Rehearsals are wrapping up as the first X Fest show begins tonight at Prince Charles Park.

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KAMLOOPS - Summer is in full swing in the Tournament Capital. The weather Kamloopsians know and love is here, and outdoor entertainment is amping up.

A local theatre group has shifted its focus in its tenth year of outdoor theatre in Kamloops.

X Fest returns to Prince Charles Park beginning tonight with two new shows this season showcasing a different side of the company.

"We're taking a little bit of a break from (Shakespeare)," said Derek Rein, producer of Project X Theatre Productions. "We're doing two shows that are geared towards families."

Fantastic Mr. Fox, featuring some local child talent, kicks off the two-and-a-half week theatre festival tonight.

The play is based on a children's literature character determined to provide for his family and friends, despite three 'nasty' farmers.

"This is the first time we've ever had local youth in any of our productions," Rein said.

The second show —You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown — is a musical production featuring local musicians. The show, presented in short vignettes, is an adaptation of the Broadway musical and comic strip on the Peanuts gang.

It starts tomorrow night and plays in alternation every second night with Fantastic Mr. Fox, excluding Sundays in which there are no shows.

While X Fest quenches Kamloopsians thirst for theatre, Music in the Park provides outdoor entertainment of a different tune.

Each night — until August 31 — a different local, national and international musical show plays live at Riverside Park.

The shows run nightly from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Rotary Bandshell in the park and are free to the public.

Tonight's show features a roots country band called The Stourgeons. A full schedule of the musical acts can be found online.

Tickets for X Fest run at $25 for adults, $20 for students and seniors and $12 for children 12 and under and can be purchased at the gate or through Kamloops Live Box Office. Mondays are buy one get one free night. There will also be one afternoon showing of Fantastic Mr. Fox at 1 p.m. on August 3.

The group will also be holding its annual Improv Night on the X Fest stage in Prince Charles Park, August 9 at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25, available at the gates before the show, however if you bring your ticket stub from an X Fest performance, you get a second ticket free.

The full X Fest schedule can be found online.

To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.

News from © iNFOnews, 2013