Festive children's stories will be brought to life with interactive story session

The Christmas Storytelling session for toddlers and pre-schoolers comes to the Guildhall on Tuesday 10 December from 10.30am until 11.30am. It is part of the festive programme of events taking place in the park that Chichester District Council has organised. Booking on to the session is £6.50 per child.

The session is being delivered by Chris North, founder of Freedom Through Fun, a local company in Chichester that works with schools, youth and community groups, to help people gain confidence in expressing themselves creatively.

The session is being delivered by Chris North founder of 'Freedom Through Fun' a local business based in Chichester. Chris works by providing a range of inclusive, creative arts workshops including storytelling in schools and youth and community groups. Chris' workshops aim to encourage imagination, confidence and highlight the importance of fun and play in life and learning.

With the Christmas Storytelling session, Chris will bring to life favourites such as 'One Snowy Night', 'The Night Before Christmas', and 'We're Going on a Polar Bear Hunt'.

Chris says: "Storytelling is among the oldest forms of communication we have, and it's something we all tend to enjoy and share in our childhoods. Being able to provide young children the opportunity to interact with the story as we go along helps make the stories feel even more special to them.

"These stories have been chosen to be inclusive and creative, with the children able to get involved with multi-sensory techniques, such as scrunching greaseproof paper to make the sound of walking on snow. There will also be opportunities for the children to get up and move around, helping them be more engaged with the stories."

Councillor John Cross, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport, and Place at Chichester District Council says: "We're delighted to be welcoming Chris to The Guildhall in Priory Park as part of our festive programme of events in the run up to Christmas,". "We have tried to include a variety of events so that there is something for everyone, and we hope the young ones will have a great time not just listening to but being interactive with Chris's festive stories.

"We're really pleased to be able to put on these events, and The Guildhall will be a lovely venue for Chris to re-tell these classic stories and we hope that it will create some wonderful festive memories for the children and the parents, guardians and adults who will come along."

People can book on to the Christmas Storytelling session through the Chichester Box Office (opens new window), and if they want to find out more about the other festive events taking place they can visit the council's Countdown to Christmas web page

Residents and visitors to the district will once again be able to enjoy a series of parking offers during the festive period. During December, customers using the MiPermit app will be able to take advantage of a weekend offer — if they select two hours during weekends in December, they will receive a third hour for free. This will apply across the majority of council car parks except the Avenue de Chartres car park in Chichester. In addition, there will be free Sunday parking in Avenue de Chartres car park in Chichester during December. For more information about MiPermit, please visit our Chichester District Council 'mipermit' web page.

Date of release: 26 November 2024

Reference: 4410