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 to write your own news article, doodle with draw-along exercises – and even make your own Press Pack! Bring along photos of your own dogs to share the canine fun. 

• Bartie Bristle and other Stories with The Teddy Bear Ladies - stars of the 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, where he'll be reading from the latest Oi title, Oi Dinosaurs. 

• 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 Laura Ellen Anderson for a journey to the magical world of Miniopolis, a fun-filled land of 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.” 

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.