Children aged 2 to 11 can pick a free bag of books at The Orchards on Saturday 19 September. Tickets cost £2 a child, and ten session times were still open.
Dartford’s Children’s Book Festival takes over The Orchards Shopping Centre on Saturday 19 September. Children aged two to 11 who book a £2 ticket get 25 minutes in a festival library and leave with a free bag of books. The council lists the library as open to residents only.
The council’s booking form only shows times with tickets left. When we checked it on 15 September, it showed ten.
What is on
The festival runs from 9am to 5pm at The Meeting Place, opposite Boots inside The Orchards, 13A High Street, DA1 1DN. The council’s event listing says it celebrates “classic children’s literature as well as the latest publishing sensations”.
Activities through the day include:
- arts and crafts
- storytelling
- interactive characters
- roaming dinosaurs
- magicians
The Book Festival Library
The ticket is for a timed session in “The Book Festival Library”, held in The Meeting Place. Each session lasts 25 minutes. Children browse the shelves and take home a free bag of books.
The listing says the library is for residents only. The first session starts at 9am and the last at 4.30pm.
The ticket rules are short:
- every child needs a ticket, including babes in arms
- tickets cost £2 each
- one adult per child, and adults do not need a ticket
- children must come with a parent or guardian
Sessions still showing on 15 September
The council’s ticket form says it only lists events “with tickets still available”. On 15 September it listed these times:
- Morning: 9am
- Midday: 12 noon, 12.30pm
- Afternoon: 1pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3pm, 3.30pm, 4pm, 4.30pm
No times between 9.30am and 11.30am were on the list, and neither was 2pm. The form only shows what is left, so there may be fewer times by the time you open it.
What it means for you
If you have a child aged two to 11, this is a cheap Saturday morning or afternoon in the town centre. For £2 a child you come away with a bag of books to keep.
Book first. Pick a session on the council’s ticket form, and book a ticket for every child, however young. Remember the library part is listed as residents only.
The Orchards is in the middle of the High Street, so the town centre car parks are the nearest. Our guide to parking in Dartford has the prices.
Further ahead, the Big Christmas Switch On is on Saturday 14 November, and Cinderella opens at the Orchard Theatre on 12 December.
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