It may be a stone’s throw away from busy city centre streets, but behind the walls of a secret garden lies a wonderland of music, arts, crafts and performances, kicking off this weekend.

Peep behind the old brick walls and you could have an unexpected encounter with poetry and storytelling with the Wise Words festival, a feast of stories, music and family fun.

At the heart of the festival, is the magical Quinn Yurt where fairy lights twinkle and stories and talks are told into the night.

With excited whispers and a squeeze of a hand among blankets and cushions on the floor, the yurt is where Wise Words invites its visitors in to enjoy poetry, stories, music, talks and late-night debates.

Many of the festival’s writing workshops happen in the yurt, with performances from some big names.

Families can come and play with relaxed concerts, puppetry and stories told around the fire at The Inglenook and the stars of CBeebies’ Spot Bots will have little ones laughing with their latest production, The Three Musketeers.

Relax and rewind among the wildflowers in Eden where you can spread out on the grass or pop into the Tipi, where you can enjoy an Indian head massage, or other restorative treatments.

Gather with friends and make new ones at the Banquet Table, where there will be singing around the fire into the evening.

The Hideaway in the monk’s garden, new for this year, is an exclusive space for intimate performances by some big names to connect with their audience.

FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

Poet Hollie McNish is in the Quinn Yurt as the first act on Friday evening, while witty and warm poet of many voices Roger McGough, president of the Poetry Society who was made a CBE for services to literature, will be a headline act on Saturday, April 29, in The Hideaway from 7pm.

The words will be interspersed with plenty of music, including a folk jam at 8pm in the Secret Garden on Saturday, April 29 and Gentlemen of Few play the Quinn Yurt that evening.

There will be May Day festivities for little ones on Bank Holiday Monday and musician Richard Navarro plays at three intervals in the day.

On Wednesday, May 3, at 7pm, Lemn Sissay will be looking at restorative justice and its healing process, as he meets Jacob Dunne, who knocked a man to his death and Joan Scourfield, the mother of the man he killed. The evening is staged in partnership with the Marlowe Theatre.

SECRET GARDENS

The Secret Gardens in Canterbury belong to the Franciscan Friars and they hold the Greyfriars Chapel, the only building now remaining of the first English Franciscan Friary built in 1267.

The ancient gardens have a magical air, with eels in the river and river weeds that stretch out like mermaid hair, reminiscent of the famous painting of Ophelia by British artist Sir John Everett Millais.

Festival organisers Workers of Art, a not for profit organisation, dress the garden with creative wonders, such as books hanging from trees.

In conjunction with City Sound Project and supported by Arts Council England, Quinn Estates, Canterbury Connected and Whitefriars Shopping Centre, the first Wise Words was held in 2012.

DETAILS

The Wise Words Festival runs from Friday, April 28, to Sunday, May 7. Day passes cost £30 per day, prices range from £5 to £15. You can buy tickets at the gate but only in cash.
For a full programme and to get tickets, visit wisewordsfestival.co.uk You can also get tickets from the Marlowe Theatre box office in person.