Click on the individual speaker picture to see details of their sessions. You can also use the drop-down on the left to select sessions.
Alicia Dongjoo Bang
Arefa Tehsin
Ashok Rajagopalan
Canato Jimo
Champa Saha
Chantal-Fleur Sandjon
Deepa Balsavar
Irushi Tennekoon
Janaki Galappatti
Lanka Perera and Udeshika Perera
Lavanya Karthik
Lavanya Prasad
Nadishka Aloysius
Nina Sabnani
Priya Kuriyan
Professor J. B. Disanayaka
Rukshani Weerasooriya Wijemanne
Savio Mascarenhas
Savio Mascarenhas and Shenuka Corea
Shehan Karunatilaka
Shenuka Corea
10/05/2024
09:00AM – 09:30AM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: All ages
Arty Treat
What if you could taste food - or explore art - through stories? Curious? Wait and see what comes out of Alicia’s bag.
10/05/2024
02:00 PM – 02:30 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 8-10 years
What on Earth is a Haegum?
Imagine a treasure trove of music from a country far far away. Discover Korea’s musical instruments. What’s more, you get to learn a few Korean folk songs too!
11/05/2024
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 8-10 years
Get, Set, Go!
Are you ready to play some traditional Korean games? Jump in.
11/05/2024
02:30 PM – 03:00 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: All ages
Who is that Person?
Is there a favourite person in your life you would give all your love to?
10/05/2024
12:00 PM – 01:00 PM
Auditorium
Age Group: 10-12 years
The Serpent Hunters in Your Backyard
Who is the venomous 100-legger in your bathroom? Who lives in your kitchen but can survive a nuclear bomb attack? Whose home is it - yours or theirs? Wildlife isn’t confined to forests. Check out the backyard with Arefa.
10/05/2024
01:30 PM – 02:30 PM
Studio
Age Group: 8-10 years
Nature's Great Mysteries
Do tigers drink blood? Does the 'flying snake' fly? Were the 'Elephant Bird' or ‘Roc’ eggs that Sindbad the sailor saw a myth or reality? Let’s get to the bottom of some of the mysteries of nature!
11/05/2024
01:00 PM – 02:00 PM
Auditorium
Age Group: 8-10 years
The Real Jetsetters
Some animals that travel the world with their wings and fins and feet can put our greatest travellers to shame. Want to know more about such creatures? Join in.
11/05/2024
02:30 PM – 03:30PM
Studio
Age Group: 12-14 years
Into the Dark Wild
Follow in the footsteps of renowned naturalist Raza H Tehsin, deep into the wilderness in the dead of night, hear the sounds carried by the wind. Are those anklet bells tinkling? Is that chattering laughter?
10/05/2024
09:00AM – 10:00AM
Auditorium
Age Group: 8-10 years
Gulgul Anda Gakasam!
Shall we go planet hopping with Gulgul? Want to know how your name will be written in the future? Join in. (Tamil and English)
11/05/2024
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 4-6 years
Padaar, Thadaar!
Be ready for some seriously silly sounds as you join Gajapati Kulapati and Ashok in this session. (Tamil)
11/05/2024
01:00 PM – 02:00 PM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 6-8 years
Writing Pictures!
Fill the Doodle Wall with pictures drawn simply by using letters, numbers, dots and lines. Can you?
10/05/2024
09:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: All ages
Count 1,2, 3. Sing Do, Re, Mi.
Let’s start at the very beginning. A clap, a stomp, a wave. Come learn a tune and dance to the beat.
11/05/2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 6-8 years
Let’s Grow a Forest!
Trunk by trunk, branch by branch, leaf by leaf.
Let’s make a tree that’s tall, that’s huge
And, one by one, let it grow into a forest.
11/05/2024
15:00 PM – 15:30 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: All ages
Find your Friend
The lights are out and it's dark. How do you look for your friend?
