NEWS: Great Malvern Festival of Stories returns with inspiring line-up

Renowned storytellers and illustrators will soon be inspiring and entertaining children with the return of popular festival in Great Malvern.

The Great Malvern Festival of Stories for Children takes place from Tuesday, 22 October, to Sunday 27 October 2024, in a number of venues throughout Great Malvern, including Great Malvern Priory grounds, Malvern Library, Malvern Cube, and inside the belly of a whale!

The first four days of the programme is designed for local schools, followed by a family programme on Saturday and Sunday, which is open to everyone.

The festival, 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.

The event will feature renowned storyteller Peter Chand with his traditional stories from around the world, interactive fun and Indian drumming, and a draw-along with bestselling author and illustrator Jonny Duddle, where children can learn how to draw their favourite real-life dinosaurs, plus dinosaur characters from Gigantosaurus - now an animated series.

The programme also includes:

• Tamar Eluned Williams - award winning Welsh and English storyteller, with playful, epic, and soulful performances.
• The Whale: Plastic Ocean – climb into an inflatable whale with puppets, comedy and music.
• Shadow Puppet Show and Workshop - a fantastical mix of music, interactive shadow puppetry and colourful projections.
• Dog Squad with Clara Vulliamy - mini creative writing session and doodle with draw-along exercises – Bring along photos of your dogs to share the fun.
• Bartie Bristle and other Stories with The Teddy Bear Ladies - stars of BBC’s The Repair Shop, talking about their first children’s book. Bring your favourite teddy bear along too.
• The Time Machine Next Door with Iszi Lawrence - step back in time with the funniest, and most historically accurate time travel tales ever.
• Celebrate 10 years of multi-award-winning author Kes Gray’s Oi Frog and join in this hilarious interactive event.
• Amy Douglas Storyteller - Amy is a word-hoarder, a word-storer, a word-catcher and a word explorer. She plays with words, riddles and puzzles.
• Scarlet Oak Theatre Present: The Zoo That Comes To You – featuring puppetry, live music and playful characters.
• Marnie Midnight with Laura Ellen Anderson - join bestselling creator for a journey to the magical world of Miniopolis, minibeasts and moon magic.

As well as ticketed events there are free storytelling sessions, art activities, and stalls by local authors across the whole weekend.

Tickets can be bought from Malvern Theatres Box Office, with multi-buy ticket discounts.

Cllr Julie Wood, Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Economic Development at Malvern Hills District Council, said: “We are delighted that the Festival of Stories will be back, celebrating our storytelling heritage and inspiring a new generation of storytellers, we encourage all families to pop along and enjoy all that is on offer.”

Steve Boffy, from Boffy Arts Events People, said: “We are really excited to present the third Great Malvern Festival of Stories for Children. Since it began in 2022 we have seen interest in the event grow, especially with local school audiences. This year’s programme will be the most ambitious yet, featuring many new Storytellers, Puppet Companies and Authors.

“We have had to organise several additional performances on each of the school days just to deal with demand. We are also really pleased to be working with so many local partners, sponsors, and venues who I would like to thank for all of the support you are giving us. We look forward to a fantastic festival.”

Visit www.visitthemalverns.org/storyfest for more information.

The Great Malvern Festival of Stories for Children is part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Date published: 13 September 2024.