The Pittsburgh International Children's Festival is a spring tradition, but this year it's breaking with tradition by moving to a new location.

In its 22nd season, the festival moves from its former North Side Allegheny Center site to the University of Pittsburgh's Oakland campus, where an international lineup of performers will present a slate of U.S. premieres. The festival opens Wednesday and runs through next Sunday.

The festival also will be adding another performing company because the Oakland location provides more flexibility in booking acts because of a wider variety of venue sizes.

Outdoor attractions will be on the grounds around the Pitt campus and Schenley Plaza. Bigelow Boulevard will be closed between Fifth and Forbes avenues, as will the Schenley Drive extension between Forbes Avenue and Clemente Drive.

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Pittsburgh International Children's Festival

• When: Wednesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where: University of Pittsburgh, Schenley Plaza, Oakland.
• Tickets: Eco-Discovery $5. Stage performance tickets range from $8/person for one-show package to $32/person for six-show package. Outdoor activities on the festival grounds are free. Information: 412-321-5520 or www.pghkids.org.
• Parking: Recommended parking areas are the Soldiers and Sailors Hall parking garage, the lot at Carnegie Museum and metered parking on nearby streets.

PDF: See a printable map of the Pittsburgh International Children's Festival.

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There are four indoor venues: the Charity Randall Theatre, Bellefield Theater and Studio Theatre on the University of Pittsburgh campus, and Synod Hall on North Craig Street, next to St. Paul Cathedral.

The new setting is "charming," says Pamela Lieberman, Children's Festival executive director. "The grounds are broken up a little more because of the streets."

The Oakland move is a result of a collaboration between the festival and the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

The festival will have roughly the same if not a little bit more space in Oakland compared with its North Side location. Organizers this year expect to draw 24,000 visitors, about the same as in past years.

"Eco-Discovery" is a large, interactive installation that will be on the lawn of the Pitt Cathedral of Learning. It was created by Evelyn Roth, a Canadian artist now living in Australia. The piece consists of a series of fabric domes. The first is a re-creation of a healthy rain forest environment. The second is a rain forest destroyed by clear-cutting. In the third, children can restore and replant the rain forest, adding vines and creatures to the dome.

Some of the festival performances are designed for very small audiences, which was a problem on the North Side where only larger venues were available.

"The heart of the festival is the live performance," Lieberman says. The stage performances are "something you're not going to see anywhere else."

Among other performances, the festival will feature a world premiere from a local company -- Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre's "The Happy Prince," an adaptation of the Oscar Wilde children's story.

"American theater is often very different from international work," Lieberman says. "It will be interesting for audiences to go from seeing something from Korea to seeing something that was developed right here in Pittsburgh."

"A Moon Between Two Houses" by Mexico's Marionetas de la Esquina is about two neighbors who learn to get along despite their differences.

"The Frog Prince" by South Korea's Joyful Theatre is an adaptation of the classical Brothers Grimm story that combines live action, puppetry and video.

"Same Spirit, Different Movement" fuses modern and traditional dance, set to a turntable soundtrack. It's the creation of Illstyle & Peace Productions, a Philadelphia dance company.

Mimbre Acrobats, a trio of female acrobats hailing from Italy, Sweden and England, present "Sprung," a mix of physical skill and humor.

Israel's The Train Theatre performs an environmentally themed piece called "The Rain Bird," which combines origami and storytelling.

In "Blue Fear," Portuguese actor Jose Caldas performs a stage adaptation of the Charles Perrault story. Caldas plays all of the characters, with hardly any props. "Blue Fear" is something of a departure for the Festival, Lieberman says. "It's for the brave of heart only."

"Blue Fear" is recommended for older children, ages 9 and up.

"The Moon Between Two Houses," "The Frog Prince," "Sprung," "The Rain Bird" and "Blue Fear" are U.S. premieres.

Free outdoor attractions on the festival grounds, such as the Target KidStage, puppet shows, Citiparks' Roving Art Cart, petting zoo, face painting and other activities, are back.

Illstyle & Peace Productions will conduct a free dance workshop (ages 14 and older) on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Two local artists -- Kellee Van Aken and Cheryl Capezzuti -- will conduct a recycling workshop on Saturday and Sunday where children will learn how to make musical instruments out of recycled materials.