Sharjah 24: The lobbies and hallways of the ongoing 15th annual Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF) turned into a fabled wonderland full of soapy sparkle as Rya, the Ram, and Kos, the deer, made a fantastical entry with their famed ‘circus on bubbles’, leaving festival goers amazed and creatively inspired.

The debuting Wonder Walks act saw the Italian duo of artists Alekos Ottaviucci, 29, and Ilaria Fioretto, 34, delight the young and old alike with their captivating storytelling and inspired choreography centred around the art of creating giant bubbles.

Dressed as zoomorphic characters, the two walked around Expo Centre Sharjah – where the 12-day festival is being organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) – interacting with guests and blowing out bubbles, transporting them into a world of wonder and imagination. 

“We wanted to bring an out-of-the-world act the guests wouldn’t have seen in their wildest of dreams,” said Fioretto, a former vegan chef-turned-bubble artist, who now accompanies her partner Ottaviucci for shows all over the world including Europe and the Far East. “This is the first time we brought this show to this festival and we are so inspired to have received the love we did during our very first performance.”

The duo will perform their Wonder Walks show twice every day – 11am and 6pm – until the end of the festival that comes to a close on May 12. The timings for the show on Friday will be 4pm and 6pm.