ORGANISERS of Teesdale’s first children and family’s book festival have hailed the event an overwhelming success.
The festival, spread across three days, was a celebration of the printed and illustrated word with interactive secret garden trails, storytelling sessions, a poetry wham, tall tales telling session – and even a flash mob performance of Matilda by members of Teesdale Operatic Society.
The Castle Players kicked off the weekend with a story sharing session on Friday. Children’s authors Richard O’Neill and Liz Million kept youngsters captivated during story telling sessions.
A few brave lost boys and girls took on Captain Hook, braving the high ropes to learn to fly like Peter Pan on Saturday.
On Sunday canoes took to the lake for a re-enactment of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons.
A Bright Woods Forest School secret garden trail proved a big hit with families as they searched out clues hidden in The Hub’s grounds as well as large Picture book illustrations, created by pupils at Cotherstone, Cockfield, Bowes, Butterknowle and Gainford schools.
Sarah Gent, family activities co-ordinator at The Hub, said: “The atmosphere has been great and it has been really lovely to see so many people really engaging.
“We had about 300 bookings overall to the different activities and 400 people through the weekend.”
She added: “Books help us share such special moments, not just with each other, but also within ourselves. They help us travel to distant lands and discover magical places.
“It has taken a massive team to pull off such a wealth of experiences and activities for our community, not just this weekend, but also over the last month, from the illustration workshops with Suzanne Williams to exploring stories with Lucie Brownlee, the making memories group and the family social club.
“It has been a real hit with our community.”
