Weekend fun as LandWords is back in town

Back in town for another action-packed weekend of creative events at Callendar House is the LandWords festival.
Youngsters taking part in the the first LandWords event
Picture: James ClareYoungsters taking part in the the first LandWords event
Picture: James Clare
Youngsters taking part in the the first LandWords event Picture: James Clare

Based on words and stories surrounding the historic house and its parkland, the event is part of the Festival of Scotland’s Museums.

Now in its tenth year, it was launched to encourage visitors to engage in a unique and hands on way, while spotlighting the wealth of culture in the country’s museums and galleries.

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A host of renowned writers will be in Falkirk today and tomorrow to take part in LandWords – a similar successful weekend took place last month – including Kelpies creator Andy Scott, New York novelist Reif Larsen, best-selling Scottish writer Sara Sheridan and award-winning Scottish novelist and poet James Robertson.

Audiences can join in with a series of site-specific reading workshops and make their own books with book artist and photographer Rachel Hazell.

They will also be able to celebrate the launch of an anthology produced through the creativity of Falkirk’s young and old in the LandWords across the generations project.

LandWords is a partnership between Falkirk Community Trust and Edinburgh International Book Festival, which is supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery.

The full list of events for this weekend is:

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Saturday – Showcasing the LandWords Project at 10am, free; Reading Workshop: Peter Arnott on The Cone Gatherers at 11am £5 and £3.50; Reading Workshop: Gill Arbuthnott on The Secret Garden at 12.30pm, £5 and £3.50; Reading Workshop: Gerry Cambridge on Norman MacCaig at 2pm, £5 and £3.50; Callendar House Tales with Macastory at 2.30pm, £5 and £3.50; Reading Workshop: Sara Sheridan on Agatha Christie’s Sleeping Murder at 3.30pm, £5 and £3.50; and Reading Workshop: Janet Paisley on Alice Munro’s The View from Castle Rock at 5pm, £5 and £3.50.

Sunday – Andy Scott: The Kelpies and a Modern Mythology in the Making at 10.30am, £5 and £3.50; Book Building: Early Years Paper Workshop with Rachel Hazell at 11am, £3.50; Doubling Back with Linda Cracknell, £5 and £3.50: Exploring the Connection Between Walking, Writing and Memory at 12.15pm, £5 and £3.50; James Crawford on Fallen Glory: The Lives & Deaths of Twenty Lost Buildings at 2pm, £5 and £3.50; Book Building: Paper Workshop with Rachel Hazell at 2.30pm, £3.50; Kerry Hudson & Donna Rutherford: Meet the LandWords Artists at 3.45pm, £5 and £3.50; and James Robertson: Novel Histories Callendar House, Falkirk at 5.30pm, £5 and £3.50.

See the full programme, buy tickets and find out more about the project via edbookfest.co.uk.

Janet Smyth, of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “Our LandWords weekend brings together authors, artists and storytellers to explore our sense of identity and how it relates to history and place.

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“It is all inspired and hosted by Callendar House and grounds. We want to know the stories of the audiences from Falkirk and beyond and discover our shared connections to Scotland’s stories, old and new, in our post-industrial, post referendum, modern age.”