4 September 2019 Reading together – at bedtime and more! Presenting events for children and families at the Conrad Festival

Workshops for toddlers aged 6 months and older, an event for teenagers and parents, as well as meetings for grandparents and guardians who believe that wise stories make for great fun. This year will abound in music, art workshops and stories. We hope that we already encouraged children participating in the Conrad Festival to join the fun! We are going to meet from 24 to 27 October!

On Thursday and Friday, we will meet with students during morning workshops, and invite children and their parents to meetings after school and work, taking place from 5:00 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, on the other hand, we start right after breakfast – we’ll be checking attendance from 10:00 a.m.! For the first time in the festival’s history, we will be joined by the youngest culture aficionados – toddlers and children aged 6 months to 3 years, along with their parents. During the workshops, rhythmic reading will be interspersed with nursery rhymes and songs, and various movement games will mix with a moment of relaxation during a literary massage. According to Małgorzata Swędrowska, animator of children’s workshops, “children need the presence and closeness with an adult as much as oxygen during their development and reading aloud is one of the ways of building relationships”. The generations of book lovers will be connected during the Bookseeing meeting, during which we will explore reading between the lines, experiencing words and images, allowing adults and children alike to experience impression reading. Young readers will discover the how diverse and surprising literature can be, while adults will learn that picture books can be an excellent feast for the mind thanks to their metaphors and content hiding between the lines.

Lovers of stories about flora and fauna, who can look at these stories with empathy, will definitely be interested in a nature walk in Jordan Park with Bartosz Popczyński. You can join the group on Saturday, 26 October at 1:00 p.m. Where? At the well-known monument to Wojtek the Bear, famous among all residents of Krakow. We will also take part in art workshops with Urszula Palusińska, which will help us with our philosophical reflections on the relativity of time and the ruthlessness of boredom. On Sunday, 27 October at 4:00 p.m. you will be able to learn about talking to your dog during a meeting entitled “Talking to your dog. Reading in good company!” Jacek Lewkowicz, a professional behaviourist, will be joined by Barbara Gawryluk, a writer, translator and journalist of Radio Krakow – together, they will present a lecture on canine behaviours and manners.

Like every year, the festival will feature integration workshops for d/Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing children. Join the fun on Sunday, 27 October at 11:30 a.m. – Patrycja Urban and Sabina Suruło will be hosting the “Hello, it’s me!” workshop.

The literary and music meetings hosted by Joanna Bronisławska, Marianna Oklejak and Marta Łukańko will help everybody learn more about the sound realities. You can join them every day, from Thursday to Sunday at 5:00 p.m. sharp. On the last day of the festival, join us for an interactive concert – In Witek’s and Julek’s backyard. Tuwim and Lutosławski” – arranged by Aleksandra Płaczek (piano) and Julia Janiak (vocals). But wait, there’s more! This year’s programme also features “Signs of Silence” – a meeting with Rasa Jančiauskaitė, “The Power of Imagination!” – a debate with the authors of Siedem, Dorota Majkowska-Szajer and Magdalena Kozieł-Nowak, as well as “Meet the Bird” workshop on colours and emotions with Barbara Grzybowska Flores. The meeting with Marianna Coppo and her Petra, whose story will be enjoyed by everybody, is also looking pretty promising!

All events for children and youth are ticketed. You can download your free tickets at the Evenea website. The booking opens on 30 September!