Somerset Storyfest love hosting events down by the beautiful Gold Coast beaches that we are lucky to have.

Apart from our annual Surfers Paradise pop up beach library, this year we hosted our first Grom TALES and for a third year we collaborated with SWELL Sculpture Festival.

Grom TALES was a full day of fun for both parents and children, as they were treated with special performances by Lucas Proudfoot, Nadia Sunde and Tristan Bancks. The event was in collaboration with Early Childhood Australia Queensland’s under 8’s week, celebrating the theme of play, playfulness and engaged learners. For the adults, a panel session highlighting the importance of encouraging reading from toddlers to teenagers was discussed between Megan Daley, Nadia Sunde, Louise Park, Justine Wilkinson, and Andrea Lewis. Visits from Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Shaun the Sheep and Bitzer accompanied with face painting and cupcakes which were thoroughly enjoyed by children.

Our Storyfest pop up library at SWELL Sculpture Festival over 10 days at Wallace Nicoll Park, Currumbin Beach was a success and promoted Storyfest to the wide Gold Coast community. From 10 September to 19 September, the Storyfest team interacted with 2887 individuals and 1565 pre-loved books were donated to new homes. Children had the opportunity to bring Georgia Norton Lodge’s 3-piece artwork to life, while excitedly pointing out all of the well-known Gold Coast monuments.

Storyfest’s team looks forward to heading down to the beach, this coming January for our annual Surfers Paradise pop up beach library!