Authors ~ Storytellers ~ Poets ~ Musicians ~ Acrobats
Discussions ~ Readings ~ Talks ~ Performances
MONDAY 4th 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 by 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 33rd 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.
LSF Circus performers will kick things off with the help of fire, fun, and the rising sun. Seasoned storyteller Chris Park will take us to places only a good story can; Zimbabwean multi-instrumentalist Tawanda Mapanada will bring a blend of marimba, saxophone, vocals, and audience participation to proceedings, before prancing poet Tony Hillier and our magical musical friends make maypole ribbons fly.
Action begins at 5.30am, on the dot – a moment not to be missed! – and continues for approx. one hour.
Hot drinks available available on site.
5k FREEDOM RUN OR WALK – with a special guest, plus friendly supportive Swindon parkrunners!
Presented in association with Swindon’s two parkruns, Lydiard and Seven Fields.
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/lydiard and
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/sevenfields
Lydiard Park, West Swindon SN5 3PA
2pm ~ 4th May ~ FREE
The Freedom run will be followed by a short rest, with refreshments and then, the talk and book event.
One Small Step . . . the story of parkrun and the man who started it, PAUL SINTON-HEWITT, in conversation with Emma Sperring, Matt Holland, and with YOU!
Lydiard Conference Centre, Lydiard Park, West Swindon SN5 3PA
Tel 01793 535534 ~ 3pm ~ 4th May ~ £8 (£7)
Hear the story of the man who came up with a simple idea that turned into a national and global movement - and is pretty big here in Swindon too - told by the man who started it all.
Filled with hope and optimism, One Small Step, is a brilliant book about the life and ideas of parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt. It is a powerful affirmation of how coming together in a simple and active way can change our own lives and might even change the world.
The Genius of Trees – with HARRIET RIX
Lower Shaw Farm, Old Shaw Lane, West Swindon SN5 5PJ
Tel 01793 535534 ~ 6.30pm ~ 4th May ~ £8 (£7
Trees have evolved to shape, shadow, and sculpt our surroundings. They split rock, change sex, spin carbon, and manipulate bacteria, animals, and even humankind in order to achieve their ends.
Trees shape the natural world.
In her new book The Genius of Trees, Harriet Rix, tree scientist, Defra researcher, and erstwhile landmine clearance worker, takes us on a mind-expanding, globe-spanning journey into the remarkable inner lives of trees. For the first time, we see trees not as victims, but as powerful agents of change in a grand ecological narrative – as leading actors in the great drama of life on earth. Trees have transformed our planet and offer hope for its future.
