Green Bibliofest invites families to enjoy a summer of creativity and storytelling
Wirral Libraries have teamed up with local park rangers, to deliver a unique summer-long festival of storytelling, nature, and crafts.
Green Bibliofest will see libraries across the borough transformed into event and theatre spaces, with workshops and live performances on the themes of climate, nature and sustainability, taking centre stage.
Families and people of all ages will also be invited outdoors to enjoy a programme of park ranger-led activities, including bushcraft workshops and pond-dipping safaris, in Birkenhead Park and Wirral Country Park.
A Wirral Council spokesperson, said:
Parks and libraries are some of the most accessible, welcoming and cherished spaces in our borough, so I can’t think of better places to hold a festival for children and families. Using indoor and outdoor spaces in new and surprising ways also means there will be plenty to enjoy, whatever the weather.
It’s sure it will be one of the highlights of Wirral’s Borough of Culture programme and give hundreds of local children and families a summer to remember.
The Borough of Culture title is awarded annually on a rotational basis to one of the six local authorities that make up the Liverpool City Region, as part of the Combined Authority’s culture programme.
The festival programme is being delivered by some of the Wirral’s most passionate artists, who will lead performances and hands-on workshops for families, kids and adults.
It all kicks off at Birkenhead Central Library on 17 July with Birdie (pictured above), a beautiful show by Mind The Gap - England's leading learning disability performance and live arts company – which will blend intricate choreography with a powerful story about climate change.
Pam Sullivan and Jo Gomez are running a ‘Pledge to the Planet’ workshop, with a new tree sculpture for contributors to add their own climate pledges to, and Little Vintage Photography, who are offering audiences a chance to learning about the alchemy of photography with their own handmade camera, where participants can create photography from recycled materials.
Julie Dodd’s intricate and impressive fungi sculptures, which have adorned galleries across the country, are also the focus of one workshop, where newcomers will get to create beautiful fungi from recycled paper and tree bark.
Alison Bailey Smith’s inimitable free-form creations will also be inspiring new sculptures of flowers and pollinators made entirely from recycled materials.
Wirral Libraries, in partnership with the Council’s Eco Schools, Cool Wirral and Wirral Rangers teams, have also launched a scheme to loan nature kit bags, so that families can find out for themselves about the amazing wildlife in our parks and open spaces. The bags can be collected from Wirral’s four main libraries in Bebington, Birkenhead, Wallasey and West Kirby.
Other activities and events include nature-themed story times and a wide range of interactive sessions, including, puppetry, up-cycling, dance, woodworking, sculpting, map reading, weaving, den-making and fossil hunts.
Alongside the main festival is a programme of fringe projects, which includes the Story Patch quilt, which has been development in partnership with dozens of galleries, studios, libraries and cafes over several months.
Green Bibliofest runs at venues across Wirral from 17 July to 10 September 2024.
For more information and to book a place, visit the festival page on Eventbrite.
