A brand-new festival of stories will soon be making its way to Great Malvern with an internationally renowned line-up of authors and workshops.
The new Great Malvern Festival of Stories for Children takes place from Thursday 20 October, to Sunday 23 October 2022, in a number of venues throughout Great Malvern, including The Lyttelton Well, The Coach House Theatre, The Cube, and Malvern Library.
The festival, which has been formed by Malvern Hills District Council in partnership with Boffy Arts and Events, is a celebration of stories, featuring a programme of professional storytellers, children's authors, illustrators, puppet companies, musicians, and theatre.
Showcasing their illustration skills at the event will be Horrible Histories' illustrator Martin Brown, and Jonny Duddle, illustrator of the celebrated Harry Potter books.
Taking place on Thursday and Friday of the festival is a programme designed specifically for Malvern schools, this will be followed by a family programme on Saturday and Sunday which is open to everyone.
The festival programme also includes:
- Recently appointed Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho.
- Popular children's author and illustrator Korky Paul.
- Internationally renowned storytellers Peter Chand and Cat Weatherill.
- Puppet Theatre by Lempen Puppets, Indigo Moon Puppet Theatre and Sealegs Puppets.
In addition to this there will be author signed copies of books for sale, the Worcestershire Travelling Music Box, and a Children's Window Trail with a prize book voucher from Malvern Book Co-operative.
There will also be opportunities for local businesses to be involved in the Children's Window Trail competition.
Cllr Daniel Walton, Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Economic Development at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "We are so thrilled and I'm really proud that we're launching this new festival in Malvern. Reading and listening to stories play such an important part in children's lives and they contribute towards vital skills needed for the future. There is an exciting line-up at the festival which will be sure to spark creativity and imaginations, we hope families will have a fun, special time together."
Steve Boffy, from Boffy Arts and Events said: "I'm really excited by this new festival and the programme we have in store for Malvern's Children and Families. It has been great fun for my team and I choosing the many authors, storytellers, puppeteers, and performers. We all hope that this will become a much loved annual event for Malvern".
Please visit www.visitthemalverns.org/storyfest for more information.
