What to see and do on site
Hay Festival is free to enter and is packed with activities, tempting places to eat and drink, exhibitors to browse, and places to simply sit and read.
HAY FESTIVAL BOOKSHOP
The bookshop is a large and airy space with plenty of room for all ages to relax and browse. It stocks books by all authors attending the Festival and more, and will host book signings as usual. Please note that only one book per person that is not purchased from the Festival bookshop can be accepted for signature. The bookshop is open from 9am daily.
HAY FESTIVAL SHOP
Visit the new Hay Festival Shop to find perfect gifts for your friends and family – and perhaps a treat for yourself. Hay Festival T-shirts and hoodies are annual bestsellers, and there is a wide range of stationery from pens and pencils to leather-bound notebooks. You can also buy gift vouchers, which are redeemable against items from the shop during the Festival and online afterwards at hayfestival.org/shop, or against tickets for Festival events.
FOOD AND DRINK
Whether you fancy breakfast, lunch or dinner, a light bite, snacks, sweet treats or a three-course sit down meal, the Festival restaurant and Food Hall offer a huge range of options with exciting flavours from around the world. Explore our vendors here.
EXHIBITORS
Exhibition stands on site include handcrafted and vintage clothing, jewellery, local art and crafts, Welsh textiles and lavender products, prints, unique homewares, gourmet food and drink, children’s clothing and accessories, travel, education, magazines and charities. View the full list of exhibitors.
BECOME A FRIEND
Discover the benefits of signing up for our Hay Festival membership schemes: Friends, Patrons and Benefactors. Come to the membership desk in the Box Office for a chat or to join on the spot. More information at hayfestival.org/friends.
FESTIVAL GARDENS AND FAMILY SPACES
The Festival’s gardens provide the perfect place for you to relax with a book and there is plenty to keep young children busy at our Make & Take Tent, where collage, glue and paint reign supreme. You will also find many other family events and workshops, some of which require booking in advance, so please remember to check the programme at children and young people for more details.
ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE
Hay Festival is pleased to welcome Beth Suzanna as our Illustrator in Residence, who will be illustrating her impressions of the Festival. Beth Suzanna is a freelance illustrator based in Bristol, who collaborated with Jordan Stephens for the award-nominated children's book The Missing Piece. Learn more about Beth here.
