A Day at HAY Festival: Hosting the Children’s Reading Tent
Getting set up
Before the gates opened, we were busy getting everything ready for a brilliant day. Our braille machines were set up and tables filled with crafting materials, ready for the children to get hands-on with braille and create their very own accessible bookmarks to take home.
Alongside this, we arranged a wonderful selection of large print and tactile books, kindly loaned to us by Living Paintings and Clear Vision — giving every child the chance to explore stories in a way that worked for them.
And then there was the gift table. Filled with beautiful braille gifts kindly donated by Create with Chloe.
Our favourite moments
What made the day so special was the curiosity. Children and families came in eager to explore braille, audiobooks, tactile books, technology, and the many different ways blind and partially sighted people access stories and information.
One of the highlights of the day was watching children create their very own personalised braille bookmarks. The concentration, the excitement, and the pride when they held up their finished bookmark was something we won’t forget in a hurry. LOOK mentor and team member Cait was on hand all day, guiding young people on how to use the Brailler.
We were delighted to welcome author Kate Raworth to the tent. It was a privilege to share with her the pioneering work LOOK does every day, and to show her first-hand how to use the Braille machine.
A Special Moment at the Main Stage
We had the privilege of attending a truly inspiring talk from LOOK Patron and award-winning journalist Jeremy Bowen on War, Peace and the Pursuit of Truth. We were incredibly proud to watch Jeremy be awarded the HAY Festival Medal for Journalism, a much-deserved honour for a career dedicated to telling the stories that matter. We are so grateful to have such an inspiring, driven and deeply compassionate person as our Patron.
“Books are best when they’re shared — and there’s no better place than a tent full of curious and enthusiastic children.”
— LOOKWhat we’re taking home
Hosting the Children’s Reading Tent was a reminder that books don’t just live on shelves — they live in the moments between a reader and a story, in a child’s imagination, in the questions they ask. HAY Festival gave us the most magical backdrop to do what we love.
We’re already thinking about next year. More stories, more crafts, more children asking questions. We can’t wait.
A huge thank you to the HAY Festival team, to every family who came through the tent flap, and to our brilliant volunteers who made it all possible. You were extraordinary.
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