Circuit Biscuit Festival

Circuit Biscuit Festival: Art as the First Language

Since 2001, the Circuit Biscuit Festival has been the unmissable event for very young audiences in Touraine. Supported by the Espace Malraux, a designated stage in Joué-lès-Tours, this annual March festival offers a demanding and sensitive program over two weeks, specially designed for children from 3 months old and their families. In 2025, the festival celebrated its 25th edition, confirming its pioneering role in the dissemination of performing arts for early childhood.

A Program Designed for Toddlers

Each year, Circuit Biscuit presents about ten shows and thirty performances, offering artistic forms adapted to the perceptual and emotional capacities of very young children: musical awakening, parent-child dance, sensory theater, shadow and object theater, visual and sound shows, and interactive installations. The invited companies, among the most recognized in the field of young audiences, create poetic and immersive universes where toddlers are active spectators.

Shows Close to Families

One of the festival's unique features is to stage its shows outside the walls of the Espace Malraux, in the neighborhoods of Joué-lès-Tours: community centers, early childhood centers, media libraries, neighborhood houses. This proximity approach reaches families who do not usually frequent cultural venues, affirming the festival's social and educational mission. Performances are also offered in Tours and Ballan-Miré.

A Family Highlight at Espace Malraux

Each year, the festival opens with a festive afternoon at the Espace Malraux, offering free parent-child workshops: creative workshops, exhibitions, musical awakening, readings, and surprises. This friendly and participatory event sets the tone for the festival and invites families to discover the program in a spirit of sharing and kindness.

A Commitment to Cultural Awakening from the Earliest Age

Circuit Biscuit is part of an educational and artistic approach supported by the City of Joué-lès-Tours and the Espace Malraux, in collaboration with early childhood professionals, educators, and artists. The festival collaborates with national partners like Enfance et Musique and contributes to the discussion on the challenges of cultural awakening for toddlers. It has become a regional and national benchmark for programming performing arts for early childhood.