Fishy Stories delight
FISHY Stories captivated children in Fish Creek over the weekend. The Festival of Stories ran over two days for the first time, attracting many families and encouraging children to explore the wonders of their imaginations. “The children seemed to...
FISHY Stories captivated children in Fish Creek over the weekend.
The Festival of Stories ran over two days for the first time, attracting many families and encouraging children to explore the wonders of their imaginations.
“The children seemed to be very engaged and excited. They loved everything that was available to them,” volunteer Maureen Marks said.
“It was great to see a lot of involvement from the parents as well.”
Maureen ran the My Stories tent and was thrilled to facilitate the development of many wonderful stories written by children on the day.
At the time of printing, the attendance count had not been finalised.
However, it is estimated 1000 people attended the festival on Saturday, and 1500 on Sunday.
"Our initial survey says that around a third of those who attended the festival had never been to Fish Creek before. It was a wonderful success," organiser Mark Avery said.
The festival also offered opportunities to hear from guest speakers – including three Children’s Laureates Leigh Hobbs, Alison Lester and Gabrielle Wang – participate in workshops, create masterpieces and enjoy a love of literature.
The writing challenge garnered more than 700 entries, with some of those stories performed by Lou Endicott and Troy Larkin at the festival.
Twenty stories were chosen to be performed, including an entry from a child from Sydney, who travelled to Fish Creek with family to participate in the festival.
"It has such an impact on children to hear their stories performed. They get to see their imagination and creativity valiadated and loved," Mark said.
Performers also delighted festivalgoers in the Fish Creek Memorial Hall throughout the weekend.
“There was a lot of energy from the community. The team of organisers led by Mark Avery did a marvellous job putting it all together, seemingly effortlessly,” Maureen said.
“The joy of writing is on top of my list, and I love helping children capture their imaginations through their stories. I want this festival to go on forever.”
