatre on the Square, 915 Broadway

Tickets: $10-$15

Information for all events: www.giantmagnet.org; 1-800-838-3006 or 206-684-7338

LES ARGONAUTES IN ‘PAS PERDUS’

Details: Four befuddled, demented clown/acrobat/musician/jugglers blend slapstick, circus theater, music and carpentry. A performance that’s absurd and unpredictable.

When: 10 a.m. Monday

Where: Pantages Theater, 905 Broadway

Tickets: $10

GENTLEMEN OF THE CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS AND FRIENDS

Details: Traditional string band music from the rural black communities of the South. The group has earned fame for keeping alive an entire genre of music. They will be joined on stage by guest singers and musicians, along with story tellers.

When: 10 a.m. Monday

Where: Theatre on the Square, 915 Broadway

Tickets: $10

SIDI GOMA: THE BLACK SUFIS OF GUJARAT

Details: These masterful dancers and musicians boast a unique history. They are descendants of East Africans who, in the 10th century, traveled the ocean to India where they embraced the Muslim faith. Their performance begins with a call to prayer, and gradually builds to an exhilarating climax.

When: 10:30 a.m. Monday

Where: Pantages Theater, 905 Broadway

Tickets: $10

HACKI AND COMPANY

Details: A master clown from Germany, Hacki Ginda has helped fuel a resurgence in European variety shows. He’s joined by a crew of supporters, including Tom Noddy the Bubble Man, who will make you laugh at chemistry, physics and geometry lessons.

When: 11:30 a.m. Monday

Where: Theatre on the Square, 915 Broadway

Tickets: $10

KUNIKO YAMAMOTO

Details: Using masks, mime and music, she dramatizes myths and fables from ancient and modern Japan. She combines traditional Japanese music, origami, song and a touch of magic.

When: 1 p.m. Monday

Where: Theatre on the Square, 915 Broadway

Tickets: $10

MERMAID THEATRE OF NOVA SCOTIA IN “THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR” AND OTHER ERIC CARLE FAVORITES

Details: A stage adaptation of Carle’s beloved story, just in time for its 40th birthday. The show uses black-light puppetry and an original musical score to evoke Carle’s unique illustration style.

When: 1 p.m. Monday

Where: Pantages Theater, 905 Broadway

Tickets: $10