T&T’s eighth annual literary festival—NGC Bocas Lit Fest—is a twin festival, with a full children’s festival running alongside the adult festival from April 25-29 at the National Library in Port-of-Spain.
“It is a stimulating, exciting programme of events for young readers and writers, who are people too,” says Danielle Delon, director of the children’s festival, which remains a core offering of the Caribbean’s premiere annual literary festival of words, stories and ideas, attracting over 1,000 children each year.
Delon added: “It starts with the Children’s Storytelling Caravan for five to 13-year-olds that every April travels around T&T, allowing children to share their wonderful stories, and there is still time to book a place.
This tour culminates in the five-day Children’s Festival at the Children’s Library (Nalis) that ends with a birthday party on Sunday, April 29 for Dragonzilla, the children’s festival mascot.”
During the Caravan, storytellers guide children through the craft of storytelling, encouraging observation of the environment, personal, social and community relationships, and unleashing and leading the children’s creativity, inspiring them to value self-expression through the written word. Each year the stories the children create are illustrated and published in a colouring book.
A festival highlight is the Imagine New Worlds event at City Hall, hosted by Port-of-Spain Mayor Joel Martinez and the Port-of-Spain City Corporation on Wednesday, April 25. Over 300 children from schools nationwide will come together to experience the work of authors, artists and performers from T&T and abroad.
Trinidad-born, New York-based editor and educator Tracey Baptiste; US-based Daniel O’Brien; prize-winning Guyanese writer Imam Baksh; Natacha Jones, Jeunanne Alkins, Danielle Boodoo-Fortune, Everard McBain, Derron Sandy and Kes the Illusionist are all part of the mix.
Readings from children’s books by their authors, illustration and graphic-novel based workshops as well as a song-writing workshop, led by the band Freetown Collective, are some of the highlights of the festival on Saturday but there are many creative activities each day.
On Sunday, April 29, children and family films will be shown as part of the festival’s annual CineLit programme.
All events are free and open to the public but pre-registration is required via www.bocaslitfest.com or call 71-BOCAS.
The National Gas Company (NGC) is the title sponsor of the 2018 Children’s Bocas Lit Fest.
NGC BOCAS LIT FEST 2018 CARAVAN
Saturday, April 14:
Tobago Scarborough Library – 10 am
Couva Public Library – 10 am
Chaguanas Public Library – 2 pm
Saturday, April 21:
Toco Secondary School – 10 am
San Fernando Public Library – 10 am
Debe Public Library – 2 pm
Saturday, April 28
Port-of-Spain Children’s Library, National Library – 1 pm
