2–4 DECEMBER 2011

Festive magic
for all the family

Our twelfth winter Festival went off with a bang! Audiences relaxed with friends and family, laughed fit to burst, and enjoyed the finest stories, music, food and company.

All the writers and performers were compelling and entertaining. Their books will also make perfect Christmas gifts. Our wonderful bookseller, Pembertons, can provide autographed copies of many of them for you if you were unable to come in person.

Hay-on-Wye welcomes winter with another festival: Horatio Clare in The Telegraph

Photos from this year 2011 Programme online
Hay Festival Winter Weekend

What makes Hay special is our audience – renowned for generosity, adventure and great party spirit. Thank you for coming.

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    Father Christmas

    Pop into Richard Booth’s Bookshop on Saturday 3 December, 12pm–3pm, to meet Father Christmas – listen out for sleigh bells...

  • Memories are made of this...

    From winter wish boats & snow queens to baking spicy gingerbread & inky letter writing – the family programme is overflowing with special moments to share.

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    Music

    Tunes to get you up on your feet and shaking your tail-feathers. And lots of mulled wine!

  • Comedy

    Hilarious stand-up and sketches from John Finnemore, writer and star of Radio 4’s Cabin Pressure, with special guests Simon Kane, Carrie Quinlan and Lawry Lewin.

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    Christmas Fayre

    Come and share seasonal carols, games and treats courtesy of Hay Primary School. AMENDMENT please note: this event was planned for Saturday 3 December, from 10am, but will now take place the following weekend. Please contact the school for more info on 01497 820 339.

  • Christmas Shopping Happy Hour

    Please support participating local shops offering discounts, drinks and festive cheer in Hay on Saturday 3 December, 5pm–6pm: The Blue Boar, The Bowie Gallery, FW Golesworthy, The Granary, Hay Baby, Hay Deli, Mostly Maps, The Old Black Lion, Richard Booth’s Bookshop and Shepherds.

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The Winter Weekend

news

  • The Hay Short Story Competition was won this year by Elisabeth Salje-Demaret, who was born in Germany but raised in France. Writing has been a part of her life at every stage, first in French and German then, later, in English. She is currently working on a piece of historical fiction in English.
  • 'Mermaid in the Park' is based on the tale of The Little Mermaid. It was inspired by the streets and squares of Paris, those convivial small green spaces in the big city, where the contemporary lives of France’s immigrant population are enacted, plain for all to see. Read the full story...
  • The second prize was won by Carol Kellar with her story 'Mandy, the Serial Killer of Wilmslow', and the third prize by Martin Booth with his story 'The Egg Round'. Both these stories can be found on the Hay Community Support website www.haycs.co.uk.
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ABOUT US

Hay Festival runs for ten days with a packed programme of debates and conversations with poets and scientists, novelists and historians, artists and gardeners, comedians and musicians, film makers and politicians.

The Sound Castle is our new late night music club.

Hay Fever - our festival for families and children, runs across the ten days of the festival where children have the chance to meet and talk to their favourite writers and take part in workshops to create wonderful memories and develop new skills in imaginative thinking and self expression.

Hf2 is our festival for teenagers - from high tech workshops on making music and films to an awesome line-up of cutting-edge writers, Hf2 is a mind-blowing experience for 13-plus.

We care passionately about our environment. Hay-on-Earth debates the latest thoughts on climate change and environmental awareness.

In 2006 we started the Hay-on-Earth Project to audit, address and change our ecological sustainability.