Posted May 18, 2017 18:14:48

For 43 years, Come Out Festival was the well-recognised name for a major South Australian children's festival, but event organisers this year decided the term was no longer appropriate due to its relevance to the LGBTI community.

Instead, the annual event, which has involved 2 million children since it was launched in 1974, will be recognised from 2017 as the Dream Big Children's Festival.

Some 1,700 school children from 23 schools today paraded across the Adelaide Riverbank footbridge to kick off the festival.

The festival's creative producer, Susannah Sweeney, said organisers felt it was a time for a change because the term "come out" had stronger relevance to those revealing they are gay, lesbian or otherwise.

"That is wonderful resonance, but not necessary representative of the festival," she said.

"It's just recognition that the term has stronger relevance to another group as opposed to a children's festival."

Adelaide Festival Centre chief executive officer Douglas Gautier said the name Dream Big represented the festival better.

"Art culture and creativity in the broader sense can have a positive impact on their lives and Dream Big encapsulates that," he said.

"It's ambitious, and it's important that quality kids in this context can achieve things they might not have thought before."

Tailem Bend Primary School Teacher Ms Naomi Paech said she had known the festival as "Come Out" since she was in school.

Her entire school attended the festival opening and she said it was a good opportunity for the students to be exposed to the performing arts, which could play a more significant role in education.

"I think it's a strong focus that we can have flowing throughout our curriculum," Ms Paech said.

"Students learn in all sorts of different ways and sometimes a song helps them to remember terms or concepts learnt in other subject areas."

Hendon Primary School students Precious Hosho and Olivia Pilmore said the festival's new name helped children to broaden their horizon when thinking of career pathways.

Photo: Students Precious (L) and Olivia say the new name will broaden horizons for children. (ABC News: Sowaibah Hanifie)

"To me it means if you put your mind to something you feel passionate," Olivia said.

"Don't let anyone hold back your dreams."

She said the festival highlighted creative arts as being an important part of their learning.

"It gives us a different way to express ourselves through other things apart from work."

Precious agreed and said the creative arts enabled people to express themselves through engaging mediums.

"It pretty much shows who you are as a person, you don't to have hide it," she said.

Topics: arts-and-entertainment, events, visual-art, adelaide-5000, sa