10/05/2024
01:30 PM – 02:30 PM
Auditorium
Age Group: 10-12 years
The Language of the Body
Do you think we have to talk to make ourselves understood? Not always. Explore the many exciting possibilities in this theatre workshop! (restricted to 50)
11/05/2024
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 4-6 years
Funny Furry Stories
Our furry friends can be very naughty at times! First they get into trouble and then they want us to save them. Come, let's hear about one such really naughty furry kid!
11/05/2024
01:00 PM – 01:30 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 6-8 years
Whodunnit?
Mysterious things are happening in the Varma household! Things are missing, things are turning up in funny places...and nobody knows who's doing it! Come, let's solve this interesting mystery!
11/05/2024
02:30 PM – 03:00 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: All ages
Who is that Person?
Is there a favourite person in your life you would give all your love to?
10/05/2024
12:00 PM – 01:00 PM
Studio
Age Group: 12-14 years
Nova’s Friend
Nova has survived so much. Now she gets the chance to start all over again. Will she be able to embrace it? Find out in this poetic reading and performance by Chantal-Fleur Sandjon.
11/05/2024
02:30 PM – 03:30 PM
Auditorium
Age Group: 12-14 years
Nova’s Friend
Nova has survived so much. Now she gets the chance to start all over again. Will she be able to embrace it? Find out in this poetic reading and performance by Chantal-Fleur Sandjon.
10/05/2024
All Day
Ongoing Activity Zone 1
Age Group: All ages
C is for Colombo
Come and have fun helping to create a special alphabet scroll to celebrate Colombo. B is for Bookaroo. C is for Cricket. H is for Hoppers. T is for Tea. Keep adding to the list and see how the scroll shapes up in the end.
11/05/2024
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 4-6 years
Achoo! ACHooo! AACHOOO!!
Who has the loudest sneeze – and the coolest mask - in the jungle? (restricted to 35)
11/05/2024
02:30 PM - 03:30PM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 8-10 years
Flying Owls and Twirly Gigs!
Birdy tricks and joyful sticks! Let's make toys that jump and flap. Endless joy and smiles all around. (restricted to 35)
11/05/2024
All day
Ongoing Activity Zone 1
Age Group: All ages
C is for Colombo
Come and have fun helping to create a special alphabet scroll to celebrate Colombo. B is for Bookaroo. C is for Cricket. H is for Hoppers. T is for Tea. Keep adding to the list and see how the scroll shapes up in the end.
10/05/2024
01:30 PM – 02:30 PM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 10-12 years
What makes you a Superhero?
What makes you awesome? Is it your kindness? Creativity? Love for the planet? Or something else? Let's have your ideas on the wall.
10/05/2024
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Auditorium
Age Group: 8-10 years
In Which Box Do I Go?
Revati is confused. Can you help her figure out where she belongs? And what about you?
11/05/2024
01:00 PM – 02:00 PM
Studio
Age Group: 10-12 years
Scientific Secrets of a Fruit Salad
Would you like to grow your own fruit salad? Join Amal and Lihini in a Green adventure.
11/05/2024
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 8-10 years
Legends and Lore
So you think you know all the folktales of Sri Lanka? Think again. (Sinhala)
10/05/2024
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Studio
Age Group: 12-14 years
Let the Pictures Speak!
Join author-illustrator Lavanya Karthik on a zany adventure into the craft of graphic novels. Learn the nuts and bolts of making one, and get started on your own!
11/05/2024
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 6-8 years
Of Dancing Hands and Curious Questions
Author Lavanya Karthik takes you on a fun-filled adventure into the world of her books. Meet Cyrus, a boy who kept asking 'Why'! And Adil, with his special dancing hands. (Tamil-English)
11/05/2024
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 8-10 years
Noodle Doodle Flying Poodle!
Imagine a world where dogs could fly and birds could swim! Join author-illustrator Lavanya Karthik on a fun-filled journey into the fantastic!
10/05/2024
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 4-6 years
In the Mighty Jungle
Someone's lost in the jungle and needs help. If you love playing detective and solving puzzles join Lavanya as she weaves a hilarious, thrilling tale full of music and movement.
