Bocas Children’s Storytelling Caravan hits road

The NGC Bocas Children’s Storytelling Caravan is gearing up for a month-long journey across Trinidad and Tobago to encourage reading and creativity in schools and other spaces.

Starting on March 7, and ending in the annual Lit Fest on April 27, the caravan designed for children ages five-12, aims to ignite their imagination and passion for storytelling, a media release said.

The free caravan also aims to be a platform for nurturing a new generation of readers and writers. By encouraging children to envision themselves as published authors, the caravan seeks to instil in them a love for reading and writing, the release said.

Bocas Lit Fest children’s programme manager Melvina Hazard said, “The caravan falls directly in line with our objective to discover, develop, elevate and celebrate a new generation of voices locally and regionally. Especially now, when so many children are collateral damage and facing various challenges to their well-being, the caravan provides a safe space that allows them to fully and productively explore new worlds through creative storytelling.”

Professional storytellers will tell dramatic tales before guiding children to create their own stories based on a suggested title. Each session is crafted to draw out creativity and foster a love for self-expression through writing, the release said.

Contributions in each session will be recorded, edited, and published in a book, with all participants listed as authors.

The 2023 caravan produced an anthology of 18 stories created by children, which is soon to be released.

Each session is limited to 30 participants, so early registration is recommended. School sessions are not available for public registration.

Parents, guardians, and teachers are encouraged to register children for the nearest NGC Bocas Children’s Storytelling Caravan event at https://www.bocaslitfest.com/children/storytelling-caravan/

For more info: e-mail storytelling@bocaslitfest.com or call 48-BOCAS.

The caravan’s schedule stops are:

March 7 – St Mary’s Govt Primary, Moruga

March 9 – Arima Public Library

March 14 – Cedros AC Primary

March 18 – Matura RC Primary, Salybia Govt Primary

April 6 – Couva Public Library

April 13 – Debe Public Library

April 17 – Scarborough Library

April 20 – Princes Town Public Library

April 27 – National Library, Port of Spain