Wednesday, July 17, 2013

South Auckland’s Storylines Free Family Day


The 20th anniversary Storylines Festival of New Zealand Writers and Illustrators will be celebrated with the South Auckland Free Family Day on Saturday 17 August between 11am and 3pm at the Vodafone Events Centre (formerly the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre). 
 
Storylines Trust chair Dr Libby Limbrick says that the Trust is enormously excited that the Festival’s 20th Anniversary is being celebrated with the first ever Free Family Day in South Auckland.
 
‘We have long wanted to reach out to the communities in South Auckland, and this year, thanks to generous sponsorship and enthusiastic volunteer organisers, we have been able to make this dream come true.’
 
The line-up of top authors includes award-winning novelist David Hill, te reo Maori author Dr Darryn Joseph, writers Sally Sutton, Leonie Thorpe, Karamia Muller, Sarah Ell and leading illustrators Gavin Bishop, Fraser Williamson, Jenny Cooper and Aki Fukuoka.
 
Sand artist Marcus Winter will give performances on the Genesis Theatre stage, along with Wellington-based storyteller Apirana Taylor, local dance troupe Expressions Dance performing The Wizard of Oz,  the educational theatre group PERFORM, and The Jampots (Janet Martin and Davyd Hodge) with Musical Book Reading.

Other activities for young readers include competitions, craft work such as making bookmarks, and a panel discussion for adult on the perennial picture book question,  What’s More Important – Are the ideas or the words more important in a story?

The Storylines Festival of New Zealand Children’s Writers and Illustrators is New Zealand’s oldest annual literary festival. It began in Auckland in 1993, bringing to life an idea of author Joy Cowley.  It has since spread to six city centres around New Zealand, and includes the free family days, story tours of schools, competitions, workshops and adult seminars. Conservative estimates put the number of children reached in twenty years at well over 100,000.

For more information contact Vicki Cunningham, Storylines Events Manager events@storylines.org.nz

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