Here are all our events for families, children and young adults. Select events from our Programme for Schools or our traditional families programme, there is also a selection of interactive workshops to enjoy.
Programme for Schools events and workshops will be free to replay for the duration of the festival and then free on Hay Festival Anytime.
The epic oral poetry of works such as the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Mahabharata focuses on memorable characters. Inspired by this tradition is the «character poem»; at this event with Adolfo Córdova we will create one, with a narrative heart but poetic limbs. To give it life, we will need a name, a body, a place and a wish.

Trinidad Olarte (Colombia) draws stories that have never been told before and that, by turning into books, become told. Her most recent work has been to illustrate La jugada del día by Ariadna Sánchez Hernández, a tale about how a love of baseball and dedication can change lives and leave an indelible legacy.


CaminaLee is an initiative that organizes routes, so that people’s feet can connect with their brains, letting us listen to stories, characters, tales, legends and adventures, allowing us to see the past differently. With CaminaLee, we will visit some of the landmarks of Carrillo Puerto district, seeing the most important sites and hearing some of the city’s legends. Each will be explained, and with rests on the way, we will talk about historical figures and even draw them.

The children who participate in the Aqueduct workshop will learn with Ana Grimaldo about the historical importance of the Queretaro acueducto, an icon of the city, and about how water reaches our homes. They will complete a city map, build their own aqueduct together, and see how it can transport water.

Become a cosmic explorer with Braulio Guerra Mendoza in this astronomical adventure. We discover far-off galaxies, brightly-coloured nebulae and clouds of stars that shine like jewels in the sky. Weather permitting, we will look at the sun, safely, using a phone screen and a telescope that everyone will be able to use. To finish, we will send the universe a symbolic message with our very own cosmic ray. An experience for looking at the sky, but also leaving something there.

Tere Alcántara invites the children to become broadcasters for a day and discover a love of the radio. This workshop will be about the secrets of the medium, discovering the power of their voices —working on breathing, diction and intention—, as well as teamwork, as they design and record their own radio programme. From the creation of content to presenting it, they will become the creators of their first programme.

Ideas en Movimiento is a series of itinerant and community artistic workshops for children and teenagers from the peripheral areas of Queretaro. Games, cooperative dynamics and the Little Mobile School are the tools used to demonstrate how creativity can transform communities. The route will end at the Foro Cultural de Ideas, where participants will share their proposals, reminding us that ideas, once sown in community, flourish.

Ideas en Movimiento is a series of itinerant and community artistic workshops for children and teenagers from the peripheral areas of Queretaro. Games, cooperative dynamics and the Little Mobile School are the tools used to demonstrate how creativity can transform communities. The route will end at the Foro Cultural de Ideas, where participants will share their proposals, reminding us that ideas, once sown in community, flourish.

The Internet is full of viral videos of cats that jump when they see a cucumber. This strange fact is the starting point for The Cat and the Cucumber, the children’s book by Marisa Ebsworth, illustrated by the Queretaro artist, Sens. A story about the friendship between Pepe, a black cat, and Carlos, a cucumber, who become inseparable and have adventures together. At this workshop we will meet Pepe and Carlos, create our own imaginary characters, and put them onto paper with the help of Sens.


With the Emotional Letter Box, Gina Jaramillo (Mexico) proposes ways for children to talk about their feelings and name and understand what they are experiencing. At this event the broadcaster and writer with Ileana Alvarez, will help readers to express their emotions through emotional education.

Ideas en Movimiento is a series of itinerant and community artistic workshops for children and teenagers from the peripheral areas of Queretaro. Games, cooperative dynamics and the Little Mobile School are the tools used to demonstrate how creativity can transform communities. The route will end at the Foro Cultural de Ideas, where participants will share their proposals, reminding us that ideas, once sown in community, flourish.

There is a mobile library on two wheels that has over two hundred stories and books, and which can become a space for sharing literature. With reading-matter for all ages, the Biciteca Akari promotes social inclusion, creativity and socio-emotional education through sharing stories. At this event with Jemima Pelaez we can see the Biciteca Akari for ourselves, exploring tales that help to boost identity, self-esteem and acceptance, aiming for each participant to take away a new view on harmony and inclusion.

An event for children about falling in love, and first loves, based on Ana en todas partes. The writer Adolfo Córdova and the artist Mariela Sancari will talk about this self-fiction novel that mingles the author’s own experiences with those of over a hundred children, revealed through interviews. A space for talking about love with children and teenagers.


The Queretaro writer Rebeca Mendoza has created a very charming witch, who has gone down a storm among young readers. After the impressive success of Ernestina, una brujita miedosa,comes Ernestina, un sueño hecho realidad, in which our favourite witch becomes human to go to school and make new friends. Are you ready for a new magic adventure?

The Internet is full of viral videos of cats that jump when they see a cucumber. This strange fact is the starting point for The Cat and the Cucumber, the children’s book by Marisa Ebsworth, illustrated by the Queretaro artist, Sens. A story about the friendship between Pepe, a black cat, and Carlos, a cucumber, who become inseparable and have adventures together.

Become a cosmic explorer with Braulio Guerra Mendoza in this astronomical adventure. We discover far-off galaxies, brightly-coloured nebulae and clouds of stars that shine like jewels in the sky. Weather permitting, we will look at the sun, safely, using a phone screen and a telescope that everyone will be able to use. To finish, we will send the universe a symbolic message with our very own cosmic ray. An experience for looking at the sky, but also leaving something there.

There is a mobile library on two wheels that has over two hundred stories and books, and which can become a space for sharing literature. With reading-matter for all ages, the Biciteca Akari promotes social inclusion, creativity and socio-emotional education through sharing stories. At this event with Jemima Peláez we can see the Biciteca Akari for ourselves, exploring tales that help to boost identity, self-esteem and acceptance, aiming for each participant to take away a new view on harmony and inclusion.







