Community Events

  • Beware of the Poems!

    Wednesday 10 March, 7.30pm Beware of the Poems! at Laxton Cloisters £5.00

    We told you the Festival has gone Poetry Potty this year! Nick Perry, local poet, actor and playwright has just completed his first collection of comic poetry; and it's only taken him fifty years!  He has appeared in a number of shows from the Footlights to the Fringe.  His verse is hugely enjoyable and his manner of delivery second to none.  He is joined by Charlie Ottley, TV presenter of Travel Channel's Flavours of ... series, who is also a highly acclaimed columnist and BBC poet.  His latest work is Cautionary Verses and Ruthless Rhymes for Modern Times, a darkly funny collection of verse decrying the foibles of the modern world.  He is described as "the dog's Bellocs" and recommended by, amongst others, Quentin Letts, John Julius Norwich and Jilly Cooper. Bring your own drink and glasses.

  • Literary Quiz

    Thursday 11 March, 7.30pm Literary Quiz at Great Hall £ 5.00

    Here we go! Literary Quiz with a twist is back again for another year. Form your team of six to eight people and register via paula@oundlelitfest.org.uk Bring your own refreshments - these are important! Pit your wits and see if you can stop the Pink Chickens from winning it three years in a row!

    Sponsored by Holmewood Hall

  • Tower of Bagel

    Friday 12 March, 7.30pm Tower of Bagel at Great Hall £12.00

    Festival favourite Shonaleigh returns, this time with musician Oleg Fateev, and together they weave a magical tale full of extraordinary imagery, The Tower of Bagel. Shonaleigh’s ready wit and Jewish sense of proportion keep the ball of this enjoyable game dancing through the air. Figures from Jewish mythology linger in the shadows and along the way we discover how bagels came to be. Throughout the piece, Oleg Fateev lets his music pour around the stories, changing scenes and marking the passage of time. Enjoy two hours of interwoven stories. Those who heard her last year know we will be gripped by every moment. This is something you will tell your grandchildren about. Bagels and filling provided but please bring your own drink and glasses.

  • Going Poetry Potty!

    All day, every day! Going Poetry Potty! at All Around Town!

    We are looking for the Festival’s Top Ten poems. We want you to choose your favourite poem and tell us about it. You can submit the title and author of your favourite poem to any Northamptonshire library, the Oundle Tourist Information Centre or via email at paula@oundlelitfest.org.uk between 18 January and 14 February. During the Festival, the Top Ten poems will be displayed at every library. But we won’t stop there! When you walk around the town this year brace yourselves for the deluge: poetry in the shops, poetry in the streets, poetry in the pubs, cafés, and restaurants - everywhere you look. Poems for children, for mums and dads, grannies, granddads, aunts, uncles, teenagers, all and everyone!

  • Pause in the Park

    All day, every day! Pause in the Park at Barnwell Country Park

    Follow the trail around Barnwell Country Park.  Pause to enjoy a laugh or a thoughtful moment inspired by one of the many poems which celebrate your surroundings. There will be something for everyone, and for children, there is something extra.  Follow the Red Letter Trail and find what phrase from a well known poem is hidden there. Send your answer via email to paula@oundlelitfest.org.uk or post it in the box outside the park’s Information Centre with your child’s name and contact details.  There will be a prize for the first correct answer out of the hat! 

     

  • Window Competition

    All day, every day! Window Competition at Oundle Shops

    This year, the customers are in charge of the judging! Each year the participating shops use great imagination in decorating their windows with literary themes which are hugely appreciated by festival goers and authors so we thought it only right to give you, the public, the vote. All the shops will have a number in the window and you can vote for your top four using ballot papers which will be available from Oundle Tourist Information Centre between Saturday 6 and Friday 12 March. Please join in the fun!

  • The Big Match: England versus Norway

    Sunday 28 March, 10.30am The Big Match: England versus Norway at Oundle Town Football Club FREE

    Part of our Football Crazy weekend. The International Writers’ football clash we have all been waiting for! Will England’s skill and finesse be enough to match the might of Norway in this seminal pre-World Cup finals match? With twenty-two master wordsmiths on the pitch, a plentiful supply of eloquent banter will undoubtedly accompany the action!

     

    Supported by Oundle Town Football Club