Tooting Common comes alive on May 9th with carnivalesque parades, imaginative stories, art, dances, performances and workshops, circus skills, debates, magic shows, drumming circles, a steel pan band, choirs and fire-eating. Listen to live contemporary folk music provided by The Bedford, and pin your ears back for Jamie Crawford (storyteller ‘extraordinaire’), as he brings the Pied Piper to life through his dramatic storytelling performance. Follow on from the vibrant, interactive and creative day, with compere comic poet Ardella Jones from Chalk the Sun leading the way, listen, tell and share your stories and a story SLAM finale judged by prestigious locals! Plus there’s an array of art and craft stalls, The Bedford beer tent and some yummy food stalls to tuck into.

Taking place throughout Tooting & Balham during April and May 2015, Tales of the Pied Piper is a series of community arts, dance and storytelling workshops, competitions, performances and festival, engaging local people, schools and artists. Culminating in a promenade and vibrant story telling/arts festival on Tooting Bec Common, it follows the dark tale of the Pied Piper in which the children disappear never to be seen again. Or are they...?

Two interactive carnivalesque promenades make their way to the common on the day – one leaves from Bodean’s on Balham High Road, SW17 with a samba band and dance, the other from Sprout Community Arts Gallery on Moyser Road, SW16 with costumes and props. Be at either location on May 9th at 11:15am to join the fun, culminating on Tooting Bec Common with the story-telling and arts-based extravaganza to follow from noon until 9pm. 

For more information, contact Belinda tapartproject@yahoo.co.uk or for information about volunteering and event assitantce contact Meeta at famthompson@hotmail.com.

Full details and info at www.southlondonstorytelling.com

Follow Pied Piper on Twitter  and Facebook. This event is part of the Wandsworth Fringe Festival 2015.

And see below for this week’s workshops leading up to the festival!