TIM: Good morning. You're through to the tourist information office, Tim speaking. How can I help you?
JEAN: Oh hello. Could you give me some information about next month's festival, please? My family and I will be staying in the town that week.
TIM: Of course. Well it starts with a concert on the afternoon of the 17th.
JEAN: Oh I heard about that. The orchestra and singers come from the USA, don’t they?
TIM: They're from Canada. They're very popular over there. They're going to perform a number of well-known pieces that will appeal to children as well as adults.
JEAN: That sounds good. My whole family are interested in music.
TIM: The next day, the 18th, there’s a performance by a ballet company called Eustatis.
JEAN: Sorry?
TIM: The name is spelt E-U-S-T-A-T-I-S. They appeared in last year's festival, and went down very well. Again, their programme is designed for all ages.
JEAN: Good. I expect we'll go to that. I hope there's going to be a play during the festival, a comedy, ideally.
TIM: You're in luck! On the 19th and 20th a local amateur group are performing one written by a member of the group. It’s called Jemima. That'll be on in the town t hall. They've already performed it two or three times. I haven't seen it myself, but I the review in the local paper was very good.
JEAN: And is it suitable for children?
TIM: Yes, in fact it's aimed more at children than at adults, so both performances are in the afternoon.
JEAN: And what about dance? Will there be any performances?
TIM: Yes, also on the 20th, but in the evening. A professional company is putting on a show of modern pieces, with elecironic music by young composers.
JEAN: Uh-huh.
TIM: The show is about how people communicate, or fail to communicate, with each other, so it's got the rather strange name, Chat.
JEAN: I suppose that's because that's something we do both face to face and online.
TIM: That's right.
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TIM: Now there are also some workshops and other activities. They'll all take place at least once every day, so everyone who wants to take part will have a chance.
JEAN: Good. We're particularly interested in cookery — you don't happen to have a cookery workshop, do you?
TIM: We certainly do. It's going to focus on how to make food part of a healthy lifestyle, and it'll show that even sweet things like cakes can contain much less sugar than they usually do.
AMBER: JEAN: That might be worth going to. We're trying to encourage our children to cook.
TIM: Another workshop is just for children, and that's on creating posters to reflect the history of the town. The aim is to make children aware of how both the town and people's lives have changed over the centuries. The results will be exhibited in the community centre. Then the other workshop is in toy-making, and that’s for adults only.
JEAN: Oh, why's that?
TIM: Because it involves carpentry — participants will be making toys out of wood, so there'll be a lot of sharp chisels and other tools around.
JEAN: It makes sense to keep children away from it.
TIM: Exactly. Now let me tell you about some of the outdoor activities. There'll be supervised wild swimming ...
JEAN: Wild swimming? What's that?
TIM: It just means swimming in natural waters, rather than a swimming pool.
JEAN: Oh OK. In a lake, for instance.
TIM: Yes, there's a beautiful one just outside the town, and that'll be the venue for the swimming. There'll be lifeguards on duty, so it's suitable for all ages. And finally, there’ll be a walk in some nearby woods every day. The leader is an expert on insects. He'll show some that live in the woods, and how important they are for the environment. So there are going to be all sorts of different things to do during the festival.
JEAN: There certainly are.
TIM: If you'd like to read about how the preparations for the festival are going, the festival organiser is keeping a blog. Just search online for the festival website, and you'll find it.
JEAN: Well, thank you very much for all the information.
TIM: You're welcome. Goodbye.
JEAN: Goodbye. |
