Gloucestershire Folk Tales

Friday 18 September

Gloucester History Festival

7.20pm. Folk tales can tell us hidden histories. Even in folk tales, stories where women take charge are rare. Discover stories of feisty women in Gloucestershire’s folk tales.  Storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis weaves local tales of truth and half-truth and fancy – you’ll to make up your own minds! 

 Storytelling for Wiltshire Day!

Saturday 7 June 2025

The Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

All day 

Celebrate Wiltshire Day at The Wiltshire Museum! As part of this event we will have a range of Folk activities, as part of our Folk exhibition Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex. Watch and have a go at Cotswold Style Morris Dancing, listen to family-friendly Folk Stories with Kirsty Hartsiotis and craft with our kids folk art activities.

Folktales & Music in the Park

Saturday 17 August

Town Gardens, Swindon

2.45pm - 9.45pm. Kirsty joins storytellers and musicians in this all-new mini-festival organised by Forging Fantastical in Swindon's Old Town Gardens - she'll be telling Wiltshire Tales!

Gloucester Storytelling Cafe

Thursday 6 June

Folk of Gloucester

7.30pm. Storytelling every first Thursday of the month at The Folk of Gloucester, 7pm - 10pm. With featured storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis weaving Greek tales, musicians, and Open Mic slots. Everyone welcome! Pay what you can.

Legends of the Gloucestershire Wilds

Monday 29, Tuesday 30 January 2024

Cheltenham Library, Cirencester Library

5.45pm. Join Fire Springs storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis  for a journey into Gloucestershire's legendry otherworld. We’ll venture into the wilder reaches of the county to discover the fairies, ghosts, and other mysterious beings and goings-on out there in the woods and wolds and waterways and on the edges of the imagination.

Folktales, Fire and Stone

Thursday 21 December

Avebury Sports and Social Club

6pm. Many cultures all over the world celebrate the darkest day of the year with fires, rituals, and feasting. Join us for a starlit walk around Avebury’s stone circle for stories of stone and wood and magic, on the winter solstice. We’ll then gather under moonlight and beside a roaring fire, to listen to stories, many from Wiltshire. Led by renowned storyteller and writer, Kirsty Hartsiotis, author of Wiltshire Folk Tales. 

Christmas Sunday Storytelling

Sunday 17 December

Ruskin Mill, Nailsworth

2pm. Once a month in term-time, from the autumn equinox to Beltane, the beautiful venue of Ruskin Mill opens its doors for an afternoon of stories around the fire. Christmas is extra special as host Fiona Eadie is joined by extra storytellers, this year Kelvin Hall, Kirsty Hartsiotis, Austin Keenan and Anthony Nanson. Come and enjoy the wonder, wit, mystery and magic of stories from all over the world. 

The Thinning Veil: Ghost Stories and Songs for Halloween

Tuesday 31 October

Sula Lightship, Gloucester

7.30pm. In Celtic tradition, Halloween – or Samhain – is a time when the veil between this world and the invisible world becomes thin, and there’s a traffic of beings between the two worlds. Kirsty Hartsiotis, Anthony Nanson, and David Metcalfe of Fire Springs present stories and songs about the faeries, ghosts, and uncanny creatures who may slip through the veil at this liminal time. 

The Wisdom and Myth of Folk Lore

Monday 9 October

Cheltenham Literature Festival

8.30pm. We can learn a lot from myths, fairytales and folklore, but why is it so important to preserve and retell these ancient stories in modern day? Tom Phillips talks to prolific storytellers Taffy Thomas, Anthony Nanson, Sally Pomme Clayton and Kirsty Hartsiotis about the importance of telling these tales.

Gloucester Storytelling Cafe

Thursday 6 April 2023

Folk of Gloucester

7.30pm. An evening of storytelling for 14+ including guest storytellers and a celebration of Chloë the Midnight Storyteller and the opening of the Storytellers library and the Bardic chair of Gloucester. Kirsty and Anthony from Fire Springs will be among those invited to tell tales and celebrate their friend and fellow storyteller Chloë.

Suffolk Ghost Tales

Thursday 12 January 2023

Last Tuesday Society

9pm. All places have ghost stories. Laurie Lee, in Cider with Rosie, says, ‘There were ghosts in the stones, in the trees, and the walls, and every field and hill had several.’ He’s talking about Gloucestershire, but, even now, a hundred years on from when Lee was a boy, it still holds true across the country. But of all counties, Suffolk is a little bit special when it comes to ghosts…

Giants and Sea Monsters, Fairies and Folk!

Sunday 18 December 2022

Museum in the Park, Stroud

3pm. As midwinter approaches, what could be better than gathering together to listen to magical tales from long ago? Storytellers Anthony Nanson and Kirsty Hartsiotis return to the museum to tell some of the enchanting stories in their new book ‘Gloucestershire Folk Tales for Children’. Will you meet a giants or fairies?  You’ll have to come along to this special event to find out!

