Authors ~ Storytellers ~ Poets ~ Musicians ~ Acrobats
Discussions ~ Readings ~ Talks ~ Performances
MONDAY 5th MAY
Dawn Chorus - where the Festival begins!
FESTIVAL DAWN CHORUS - created by dawn sky and dewdrops, birdsong and beauty, minstrels and musicians, storytellers and circus skills, poets and performers, maypole dancers and mischief makers, and celebrated by them and you!
Lawn Woods, High Street, Old Town SN1 3EN
5.30am! ~ Monday 5th May ~ Free!
As the sun rises over sleeping Swindon, this all-weather outdoor event celebrates the blessings bestowed on us by Nature and the start of this year’s 32nd Swindon Festival of Literature!
Dawn Chorus performers and Festival stalwarts will be ready to welcome the rising sun in style. An exciting array of artistes of all kinds will put on a mesmerising show that celebrates the outdoors, the spoken word, the love of movement, and the joy of bringing people together.
Farm Yard Circus performers will kick things off, with fire and fun, spotlighted by the rising sun. Storyteller Steve Mynard will take us to places only a good story can; and Zimbabwean multi-instrumentalist Tawanda Mapanda will bring a blend of marimba, vocals, and audience participation to proceedings, before Tony Hillier and those magical musical friends make Maypole ribbons fly.
Action begins at 5.30am, on the dot – a moment not to be missed! – and continues for a good hour or more. Hot drinks available on site.
LISA SCHNEIDAU – telling stories at STANTON PARK!
Presented by Forging Fantastical in association with the Swindon Festival of Literature.
Woodland Folk Tales Walk – a family-friendly storywalk.
Stanton Park Woods, The Avenue, Stanton Fitzwarren, Swindon SN5 7SF
4.45pm ~ Monday 5th May ~ Tickets £5 (under 12s, free)
Once upon a time, most of Britain and Ireland was covered in woodland. Even though much of it has been cut down, our connection with the wildwood remains. It is a place of adventure, danger, and transformation, where anything could happen.
Meet outside The Barn.
The World Tree – dedicated to beloved ash trees.
Stanton Park Woods, The Avenue, Stanton Fitzwarren, Swindon SN5 7SF
6.45pm ~ Monday 5th May ~ Tickets £8 (ages 12+)
In a world of magic and miracles, the ash tree holds all of creation in its roots and branches. Odin hangs upside down from the great tree, waiting for wisdom to come. But what happens when the ash tree falls sick?
Ash is one of our commonest trees, bringing many gifts: timber, fuel, tools, inspiration, and protection. Now, ash dieback is on the march through our countryside. The World Tree is a story dedicated to our beloved ash trees, past, present, and future.
Meet inside The Barn, where cakes, pasties, cheese scones, and soft drinks will be available to buy.
Lisa Schneidau is both storyteller and author on traditional folk tales, with a background as farm advisor, river surveyor, and conservation director.
Forging Fantastical is a Swindon-based arts organisation specialising in pop-up storytelling shows in town and close by.
NICK PENNY – with a love letter to a short stretch of river and all the wild things that live there, especially the kingfishers.
Lower Shaw Farm, Old Shaw Lane, West Swindon SN5 5PJ
Tel 01793 535534 ~ 6.30pm ~ 5th May ~ £8 (£7)
Wildlife recordist, composer, and craftsman, Nick Penny is author of Call of the Kingfisher.
Written with a musician’s ear, this is a delightful, insightful, and lyrical book about what can be seen and heard when we approach nature with patience and curiosity. With access to high-quality riverside wildlife recordings, it’s an invitation to appreciate the beauty of nature, even in the most ordinary places, and to use our ears as much as our eyes when we experience the natural world.
Note. This special event celebrating nature on the first day of the Festival will include musical interludes on handpan and Paraguayan harp.
