Festival Experiences

Come with your family to explore the city and enjoy FREE activities during the festival.

The Happiness Hub

The Happiness Hub is BACK for 2023! Young people and their families are invited to drop into The Egg and take part in an array of fun, creative and thoughtful activities to help us all explore what makes us happy. Come and help us make a giant butterfly mural, drop your troubles into the worry jar to offload your cares and relax with a story or two in the chill-out area. Join in with games, quizzes and much more! There’ll be opportunities to make and create, dance your worries away and do what makes YOU happy!

The Happiness Hub will be open to all from 10am – 4pm on Saturday 30 September and Sunday 1 October.

Character Trail

Pick up our popular FREE Character Trail in partnership with Bath BID that takes you on a hunt around the city centre. A festival badge for all who take part and the chance to win a bundle of festival books too!

Riches of the Earth Exhibition

Enjoy FREE admission to BRLSI’s Riches of the Earth Exhibition running until 7 October – explore the beauty of minerals through the astounding forms and vibrant colours of more than 100 carefully selected specimens. Open 10am – 4pm every day except Sundays.

American Museum & Gardens Family Day

On Sunday 8 October, the American Museum & Gardens will be throwing its gates open, offering FREE site entry for all. Come and enjoy a fun family day out, including a visit to the exhibition Brick America: An Adventure in LEGO® Bricks. Activities on the day include lots of playtime with LEGO bricks in the gallery, storytelling, craft activities, a reading corner and plenty of outdoor space for running and exploring, including a children’s play area. Suitable for any age. Open 10am – 5pm (last entry 4.30pm).

Gaia at Bath Abbey

Luke Jerram’s Gaia is coming to Bath Abbey this Autumn! This large-scale installation of planet Earth is seven metres in diameter and features detailed images of the Earth’s surface.

10% discount on admission for families. Free entry for BA1 and BA2 residents with Discovery card or proof of address. For more details and opening times, see bathabbey.org

NEW FOR 2023:

Don’t miss our special events at The Little Theatre Cinema – including a How To Train Your Dragon celebration with Cressida Cowell, a Babe anniversary showing and Toddler Times every weekday featuring some of Julia Donaldson’s best-loved tales. Look for in the Events Diary.

Events for adults: learn about writing for young people with Bath Spa University or explore your experience of new motherhood with Mothership Writers.

Schools Programme

We want as many children as possible to access the wealth of brilliant authors coming to the festival and celebrate reading with us, so we have programmed 16 events for schools and home-schooled children and have a limited number of free tickets for B&NES schools.

Check out the in the Events Diary and get in touch for more info.

This year we are launching an Industry Day on Friday 29 September for GCSE and A-Level students, opening up the book industry and showcasing the range of careers involved. We also have five fantastic authors touring local schools and inspiring secondary school pupils on the next stage of their reading journeys:

Monday 2 Oct Adiba Jaigirdar

Tuesday 3 Oct Nikesh Shukla

Wednesday 4 Oct L.D. Lapinski

Thursday 5 Oct Michael Mann

Friday 6 Oct Ayaan Mohamud

For more info and to book places email: education@bathfestivals.org.uk

Reading is Magic Festival

We are so excited that the Reading is Magic Festival is returning from 2 – 6 October 2023! Our free five-day festival will be beamed straight into schools and homes across the globe and this year we are celebrating 20 Years of How to Train Your Dragon with Cressida Cowell, 25 Years of Skellig with David Almond and Tom de Freston, the brand new Adrien Prize, Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho’s Bookmaker Like You project and many more authors and illustrators. Inspiration for the festival came from Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2019 – 2022 Cressida Cowell’s key message ‘reading is magic, and magic is for everyone’ and the 2023 festival will continue to explore the themes from her Waterstones Children’s Laureate Charter.

Find out more and tune in

readingismagicfestival.com

Highlights

Event highlights for ages 0-5

FIND YOUR HAPPY WITH THE HAPPY NEWS FOUNDER EMILY COXHEAD

30 Sept | 14.00–14.45

The Egg

A WHALE OF A TIME: A FUNNY POEM FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR WITH LOU PEACOCK AND MATT HUNT

30 Sept | 13.00–13.45

Bath Cricket Club

WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT A TREE? WITH EMMA CARLISLE

30 Sept | 14.30–15.15

Bath Central Library

THE GECKO AND THE ECHO WITH LIZ FOST

1 Oct | 11.00–11.45

Bath Cricket Club

POPPY & SAM’S FARMYARD ADVENTURE WITH LIZ FOST

1 Oct | 13.00–13.45

Bath Cricket Club

LIFESIZE DEADLY ANIMALS WITH SOPHY HENN

1 Oct | 15.15–16.00

Bath Cricket Club

CAPTAIN LOO ROLL WITH MATT CARR

2 Oct | 10.00–10.45

Bath Central Library

SPEAK UP! WITH DAPO ADEOLA AND NATHAN BRYON

7 Oct | 10.00–10.45

GET READY TO ROCK! HEAVY METAL BADGER WITH DUNCAN BEEDIE

7 Oct | 11.00–11.45

TEATIME STORYTIME WITH MOG THE FORGETFUL CAT AND STORYTELLER LIZ FOST

7 Oct | 16.45–17.30

Guildhall

Guildhall SUPERTATO: MEAN GREEN TIME MACHINE WITH SUE HENDRA AND PAUL LINNET

8 Oct | 10.00–10.45

Guildhall

Bath Central Library

A HERO LIKE ME WITH ANTI-RACISM PROTESTOR JEN REID

8 Oct | 13.00–13.45

Bath Cricket Club

Events highlights for ages 5-8 and family

GIGANTIC FUN WITH ROB BIDDULPH

30 Sept | 10.30–11.30

Forum

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN WITH DR RANJ’S BRAIN POWER

30 Sept | 12.00–12.45

Guildhall

DRAW WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY WITH STEVEN LENTON, SOPHY HENN AND NADIA SHIREEN, COMPERED BY STEVEN BUTLER

1 Oct | 10.00–10.45 | Guildhall

REEVE & MCINTYRE PRESENT ADVENTUREMICE!

1 Oct | 11.00–11.45

The Egg

NIKITA GILL’S ANCIENT INDIAN ANIMAL FABLES

1 Oct | 12.00–12.45

Guildhall

SUIT UP, STEP UP AND MEET MARV! WITH ALEX FALASEKOYA AND PAULA BOWLES

1 Oct | 16.00–16.45

Guildhall

CRESSIDA COWELL: 20 YEARS OF HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON!

7 Oct | 10.00–11.00

Forum

BRITISH MUSEUM: SO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT IT BAD?

A KID’S LIFE IN ANCIENT ROME WITH CHAE STRATHIE

7 Oct | 11.00–11.45

Minerva Room at Roman Baths CLC

THE BOY WITH WINGS: CLASH OF THE SUPER KIDS WITH SIR LENNY HENRY

7 Oct | 16.30–17.15

Guildhall

THERE’S A BEAST IN THE BASEMENT WITH PAMELA BUTCHART

8 Oct | 12.00–12.45

Guildhall

THE MARVELLOUS MYTH HUNTER: IN THE BEGINNING

8 Oct | 14.00–14.45

Guildhall

WINGS OF GLORY WITH DERMOT O’LEARY

8 Oct | 16.30–17.15

Guildhall