Saint Paul, Minnesota (April 9, 2025) — The Flint Hills Family Festival, produced by the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, is kicking off summer in downtown Saint Paul May 30-31. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in Rice Park and the Landmark Center, the Festival today announced three additional headliner performances: NOOMA, an opera for babies; Japanese taiko drummers GOCOO, and 2025 Grammy winners Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band. These new performances join 360 All Stars and Ada Twist, Scientist for a star-studded line-up of family-friendly performances. All outdoor activities at the festival are free, and reserve tickets for indoor performances start at $8 per person. Tickets for Lucky Diaz start at $15.
These 25th year headliner performances are for families who want to experience a wide variety of performing arts together. NOOMA, an opera for babies, returns to the Flint Hills Family Festival, making space for wonderful interactive play that’s equally enjoyable for infants and adults. Due to the show’s immense popularity at the festival, additional performances have been added for Thursday this year.
Festival newcomers GOCOO—with TaikoArts Midwest—bring dramatic and unforgettable danceable music through an ensemble of 40 traditional Japanese drums. During the festival, GOCOO will perform three free outdoor shows in Rice Park—two on Friday night and the third at noon on Saturday.
Friday night will also feature a concert by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band at 6:30 PM in the Ordway Concert Hall. This 2025 Grammy-winning band transcends language, borders and generations, blending bilingual indie pop with heart, humor, and high-energy fun. Their humorous kindie pop music earned them two Latin Grammies and features in Billboard Magazine, People Magazine, the New York Times, PBS, and much more. The Flint Hills Family Festival will be the band’s first concert appearance in Minnesota.
Festival weekend also includes two performances from Ada Twist, Scientist, each with three mini-stories of storybook musicals in the Ordway concert hall based on the popular book series by Andrea Beatty. Finally, festival-goers can enjoy energetic performances from Australian-based 360 All Stars, an urban circus capturing the amazing art of street culture through the powers of centrifugal force.
“We are thrilled to add NOOMA, GOCOO and Lucky Diaz to the lineup as we celebrate 25 incredible years of the Flint Hills Family Festival,” said Ordway Vice President of Programming and Community Impact Tanya Gertz. “The Ordway is grateful for the long-time support of our partners at Flint Hills Resources, who consistently show up for the community and bring the arts within reach, with something truly for everyone.”
One of the largest and longest-standing events of its kind in the country, the Flint Hills Family Festival also offers School Week days (May 28-30), when more than 10,000 students take field trips to the Ordway to access the same programming as Family Weekend (May 30-31), which is open to the public. Since its inception in 2001, more than 1 million students and families have experienced the festival.
“Free outdoor fun, stunningly beautiful indoor theatres and a phenomenal array of singers, dancers and musicians inside and out—the Ordway has once again outdone themselves,” said Flint Hills Resources Director of Community Affairs Heather Rein. “We are excited to continue supporting the Flint Hills Family Festival and celebrate 25 years of bringing generations together through arts and culture in downtown Saint Paul.”