First-ever Canterbury Children’s Literature Festival is looking for volunteers
A brand new book festival for children is launching in Canterbury this summer, with organisers currently looking for volunteers.
The Canterbury Children’s Literature Festival will run from July 11-13, encouraging kids aged 3-16 to participate in a number of book-based activities.
Married couple and co-founders Rhys and Bex Hughes were motivated to launch the festival after the National Literacy Trust brought to light a massive decline in young readers.
The 2024 report revealed that just one in three young people aged 8-18 enjoyed reading in their free time.
“It is very, very sad to see those stats sort of piling up,” Mr Hughes said.
“Sadly, our corner of Kent is actually lower than the national average.
“There’s so much literary heritage that started in Canterbury, it seems a shame that we’re not celebrating that in some sort of way. And so that’s where this idea grew from.”
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Catering to such a wide age range, providing great variety in the festival’s events was important to the duo. The jam-packed schedule includes events hosted by authors, including Blue Peter award-winner Gareth P. Jones, internationally published writer Helen Docherty and Britain’s Got Talent’s panto-inspired storyteller Mama G.
There will also be interactive events, such as “Storymakers” sessions at Canterbury Library that will help children to write their own stories, and a poetry competition in conjunction with Wildwood Trust (see below).
Originally envisaged as a one-day event, the project gradually expanded into a three-day festival, and the organisers have been pleasantly surprised at the rate at which the scope is expanding.
“It’s spiralled, it really has, but it’s been a pleasant spiral,” Mr Hughes said.
“Next year we want to increase the number of school events.”
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The couple hope to keep the festival growing, aiming to eventually develop something on a similar scale as Barnes Children’s Literature Festival.
Mr Hughes said: “It would be wonderful to be able to say that we could create something like that in Canterbury. It’s a long-term goal. I can’t imagine it happening instantly, but it’s certainly something that we want to work towards.”
The festival’s sponsors include Canterbury BID and the University of Kent.
To help look after the busy lineup, the festival is currently seeking volunteers, with the only requirements being enthusiasm and an encouraging attitude to help creativity thrive.
“We’ve got a big event at Shirley Hall at The King’s School that basically is going to have around about 500-600 children from all different schools around the area,” Mr Hughes said.
“We’re hoping to have volunteers at every single event, helping with the authors, helping with setting up, helping with customer engagement.”
Mr and Mrs Hughes are also dedicated to making the festival as accessible as possible for everyone.
“The festival has been sponsored quite heavily by numerous organisations around the city, which means that all of our ticket prices are ridiculously low for a festival,” Mr Hughes said.
“We’re trying to make it as financially accessible as possible, and equally, accessible to any children from any background.”
Those interested can apply to volunteer at the festival by filling in the form on the Canterbury Kids Literature Festival website, or by emailing canterburykidslitfest@gmail.com.
[Header image by Lucy Jones]