Tickets on sale for Big Malarkey family festival

Tickets have gone on sale today for The Big Malarkey festival, which promises a weekend of family fun in East Park.

The programme for the event, which takes place on Saturday June 26 and Sunday June 27, will be centred around playfulness, discovery and the simple joys of connecting with nature.

Hosted by Hull Libraries, the festival “aims to bring a sense of fun, optimism and a smile to people’s faces with an invitation to come together to celebrate and experience the magic of books”, organisers said.

Well-known authors and illustrators will feature alongside local artists and creatives to showcase “the wonderful world the city’s libraries offer”.

Guests include Anne Fine, best-selling author of Madame Doubtfire; leading children’s illustrator Chris Wormell, (Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust series) and creator of The Magic Place; and Maisie Paradise Shearring, international award-winning illustrator and author of picture books such as The Boy Who Loved Everyone.

The theme for this year’s festival is Hello World, and alongside the return of the Big Top and Little Larkeys tents will be new ones including Beautiful Planet, a space to reflect on nature and the environment.

Sessions inside the tents will be complemented by the usual host of outdoor and pop-up activities, with families reunited with new and familiar faces, including storyteller Ian Douglas, and Grimm & Co, Apothecary to the Magical World.

Festival Director Ellen Bianchini said: “We’re very excited to release tickets and open the doors to our festival, we can’t wait to be reunited in person with families once again.

“It's been an incredibly challenging two years and we hope this year’s Malarkey will be a place of gentle recovery, where we can safely come together again to play, chat, explore and look to the future.

“To help add a little fun into all our lives, this year’s programme is more than ever centred around playfulness, discovery and simple joys, like listening to live music.

“Every year the safety of our audience, team and staff is a priority but this year we’re working to make our family friendly site in East Park even safer for everyone.

“While it might feel a bit different from previous years, with lower numbers, ventilated tents and hand sanitiser stations, working together with families we’re confident we can still offer a great festival experience.

“Over the coming weeks we’ll continue to work closely with the events team at Hull City Council to ensure a safe environment for audiences, staff and volunteers.” 

There will also be a five-day school’s programme - the biggest yet - offering interactive sessions for children from Reception class to KS3, with a mix of live online events and in-person workshops.

Available exclusively to Hull Libraries’ Schools Library Service Schools, more than 2,500 students will take part in workshops with award-winning authors and illustrators, including Winnie the Witch illustrator Korky Paul, who will run a drawing workshop for KS2.

Ginny Smith of Braintastic! will run an interactive session with KS3 exploring neuroscience to understand memory, while KS1 students will meet scientist and explorer Sarah Roberts of Somebody Swallowed Stanley to explore the effects of plastic pollution on sharks.

KS2 students will also be joined by fantasy writer Ali Sparkes, winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year, and given the opportunity to make their own story scrolls with a tutorial from storyteller Sita Brand from Settle Stories.

In-person sessions at schools will be led by local and national artists, including Hull Truck Theatre, James Nicol, Middle Child Theatre, Makerspace, puppet artist Liz Dorton, paper engineer Alex Bennett, Early Years theatre makers Mud Pie Arts, and clown-actor Andy Ross.

The festival was established during Hull’s year as UK City of Culture in 2017 and since then as welcomed almost 20,000 people to Malarkey Park.

Councillor Marjorie Brabazon, Chair of Hull Culture and Leisure, said: “The Big Malarkey is about books and stories, yes, but it’s also a festival of ideas and imagination with performances, creative workshops and storytelling.

“The festival seeks to encourage creativity, confidence and the joy of discovery through offering opportunities to meet and work with authors, illustrators, artists, thinkers and scientists. We’re very excited for its return this year, it’s the tonic we all need.”

Tickets cost £5 for adults, £4 for disabled adults, £2.50 for children (1 – 16 years), £14 for a group of two adults and two children. Tickets are available from Hull libraries or at www.thebigmalarkeyfestival.com.