Events for Children and Young People

Whether you’re in the forest, your own backyard or the city, there are so many exciting ways to engage with nature – and forester Peter Wohlleben has the best ideas for doing it. He has the knowledge, from pressing flowers, harvesting algae and skipping stones to observing spiders and even building your own mini sailboat. Learn how to decode nature’s messages, identify plants and animal tracks, record and preserve your finds and more, with Peter’s activities to help you explore the outdoors.

In this workshop with expert tutors from Citrus Arts, you’ll learn the basics of juggling and object manipulation, skills that you can continue to practise and improve on your own at home. Try out hula hooping, diablo and more, in true Big Top style.

Draw your sabre and take on friends and family for the Hay Festival fencing crown in this have-a-go session with Fencing Cymru/Welsh Fencing. Learn the skills of this fast-paced Olympic sport in a safe and friendly environment before stepping onto the piste – en garde!

Geri Halliwell-Horner – author, singer, producer and musician – joins us at Hay Festival for a celebration of Girl Power. Geri has created Rosie Frost, a new kind of hero for today’s young readers. She talks about her creative career, writing for children and the inspiration behind her adventure novel. Bring your questions for the Q&A with Geri.

Join award-winning author Jenny Valentine as she introduces you to Joy Applebloom, the optimistic hero of her A Girl Called Joy series. It's a cheerful, heart-warming story about family, friends and never being too small to make a difference. Expect quizzes, questions and lots of laughter.

In this workshop with expert tutors from Citrus Arts, you’ll learn the basics of juggling and object manipulation, skills that you can continue to practise and improve on your own at home. Try out hula hooping, diablo and more, in true Big Top style.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative: your imagination is the limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Come to the Family Garden for a pizza masterclass with Kitchen Garden Pizza. In this one-hour session your imagination and creativity will be fed along with your belly! You’ll get your hands messy with freshly grown and foraged ingredients, make and top your own dough and observe the pizzaioli at work at the wood-fired oven. And while you wait for your pizza to cook, you can decorate your own pizza box!
Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.

Plunge into the science of rewilding with biologist and author Ben Martynoga. He celebrates nature and the incredible ways it keeps us alive, and explores how we can welcome the wild on a personal and epic scale. River-nurturing wolves, tree-toppling beavers, climate warrior whales and even genetically-engineered woolly mammoths could all help us protect, revive and restore our planet to its full glory. Come and take an inspiring look at how we can rewild life so that nature – and humankind – flourishes for a long time to come.

In this workshop with expert tutors from Citrus Arts, you’ll learn the basics of juggling and object manipulation, skills that you can continue to practise and improve on your own at home. Try out hula hooping, diablo and more, in true Big Top style.

Come to the Family Garden for a pizza masterclass with Kitchen Garden Pizza. In this one-hour session your imagination and creativity will be fed along with your belly! You’ll get your hands messy with freshly grown and foraged ingredients, make and top your own dough and observe the pizzaioli at work at the wood-fired oven. And while you wait for your pizza to cook, you can decorate your own pizza box!
Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.

One growing elephant. One smallish lifeboat. One big dream… Join award-winning author/illustrator Ed Vere for a salty story-time session celebrating his new picture book The Elephant and the Sea – a lyrical tale about big elephants in small boats, large waves… and big pinches of bravery and determination. Ed will bring his crayons to show you how to draw his character Gabriel. You can join in with him and see how easy it is to draw a seafaring elephant! Ed’s award-winning picture books include How to be a Lion and Max the Brave.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to draw along in this event.

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Come to the Family Garden for a pizza masterclass with Kitchen Garden Pizza. In this one-hour session your imagination and creativity will be fed along with your belly! You’ll get your hands messy with freshly grown and foraged ingredients, make and top your own dough and observe the pizzaioli at work at the wood-fired oven. And while you wait for your pizza to cook, you can decorate your own pizza box!
Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative: your imagination is the limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Come to the Family Garden for a pizza masterclass with Kitchen Garden Pizza. In this one-hour session your imagination and creativity will be fed along with your belly! You’ll get your hands messy with freshly grown and foraged ingredients, make and top your own dough and observe the pizzaioli at work at the wood-fired oven. And while you wait for your pizza to cook, you can decorate your own pizza box!
Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.

What’s the opposite of a kettle? Why is the sky blue? Who invented cheese? Following last year’s triumphant Hay Festival debut, the Nincompoops return to bring some much-needed intellijments to the Festival! Join Andy Stanton (Mr Gum) and Carrie Quinlan (John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme) for a special live version of their family podcast, answering your questions with their unique mixture of wisdumb, nollidge and outright fibs. Madness, mayhem and mirth guaranteed!

Cuddle up with the Teddy Bear Ladies, Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch, best known as stars of the BBC’s The Repair Shop. They’ve created the magical world of Bartie Bristle and friends in their stunning treasury Bartie Bristle and Other Stories: Tales from the Teddy Bear Ladies, and they can’t wait to share it with you!

Embark on a river-inspired journey in this magical figure-making workshop, where the wonders of nature come to life in the form of enchanting river spirits and the river goddess Gwy. We guide you through the art of crafting these whimsical figures using found leaves, sticks, flowers, seeds, nuts and a touch of string magic. No two River Spirits are alike – express your individuality through your one-of-a-kind creation. All materials are provided.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative: your imagination is the limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Discover how the much-loved Dame Jacqueline Wilson started her writing career, how she created some of her best-loved characters and hear all about her new book The Girl Who Wasn’t There – a story about siblings and friendship, with a hint of ghostliness! Former Children’s Laureate and author of over 100 books, Dame Jacqueline Wilson is one of Britain’s bestselling children’s authors. Best-known for characters such as Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather, she has legions of loyal fans in the UK and throughout the world.

There will be no signing after this event but printed signed bookplates will be available.

Join Nia Morais (Bardd Plant Cymru 2023–2025) in this interactive workshop-style event, to write your own ghost story. You’ll learn how to create tension and atmosphere in your writing that will scare and delight your audience.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

Make your own mask based on the nature, wildlife and folklore associated with the River Wye. Learn how to create a simple paper mask, which you can accessorise to make a river scene, an animal, a fish or a bird associated with the Wye, or the river goddess Gwy. All materials are provided.

Bring your magnifying glasses to help Robin Stevens celebrate 10 years of her iconic Murder Most Unladylike series. Whether you’re part of the Detective Society, a Ministry Member or just want to join the party, come and hear all about Daisy and Hazel with Robin, and take a look forward to what’s next in the Ministry of Unladylike Activity.

Welcome to the Tokyo Ghost Café! Get your sketchbooks at the ready as author Julian Sedgwick and Manga artist Chie Kutsuwada take you on an incredible journey, introducing the weird and wonderful Japanese spirits, or yokai. Learn about their unique collaboration style, the influence of Japanese culture on their books and join in with live Manga drawing with Chie.