The Treasure Seeker and Other Suffolk Ghost Tales

31 October 2022

Zoom. The Last Tuesday Society

9pm. Kirsty Hartsiotis tells with spine-chilling freshness a selection of fabulous ghost tales from all corners of this beguiling county. So pull up a chair, stoke the fire and prepare to see Suffolk's gentle landscape in a new and eerie light…

Halloween Open Day 

Sunday 30 October

Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucester

11am and 2pm. Kirsty is telling spooky tales from Gloucestershire for all the family as part of Llanthony Secunda's Halloween Open Day. There'll be ghosts, fairies, boggleworts and more... 

Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder

Saturday 24 September 2022

The Folk of Gloucester

12.30pm. The wonderful Inkubus Sukkubus are putting on another weekend of Tales of Witchcraft & Wonder! This time it's in the incredible Tudor buildings of The Folk of Gloucester. There'll be music, dance, storytelling from Kirsty Hartsiotis and Anthony Nanson among others, folklore, living history, witchcraft past & present, film, stalls, and more. Kirsty and Anthony are on at 12.30pm on Sat!

Bardfest '22

Saturday 20 August 2022

WI Hall, Bridport

6.30pm. Bardfest ’22 is a benefit concert organised by Kevan Manwaring of spoken word, music, and dance raising funds for the UN Refugee Agency. It features a fabulous line-up of acts including Voices of Hope and Wyld Morris, plus poets, storytellers, including Kirsty Hartsiotis, Martin Maudsley and Anthony Nanson, and singers. DJ & Licensed Bar. Entry by donation 

The Green Girl and other Suffolk Folk Tales

Monday 15 August 2022

Online: Viktor Wynd's Last Tuesday Society

9pm. Storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis will take you into a hidden world of green children and wild men, tell the strange secret of Black Shuck.  Hear stories shaped by generations of Suffolk mardle and wit: journey into a hidden world of green children and wild men, tell the strange secret of Black Shuck and the romantic tale of the county's last dragon.

Where the Mammoths Roam

Sunday 20 February 2022

Museum in the Park, Stroud  

3pm. Mammoths, giant elk, woolly rhinos, wolves, lynxes – and you! Dive into deep time with these tales of the Ice Age from storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis as you explore a world full of danger and beauty. What tales would you tell if you lived then? How would you live? Explore tales of the animals you see around you, tales of the snow and ice of winter, and tales of the fleeting steppe summer. 

Bardfest 2021

Saturday 21 August 2021

Online.  7pm. Announcing Kevan Manwaring's annual Bardfest! A scintillating evening of modern bardic performance, weaving together poetry, storytelling, song, and music together to raise money and awareness for Water Aid. @WaterAidUK Featuring Anna Orridge, Chantelle Smith, Daru McCleece, Kirsty Hartsiotis and more! 

The Lammas Sickle

Saturday 31 July 2021

The Henge Shop, Avebury.  7.30pm. Magical Tales and Verse Celebrating the Wheel of the Year at Avebury stone circle with bardic storytelling and poet Kevan Manwaring, author of The Bardic Handbook, The Way of Awen, and Turning the Wheel. With special guests, authors and storytellers Kirsty Hartsiotis and Anthony Nanson. A real LIVE event in the garden of the Henge Shop. 

Stories to Celebrate the Seasons - Spring Equinox with Fiona Eadie

Sunday 21 March 2021

ONLINE - via ZOOM.  4pm.  The wheel of the year revolves … An afternoon of storytelling to celebrate the spring equinox. At this time of balance between light and dark, we bring you stories of growth, hope and regeneration.  So, kindle the fire, find a comfortable seat and prepare to set your imagination alight. Storytellers include Fiona Eadie, Kelvin Hall, Kirsty Hartsiotis, Austin Keenan and Ariane Olner and will be joined by singer Cherry Wilkinson.

Stories to Celebrate the Seasons - Imbolc with Fiona Eadie

Sunday 31 January 2021

ONLINE - via ZOOM.  4pm.  An afternoon of storytelling to welcome the beginning of spring. 

To mark this time of hope and the first signs of spring, we bring you stories of light, love and new beginnings. So, kindle the fire, find a comfortable seat and prepare to set your imagination alight. Storytellers will include Fiona Eadie, Kelvin Hall, Kirsty Hartsiotis, Austin Keenan and Ariane Olner.

Tales for the Turning Year with Fiona Eadie

Sunday 20 December 2020

ONLINE - via ZOOM.  4pm.  A winter's afternoon of seasonal storytelling. Since humans first gathered together, stories have been told to bring hope, light and laughter to this dark time of the year. So, kindle the fire, find a comfortable seat and prepare to set your imagination alight. Suitable for all aged 5 to 105. Storytellers will include Fiona Eadie, Kelvin Hall, Kirsty Hartsiotis, Austin Keenan and Ariane Olner. 

