Journeys | The Canterbury Yarners | 9:00AM – 10:30AM | Free
Six writers in sixty minutes invite you to come and enjoy short readings and to take part in discussion around how the theme of ‘journeys’ has influenced and inspired their work. There will be a break for chat, coffee and freshly baked croissant.
Authentic Living | John Siddique | 9:30am – 11:30am | £5
Imagine being free to be truly yourself, to be able to live life without masks, while being powerful, responsive, and centred in grace in every situation you find yourself in. This is authentic living. Familial and societal programming over the course of our lives creates a separation in us which stops us accessing our innate […]
Reflexology & wellbeing | 10:00am – 6:00pm | 30 mins £10
This year A Few Wise Words offers you recuperation and rejuvenation through reflexology treatments and quiet places to sit, relax and enjoy green tea alone or with friends. Reflexology can help reduce stress, promote relaxation, increase energy levels and alleviate sleeping disorders. It can also work as a preventative therapy and to help to stimulate […]
Workshops for children and families | 10:00 - 5:00pm | up to £5
Taking its inspiration from Edward Lear’s The Jumblies, our family area will offer children and the young at heart, a journey into the imagination. Puppet, headdress and lantern making workshops will run all morning.
Storytelling on the Punts | 10:00 - 4:00pm | Free
Float downstream and let the babbling river and cooing moorhens become the soundscape to a world of stories. From folktales and wondertales to myths and legends, Emily weaves a new set of stories through the reeds with every journey. All ages welcome. (Book early at Water Lane Coffeehouse)
紙芝居 Kamishibai: Tokaido Road | For Families | 11:00am – 11:45 | £3
A small box theatre show The Kamishibai story-teller rode from village to village on a bicycle carrying a small box theatre. Inside the box were pictures, withdrawn one by one to illustrate the story. Inside our box is the story of Hiroshige the artist and his travels along the Tōkaidō Road illustrated by large paper […]
Morning Coffee & Cake with Jane Gardam | 11:00am – 12:30pm |£5
Festival Patron Jane Gardam invites you to join her for morning coffee during which she will read from her latest book The Stories and discuss short stories as a literary form. Followed by a book signing. Jane has achieved much critical acclaim during her career, such as the Heywood Hill Literary Prize, for a lifetimes […]
Foraging Walk with Jo Barker | 11:00am - 12:30pm | £7.50 for walk & picnic lunch
Our out-door natural larder is full of exciting discoveries for our table and to cure minor ailments – experienced forager, Jo Barker will take you on your own journey into the world of foraging. This events will be followed by an opportunity to join us to share and sample what you collect during a scrumptious picnic […]
Pop Up Poetry | 11:00am – 4:00pm | Free
Words will fly as poets compete in a battle of words to win your votes to be crowned the king or queen of the street slam. Watch out for the poets popping up on the streets and in coffeehouses across the weekend.
Raku firing | 12:00 - 9:00 | Various costs depending on item chosen
Paint a bowl and watch the magic as it transforms through the process of being fired in our outdoor kiln – a beautiful gift to take home. Suitable for all ages.
Procession of the Jumblies | 1:00pm – 1:30pm
Bring your little ones to the workshops taking place during the morning to create puppets so that they can take part in the Procession of the Jumblies . The procession will start in the Land of the Jumblies where each child will be issued with their passport before journeying across the 4 continents and ending back safely in […]
紙芝居 Kamishibai: Tokaido Road | For all ages | 2:30pm – 3:15pm | £3
A small box theatre show The Kamishibai story-teller rode from village to village on a bicycle carrying a small box theatre. Inside the box were pictures, withdrawn one by one to illustrate the story. Inside our box is the story of Hiroshige the artist and his travels along the Tōkaidō Road illustrated by large paper […]
Map of Me | A spoken-word show | 4:00pm- 5:00pm | £5
From baking African deserts to the snow angels of a UK winter, this emotional and heartfelt journey reveals a compelling story of forced migration. Map of Me explores how a displaced child finds a sense of self and belonging, in a moving and uplifting show written from real-life experiences of young asylum seekers.
Kali | Emily Hennessey | 5:30pm – 6:30pm | £5
A storytelling performance From demure housewife to bloodthirsty goddess, gurgling infant to elephant man, meditating sage to cosmic fire-eater, Hindu mythology illuminates a mind-blowing world of radical transformations. Kali is one of the wildest shape-shifters of all. Demon-Slayer, Life-Saver, Supreme-Mother, Destruction-Dancer, this goddess is truly awesome. When an evil power spreads its clawed hands across […]
Xanthe Gresham Knight | Paradise Bride | 7:00pm – 8:00pm | £5
A storytelling performance To the Celts, Brigit was everything, Goddess of fire, healing and poetry. But where is she now? In search of Her, performance storyteller, Xanthe Gresham knight journeys through the sacred sights and stories of Scotland, Ireland and much further afield, but life being multi-media, Brigit finally crashes though a computer screen […]
Lantern Parade | For all the family | 8:00pm – 8:30pm | Free
Guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes of every adult, collect your lanterns and light up the magical gardens as and your little ones wind your away through the enchanted Secret Gardens as dusk begins to fall.
Tōrō nagashi (灯籠流し) and a Wish for Peace | 8:00pm - 9:00pm | 50p per lantern
Join us for this hauntingly beautiful sight as candle-lit lanterns are set afloat – carrying our hopes for peace. 2015 marks 70 years since the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima during world war 2 killing over 90,000 civilians and soldiers. Inspired by events around the world marking this 70 year anniversary, we will to create […]
The Dream Engine – Heliosphere | 9pm - 9:30pm | £10
Spiralling and spinning and seemingly weightless, an acrobat suspended beneath a helium balloon explores the uncharted space. A spectacle to inspire, mystify and enchant.