Storyhouse Will Host A New Festival Celebrating The Creativity Of Chester's Older Communities

The event is the idea of a number of community groups within the city and is being programmed by their members working alongside Storyhouse itself.

It features 12 days packed with music, dance, theatre, workshops, storytelling, films, wellness activities and crafting created by Chester 'elders' - some with a seaside theme, and with many of the events being either free or with nominal ticket prices.

Across the festival there will be lots of opportunities to get creative, whether that be trying something you have done before and have missed, or an activity you have always wanted to give a go.

Festivalgoers are also being invited to enjoy some of Storyhouse's regular weekly programme of free activities including book clubs, board games and 'chatter and natter' events.

Storyhouse Elders opens on Monday, 10 October with the launch of a new sensory art installation in The Kitchen.

A Trip to the Seaside! celebrates the heyday of the great British seaside holiday from the post-war years until the 1960s, recalling memories of childhood visits to the coast and its exciting attractions.

The installation, which runs throughout the festival, will include a seaside-themed booth to transport people to their favourite resort and there is also the chance to write or draw a memory on a postcard or create your own special stick of rock.

The Kitchen is also the location for a seaside-inspired Card Craft Workshop on Tuesday, 11 October led by artist Clare Owens. Let your imagination run wild as you make a set of greetings cards with items you might find on a beach.

And the theme continues with Seaside Memories on Film in the Storyhouse Cinema where the Blacon-based group Here and Now will screen the premiere of its series of digital stories inspired by seaside holidays.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on 11 October there is also the chance to enjoy an afternoon of free live jazz in The Kitchen. Popular buskers John Higham (trumpet and vocals) and Malcolm Hogarth (keyboard) have been entertaining the people of Chester for more than 10 years and now they're bringing their early jazz era sounds to Storyhouse.

Expect classics from Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington among others.

Wednesday, 12 October opens with Childhood Stories Read Aloud in the Storytelling Room The unique event is inspired by the charity Silver Stories which links children to the older generation to bring a little joy to both, and will celebrate the effect that intergenerational reading aloud can have on both the storyteller and the listener.

A Storyhouse Elders Film Special takes place in the cinema on Thursday, 13 October.

Then the Garret Theatre is the venue for Keep on Dancing! organised in partnership with Cheshire Dance and which will see over 50s dance groups from across Cheshire joining forces for the first time to share, devise and, of course, to dance.

On Friday, 14 October Haylo Theatre visits Storyhouse with Spice of Life, a funny and thought-provoking piece of storytelling which encourages conversation and challenges society's approach to old age.

Haylo Theatre - run by Hayley Lamb and Louise Harris - is a northwest-based theatre company which uses the arts to engage and explore issues which affect communities.

The performance in the Garret Theatre is followed by a Spice of Life Workshop perfect for anyone who loves to meet new people, get creative and tell stories.

There will also be tours of Storyhouse throughout the day, run by volunteers and allowing festivalgoers a peek behind the scenes and to find out more about the building and what goes on there.

The Kitchen is the place to be on the afternoon of 17 October when The Gelatos will play a live music set. The high-energy, all-singing jazz trio performs jazz from the 1940s and 50s with an Italian twist.

And there will also be a Silent Disco where people can use wireless headphones to tune in to a soundtrack of either 60s pop or 80s rock ballads

The Kitchen is also the location for a drop-in Keep Me Out: Doorhanger Workshop on Tuesday, 18 October. Participants will be able to create their own door hanger specifically to give a doctor, nurse or paramedic functional information.

Then Storyhouse Youth Theatre performers aged five to seven will take part in Stories and Drama workshop in the Garret Theatre, with older people asked to bring a favourite childhood book and a prop that represents them.

Young and old will be paired together and will share stories and creative work together under the expert eye of Storyhouse Youth Theatre leader Cassie John-Baptist.

Storyhouse Community Programme manager George West will lead a Singing Workshop on Wednesday, 19 October, including exercises which help with breathing and posture as well as filling singers with a sense of joy.

The workshop is suitable for all including people with dementia, and also those who don't think they can sing.

Alternatively, you can Write Your Life Story in an introductory workshop which will help participants collate key moments in their life on to a single sheet of paper.

Real Life Stories, taking place in the Garret Theatre, gives the stage to three remarkable older heroes who were discovered by Storyhouse Community Programme manager Nicola Haigh during visits to the city's day care centres, residential care homes and groups designed for older people.

They are Captain Ken Stacey who spent more than 50 years in the Merchant Navy, Kate Rayner - founder of the Chester chapter of Cycling Without Age, and performance poet Joy France who entered the world of 'battle rap' in her 50s and now collaborates with UK rapper and spoken world artist Skully.

Meanwhile a pop-up Makers Market will also be held at Storyhouse during the day, offering people the chance to buy handcrafted items from talented creatives of all ages.

Baby Brahms will run two relaxed Intergenerational Classical Music concerts in the Kitchen on the morning of Thursday, 20 October.

Cheshire and Warrington Carers will choose a film to be screened in the Storyhouse Cinema.

And the Manchester Royal Exchange Elders programme is behind Dominoes and Dahlias (+Oware!) which will be staged in the Garret Theatre.

The production, led by artist Cheryl Martin, created by older people from the African and African Caribbean diaspora, and with music by Clive Hunte, is part of the Royal Exchange's Dream Project and is described as "a garden party not to be missed".

The festival starts Friday, 21 October with a Sport and Exercise - Try It Out! speed-dating style session where people will be matched with a new exercise, sport or activity to support physical and mental wellbeing.

Hula hooping, mindfulness and taking a ride in a rickshaw will be among the diverse events available during the day, and Cheshire West and Chester Council community health champions will be on hand to help with any questions people may have about their health.

There will also be Multi-Sensory Storytelling in the Storytelling Room which is perfect for anyone who loves hearing or telling stories with the help of a treasured object.

Finally, on Saturday, 22 October, Storyhouse-based community group Parados presents Ellie and Joe, a psychological drama which propels audiences from the 1990s to a dystopian alternative reality.

Storyhouse creative director Suzie Henderson says: "Storyhouse Elders explores and challenges the societal perceptions of age and ageing, and the impact of creating and experiencing art in later life.

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