Waterstones in Canterbury relaunches with family activities

A tea party with a The Tiger Who Came to Tea theme will be held in Kent to mark a book shop's refurbishment.

Waterstones in Rose Lane, Canterbury is celebrating a new look and opening of an events floor with a day of family entertainment this Saturday, October 22.

It includes a tea party in the café with The Tiger Who Came to Tea at 2pm, storytelling at 2.30pm, a children’s drawing class at 3pm as well as other fun and games.

The Rose Lane bookshop has undergone a major redevelopment this autumn, expanding by almost a third and opening up an additional floor.

The new floor will be home to the fiction, science-fiction and poetry departments and also offer a 200-seat events space with a screen and fully-licensed bar for hosting book launches, poetry readings, craft demonstrations, illustrated talks and film nights.

Canterbury Cathedral and the city’s skyline will provide the backdrop to a programme called “Rooftop Events” which will be launched by children’s author Lucy Strange on Sunday, October 30 with a 'Strange Day' in which children are invited to dress up in Halloween costumes and join Lucy on the bookshop roof from 3pm where she will read from her acclaimed debut novel The Secret of Nightingale Wood.

The refurbishment also brings much more space for children’s books and the department now has a wooden tepee, slide and a seawater fish tank home to starfish, sea slugs and coral.

The bookshop’s aquarium will also be the inspiration for a programme of educational talks and workshops on marine life and conservation.

Manager Martin Latham said: “Waterstones on Rose Lane has been transformed and our ambition is high. We began in May with the launch of our café and we are tremendously excited to be opening a whole new floor with an events space and bar, an expanded children’s department and much more.

"We are now able to offer a much improved browsing environment for all our customers. We are determined to make our splendid bookshop a creative and artistic hub for Canterbury and beyond, with a dynamic events programme that encourages participation and inspires readers young and old.”