Beyond the Page 2024: A literary feast for the whānau

Beyond the Page is New Zealand's largest literary festival for tamariki (children) and their whānau (families), celebrating the joy of storytelling in all its forms. From Saturday, 28 September to Sunday, 13 October 2024, explore over 120 free events across the Wellington and Wairarapa regions. Check out what's on in Upper Hutt. 

This year’s festival offers a mix of performances, interactive workshops, and hands-on activities designed to spark curiosity and encourage tamariki to explore new skills. Whether your child loves music, arts, robotics, or reading, there’s something for everyone. 

Many events are open to all, but some workshops have limited spaces. Be sure to register early to secure your spot. Caregivers are required to accompany tamariki to all events. 

This year our Upper Hutt Libraries' Beyond the Page events are part of U-PLAY Spring Holiday Events.  If you would like to check out the rest of our U-PLAY events for the tamariki and rangatahi, please click here.

What's on in Upper Hutt

Beyond the Page: Writing Competition

Get creative over the holidays and experiment with different kinds of storytelling with our awesome writing competition! Any form of writing around the theme "exploration" will be accepted: plays, short stories, poetry, comics or anything else you can think of!

Beyond the Page: Draw Along with Paul Beavis

Come along to the library to join superstar author and illustrator Paul Beavis (Nee Naw, There was an odd farmer who swallowed a fly, Ring Ting Tūī) for a fantastic workshop.

Registrations required.

Beyond the Page: Llamas at the Llibrary

Get up-close with a llama at your local library! Join us for an outdoor storytime where your llama-loving librarians will warm you up with some stories then introduce you to our expert Stephen and a crew of camelids - a llama, alpaca, and guanaco!

Beyond the Page: Birdlife Productions

Join Storyteller Roger Sanders of Birdlife Productions as he takes us on a unique journey through worlds of story, embellishing them with drama, humour, and plenty of live music and percussion.

Beyond the Page: Steve Mushin

Inventor Steve Mushin has illustrated a book of 100+ theoretically possible inventions to transform cities into jungles. It's called ULTRAWILD, and you're invited to join the engineering team. Come and develop your OWN ultra wild ideas.

Registration required

Beyond the Page: Royal New Zealand Ballet

Join us for some free dance workshops! Learn dance steps from the Royal New Zealand Ballet's new children's ballet Dazzlehands with one of our professional dance educators. No previous dance experience is needed - just come along and join in the fun!

Beyond the Page: Alien Junk Monsters

Join the Alien Junk Monsters to create your own junk monster puppet! All materials provided, but if you have something you want to use, bring it along!

Registration required.

Beyond the Page: Let's Draw Taniwha

Always been fascinated by our local taniwha Ngāke, Whataitai, Awarua, Te Awakairangi, and Ngarara Huarau? Join Isobel Te Aho White to explore these taniwha and the ones she has illustrated for her books and school journals!

Registration required

Beyond the Page: Here Be Dragons: Fantasy Map Making for Beginners

Calling all cartographers, map-makers, and explorers of the unknown! Venture down to the library and learn how to create your very own fantasy map.

Beyond the Page: Mastering Dungeons and Dragons

Roll with the blows and join an experienced Dungeon Master to learn how to lead your own Dungeons and Dragons sessions

Registration required

Beyond the Page: Play Me a Story

Compose your own musical story with musicians from Orchestra Wellington at Play Me A Story! Featuring a unique combination of musical instruments from the harp and the trombone to the guitar and the recorder, the lush and dreamy sounds of our musicians is sure to delight and engage.

Beyond the Page: FrankenToys

Get ready for a monstrously fun time at our Franken-toys at the library!

Beyond the Page: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Join NZSO Animateur Chris Lam Sam and musicians from the NZSO for an interactive and fun morning of music-making and storytelling for the whole whānau.

Beyond the Page: Did Māui Really Hit the Sun?

Did the famously cheeky Māui really hit Tama Nui Te Ra, the mighty Sun? Join professional musician and kapa haka expert Matiu Te Huki for this theatrical journey of adventure that takes a new look at one of Aotearoa's best-known stories.

Libraries collaboration

This free festival is a collaboration between Hutt City Libraries, Kāpiti Coast District Libraries, Masterton District Library, Upper Hutt Libraries, and Wellington City Libraries. With each library offering unique events, the festival celebrates storytelling beyond the ordinary – from stop-motion movies to creative writing competitions.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore out-of-the-box ways of storytelling and watch your child’s creativity take flight! 

Explore the full schedule for the region