10/05/2024
12:30 PM – 01:00 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 6-8 years
A Song that Saved a Village
Rassaiya will go to any length to help his wife Rakkamma learn to sing. Be prepared to ROFL, sing and dance. (Tamil and English)
11/05/2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Auditorium
Age Group: 8-10 years
Villu Paatu
Prose, poetry ,theatre and the bow as musical instruments. An engaging folk storytelling as an art form. You will go back home in awe singing the story. Join Lavanya and discover the Villu Paatu style. (Tamil and English)
10/05/2024
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 4-6 years
Hold on Tight…
…and explore the streets of Colombo with a Little Red Tuk Tuk who discovers that he is not too small to make a difference. (Sinhala and English)
11/05/2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Studio
Age Group: 6-8 years
School Projects, and Fun?
Join award-winning author Nadishka Aloysius as she shares her endearing and humorous picture book, Ayash Grows a Family Tree, about a little boy and his loving grandmother.
10/05/2024
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 10-12 years
Weaving Stories
Create visual stories using scraps of cloth and other odds and ends. Stories you have heard or read and want to give a form.
10/05/2024
01:30 PM – 02:30 PM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 12-14 years
Fabric Tales
Create visual stories using scraps of cloth and other odds and ends. Stories you have heard or read and want to give a form.
11/05/2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 8-10 years
Things that Paper Can do
Turn paper into books by cutting, folding and gluing. Join Nina to make your own tunnel book theatre or an accordion book. (limited to 35)
10/05/2024
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 8-10 years
Yum Yum Wall
Imagine a feast with your favourite foods! Noodles, pasta, kiribath, ambul thiyal or desserts, cakes and icecreams!
Let's together draw up a menu of mouth-watering, delectable delights!
10/05/2024
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 6-8 years
Happy, Sad, Angry, Mad!
How do you know when a character in a story is Happy, Sad, Angry or just Confused?
Come, join a drawing session where you learn useful tips on how to give expressions to your cartoon characters.
11/05/2024
01:00 PM – 02:00 PM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 10-12 years
Paper Caper
Let's make some fun animal portraits with paper cut-outs!
10/05/2024
01:30 PM – 02:00 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 8-10 years
Fabulous Folktales
From kings to monks and peasants, the good professor has a tale tucked away for every occasion. (Sinhala, Tamil and English)
10/05/2024
12:00 PM – 01:00 PM
Crafty Corner
Age Group: 4-6 years
Freshly Baked
If you’re hungry for fun, come listen to a story and play while creating your own choon paan!
11/05/2024
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Studio
Age Group: 4-6 years
The Neighbourhood Hero
Who is a hero? What makes him one? Join Rukshani to know more.
10/05/2024
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Studio
Age Group: 12-14 years
A Thought for the Planet
Create your own fantastical beast - cute or scary - using air, water, wind or fire. Do they have a message for the universe?
11/05/2024
12:00 PM – 01:00 PM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 8-10 years
Topsy-Turvy
Do you see shapes in clouds? Does a crack in the wall look like a face to you? Come, discover how our eyes can play tricks and reveal wonders in the simplest things, in this workshop.
11/05/2024
02:30 PM – 03:30 PM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: All ages
Battle of the Brushes
Two artists... one story... It's a showdown between two illustrators drawing and sketching for their lives as an unknown story is read out to them.
11/05/2024
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Auditorium
Age Group: 12-14 years
On Writing
So you want to be a writer? Don't know where to start? This is a good place and now is a good time.
11/05/2024
01:30 PM – 02:00 PM
Katha Gasa
Age Group: 6-8 years
Storytime with Shehan
Stories with many twists and turns. Some will make you laugh while others will make you think.
10/05/2024
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Doodle Wall
Age Group: 10-12 years
Crazy Comics
Want to learn how people tell stories in little boxes and word balloons? Join Shenuka as she gives you fun prompts to write text, create images and stitch them together in unexpected ways.