Book Launch: Gloucestershire Folk Tales for Children

Saturday 5 September 2020

Zoom. 6pm. How do you survive a mermaid’s curse? Where lurks the immortal cat? Who cooks old boots in a stew? Is treasure really buried down under May Hill? Join storytellers Anthony Nanson and Kirsty Hartsiotis for the launch of their new book, Gloucestershire Folk Tales for Children and find out the answers to some of these questions! Anthony and Kirsty will be sharing tales and answering questions on these tales from forest, vale and high blue hill.

BARDFEST 2020

Saturday 22 August 2020

Zoom live stream. 12pm - 10.30pm. A day of diverse voices celebrating the living Bardic Tradition in the British Isles and beyond. Join us to be entertained and stimulated by our inspiring line-up of poets, storytellers, musicians, and speakers. After each slot there will be a chance to discuss, make comments, and ask questions.

Folk Tales from the Chalk

Thursday 16 July 2020

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust 

YouTube livestream. 11am. Lively and entertaining folk tales from one of Britain's most ancient counties vividly told by storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis. Part of a series of events in our Coombe Bissett Down Chalk Celebration Week. Join us for elevenses on Facebook and YouTube for a FREE live-stream.

Bedtime stories

Tuesday 9 June, Wednesday 17 June, 

Tuesday 30 June 2020

Faerie & Fae World (UK)

7pm. Join Kirsty Hartsiotis for a twenty minute bedtime story - it might be about trees, about cats - or even a firebird! Magical stories for all! Watch again on Facebook.

Heroines!

Friday 5 June

Somerset Storyfest 2020

11am. Join Gloucestershire storyteller Kirsty for tales of mighty girls and women who can fix things from Africa, Greece – and England. Expect goblins, elephants, cows where they really shouldn’t be … and strawberries out of season. Stories galore! 

Greek Tales

Wednesday 6 May 2020

World Storytelling Cafe

6pm. Kirsty's delighted to announce she's going to be debuting on the World Storytelling Cafe! She'll be joining many other storytellers in sharing tales from home in this strange time. She's chosen to do a set of Greek folk tales - so expect nereids, dhrakoi ... and mice.

Welsh Tales and Tunes

Saturday 2 May 2020

Christian Arts Festival, Cheltenham

2pm-11pm.  Kirsty and Chantelle are taking part in this year's Christian Arts Festival in Cheltenham with a set of Welsh saints tales and beautiful tunes on the harp. Living Room Fest wants to pour hope, joy and fun into people’s homes. It'll be available to view on YouTube after the event.

Storytelling at Gloucester Folk Trail

Saturday 22 February 2020

The Folk of Gloucester, Westgate Street, Gloucester

2pm. Kirsty will be telling family-friendly Gloucestershire folk tales as part of Storytelling at Gloucester Folk Trail. The event starts at 11am, with four tale-tellers spinning their yarns! All taking place in the warm and relaxing Folk Of Gloucester for an afternoon of amazing tales and folklore.

Mid-Winter Revels

Saturday 13 January 2020

Subscription Rooms, Stroud

7pm. Stroud storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis will be part of the traditional festivities – the Wassail Bowl, the Boar’s Head Carol, mummers plays, song and comedy, and ceilidh dancing for all. A kind of medieval cabaret party. Part of the Stroud Wassail.

Seasonal Stories around the Fire with Fiona Eadie

Saturday 21 December 2019

Ruskin Mill, Nailsworth

10.30am. A wonderful opportunity to hear enthralling tales, fabulous fables and elaborate lies - for this Christmas special Fiona has  invited friends to join her - including Kelvin Hall and Kirsty Hartsiotis. Stories are for everyone - adults without children, and children with adults are all welcome. Ruskin Mill's lovely cafe is open for hot drinks and yummy food!

Suffolk Ghost Tales

Tuesday 8 October 2019

Reading Room, St James Street, Dunwich, Suffolk

7.15pm. Suffolk’s dark lanes and windswept beaches are seething with spooks! These ghostly tales for the dark time of the year are performed in story and song by Kirsty Hartsiotis and Cherry Wilkinson, the authors of Suffolk Ghost Tales. Come and hear about what lurks by Suffolk’s unforgiving sea – if you dare. 

Right Proper Barding

Saturday 1 June, Sunday 2 June 2019

at Stratford Park, Stroud

3pm. Fire Springs storytellers Anthony Nanson and Kirsty Hartsiotis will be bringing the Bard's tales to life with their bardic arts. Shakespeare drew his tales from many sources, and we’re going back to his bardic roots to bring you tragedy, comedy and a little bit of history. Featuring a salty King Lear, the real medieval Macbeth, Richard III, twins and deception, and, for one night only, Shakespeare's (extremely alleged!) arch-nemesis Robert Greene's tale of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay...