Beyond the Page: Week One Round-up!

Kia ora folks! It’s been a wonderful Week One of Beyond the Page, our fantastic literary festival for tamariki and their whānau.

Beyond the page is running during the July school holidays, and from the 9th to the 24th of July, our libraries are hosting a huge array of totally free events for kids and families, from sculpture workshops to VR experiences, and everything in between!

Rather than bore you with descriptions of all the fabulous stuff that’s been happening, we thought we’d share with you some of our favourite photos from events around the city. Here goes!

Before the Page: Creative Workshops with VIVITA

Before the official kick-off of the festival, on the opening weekend of the holidays we hosted our friends at VIVITA Aotearoa for two wonderful workshops at Miramar and Te Awe Libraries — Cardboard Costumes and Serious Sculpting:

A young person wearing a blue sweatshirt draws on the pommel of a stylised sword made from cardboard

A young creator inscribes something (magical runes, perhaps?) on the blade of a cardboard sword they have made at Cardboard Costumes at Miramar Library.


Four small sculpted figurines sit on a green cutting mat. From left to right, they appear to be a sentient brick wall, a one-legged, one-eyed monster, a white block-like creature with tentacle-like arms, and a frog-like creature with tentacles coming out of its mouth

Meeting new friends at Serious Sculpting at Te Awe Library!


Beyond the Page: Bricks, Boxes, Stop Motion, and More!

The first ‘official’ days of Beyond the Page saw a whole bunch of awesome events. Some highlights for us were Bricks and Giggles at Brooklyn Library; Zine Machine at Arapaki Library, Box Bonanza at Wadestown and Te Awe Libraries, and Stop Motion Stories at Karori and Kilbirnie Libraries:

Several colourful LEGO constructions sitting on a table. Among them are several blue-and-green landscapes, a house, a fire engine, and a garden.

A selection of wonderful LEGO® creations from Bricks and Giggles at Brooklyn Library

A large group of children gathered around a table. On the table are a range of craft resources, magazines, pens and pencils.

A cluster of keen zine-makers at Arapaki Library

Learning to animate some aquatic friends at Kilbirnie Library

Karori Library becomes a film studio for a day!

 

Spotlight on: Stories From Our Place

A big highlight for us all was being visited by the wonderful Sophie from Zealandia | Te Māra a Tāne for Stories From Our Place at Cummings Park Library. The torrential rain didn’t stop our intrepid explorers from venturing out into the bush behind the library for an awesome (if slightly damp) experience!

We started in the library…

…met some cuddly new friends…

…ventured out into the wild weather…

…and enjoyed the beautiful sights of Cummings Park in the rain!

We can’t wait to share with you more Beyond the Page goodness once Week Two is done and dusted as well! Find out more at the official Beyond the Page website.

Make New Stories Beyond the Page in the July School Holidays!

Kia ora folks! We are so incredibly excited to announce that the hotly-anticipated Beyond the Page festival is returning this July!

During the school holidays, from the 9th to the 24th of July, libraries across the Wellington region are hosting over 100 awesome, FREE events for tamariki and their whānau, from puppetry, poetry, and costume design experiences through to VR experiences, nature walks, sculpting, and stop motion animation workshops!

There’s something on every day of the holidays, so join us to experience the ‘other’ side of libraries — the side that fizzes and pops, is creative, exciting, and adventurous!

Beyond the Page is a collaboration between Wellington City Libraries, Hutt City Libraries, Upper Hutt City Libraries, Kāpiti Coast District Libraries, and Masterton District Library. You can view the full event calendar and find out more about the festival and our wonderful presenters on the Beyond the Page website, or you can follow the festival on Facebook for regular updates.

Read on to find out about some of the excellent events happening in Wellington City Libraries branches:

Vivita X Beyond the Page: Graphic Novel Series

We’re partnering with Wellington innovation studio VIVITA Aotearoa to bring you the Graphic Novel Series — a group of three workshops focussed on bringing the characters and story of a graphic novel to life, from sculpture and miniatures through to cardboard costumes!

These events are suitable for tamariki aged 9-15, and registrations are required.

