Children & Families Day

Children & Families Day

A day of words, books, stories, poems, play, and workshops for all ages, for children and families, together!

Light refreshments available but you are welcome to bring a picnic.

As well as the timed and programmed events below, there will be lots of other things to do, like playing in the big barn and talking to the animals!

10.00am onwards – Storytelling by the Campfire, under the open sky, in the Pleasure Garden. All ages! Chris Park has made friendly fires and told brilliant stories almost everywhere; and Rachel Rose Reid, an international storyteller and Curator of Tales.

10.30am onwards – Dressing Up with Mabel Watson, friendly writer and editor of Domestic Cherry. All ages! Mabel has a cosy caravan full of dressing up clothes, for all ages. Children can dress up or dress their parents up! Mabel’s very nice, likes chatting, and even offers a drink and a biscuit!

10.30am - Farmyard Hullabaloo – a music, words, and poetry workshop for 3 to 7 year olds with Alison Morrell. Real instruments, real poems, real children, real FUN!

10.30am – Pageturners Hilarious Books Workshop – a chance to laugh your socks off, play games, and discover great books, with Lesley Taylor. Ages 8 – 11.

11.00am – Flotsam & Jetsam with Tanya Landman – A tiny beach… an upturned boat… a whisper of smoke. When Flotsam and Jetsam are washed ashore their adventures begin! Storytelling, followed by a driftwood-figure making workshop. Ages 6 upwards.

12noon – Ed’s Reading Room – Books of the Month – for 5 – 11 year olds and their parents, with Maggie Humphreys, writer and creator of Ed’s Reading Room. See www.edontheweb.com where reading is fun!

12.30pm - Play with Words – a words and music workshop for all ages with Alison Morrell. Hear words in new ways and make a splendid soundscape. Highly creative!

1.30pm - Pageturners turn Green – opening books and opening minds by reading and doing from books that help save the planet, with Lesley Taylor. Age 12 upwards.

2.00pm - Mystery, ‘Murder’, & Agatha Christie, for children – with Tanya Landman, winner of the Red House Book Award. Write your very own murder mystery! A writing workshop for ages 10 upwards.

2.30pm – Ed’s Reading Room – Books of the Month, for 5 – 11 year olds and parents, with Maggie Humphreys. Click on the 'Ed on The Web' link below for more info.

Also, all day, look out for Alison Brumfitt’s super silver friendly Poetry Pod; bookstalls; playbarn; treasure hunts; storywalks; and young people from Wootton Bassett School helping to show you the way to learn and play!

Tickets -

£5 Adults
£4 Children

Please call the Lower Shaw Farm on 01793 771080 to book tickets for this event or contact the Swindon Festival of Literature for any further information.