  • Cardboard Costumes | Miramar Library | Saturday 9 July, 10am – 12pm (Register here)
  • Serious Sculpting | Te Awe Library | Sunday 10 July, 10am – 12pm (Register here)
  • Miniature Modelling | Johnsonville Library | Sunday 17 July, 10am – 12pm (Register here)

Toro Pikopiko Tales

Have you ever wanted to become a puppeteer? Join the Toro Pikopiko Tales Roadshow to explore an interactive gallery of puppets – from traditionally carved kare-tao puppets, through to puppets inspired by Māori rock art, taniwha, and stories of the land. In this fun-filled workshop, you’ll become the puppeteer!

These events are suitable for tamariki aged 5+ with their caregivers, and registrations are required.

  • Karori Library | Tuesday 19 July, 10 – 11am (Register here)
  • Johnsonville Library | Tuesday 19 July, 2 – 3pm (Register here)
  • Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library | Thursday 21 July, 10 – 11am (Register here)
  • Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library | Friday 22 July, 10 – 11am (Register here)

Stories From Our Place with Zealandia

Listen to bilingual stories about our special Aotearoa plant life and animals, then discover more about them on a guided nature walk with a Zealandia educator! Tamariki registered for the first session can explore Zealandia with their whānau free of charge. At the Cummings Park Library session, we will instead be exploring the unique flora and fauna of the beautiful Cummings Park.

These events are suitable for tamariki of all ages with their caregivers, and registrations are required.

  • Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library | Tuesday 12 July, 2 – 3pm (Register here)
  • Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne | Tuesday 19 July, 1.30 – 3pm (Register here)
  • Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne | Tuesday 19 July, 3 – 4.30pm (Register here)

Poetry Workshop with Sara Hirsch

Have you always wanted to learn how to write poetry? Have you been writing for ages and would love the chance to get some tips and tricks? Whatever your background and experience, everyone is welcome at this inclusive workshop, from newbies to the poetry obsessed.

This event is suitable for tamariki aged 8-12 with their caregivers, and registrations are required.

  • Newtown Library | Friday 15 July, 2.30 – 4.30pm (Register here)

String Bean Puppets: Nan and Tuna

Nan and Tuna have been friends for 80 years and now it is time for one last adventure together. But before they leave they will need to find someone to care for the river. Join us for this special bilingual puppet show presented by Anna Bailey of String Bean Puppets!

This event is suitable for tamariki of all ages with their caregivers.

Due to the interference of COVID-19, this event has been rescheduled. The new date and location are:

  • Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library | Saturday 16 July, 11.00am – 12.00pm (More information)


…and even more!

The holidays are going to be chocka with even more wonderful events, including Bricks and Giggles (LEGO® building galore!), Stop Motion Stories (fun and simple animation workshops!), Box Bonanza (what can you make armed with nothing but a cardboard box and your imagination?), Zine Machine (make your own mini-book!), and Experience VR (enter a whole new world of story through the magic of VR). Registrations are required for some of these events, so make sure you get in quick to secure your place!

Visit the links above to see all the details, or view the whole schedule on the Beyond the Page website. We can’t wait to see you there!

Make a zine at the Zinefest kids workshop

What’s a zine? It’s a self-made magazine. Anyone can make one, it can be about anything and look anyway you want it to, and it’s a lot of fun.

Wellington Central Library has a great collection of zines that your can borrow – have a look next time you’re in the city.

Why not have a go at making your own zine?

Zinefest (and annual amazingly fun festival that’s all about zines) kicks off this month. There are heaps of events happening, including a children’s zine workshop at the Central Library.

The workshop is being run by 13 year old award-winning zine maker Dora, with her sisters Oki (9) and Dune (8). They will be talking about ideas for zines, zine-making techniques, and presenting some of their favourite creations. This workshop aims to encourage children to participate in zine-making and introduce them to Wellington Zinefest, and will include a session of zine-making with materials provided by Wellington Zinefest and Wellington City Libraries.

 

Details:

Wellington Central Library, teen area

Saturday 18th October, 10.30am – 12pm

Suitable for Children and teens age 7 and up

Free – just turn up!

 

 

 

Keep up to date with Zinefest though their Facebook page or blog