MILTON KEYNES MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL 2026

House of Stories

Sunday 21 June 2026, 10am – 8pm

Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes
Entry: Free, no booking required.

“Why, this is very midsummer madness.”
― William Shakespeare

MK Lit Fest is bringing Midsummer Mischief to the Festival. It will be a day of family storytelling, readings and open mic sessions, plus appearances from special guests including Owen Staton, Terrie Howie and Steph Lay, exploring folklore, history, identity and the supernatural.

Behind the Pavilion you’ll find our drop-in Story Space, with bookmaking, writing and drawing activities to spark your imagination, and books to read and share.

Throughout the day, Nightshift will be on hand to create a zine to celebrate the performances, tales and creations at the House of Stories.

Original artwork featured on the Pavilion created by Jane Charles and Faith Ayilara.

Join us for some Midsummer Mischief!

House of Stories programme

10.15am

10.30am

11.30am

12 noon

1.15pm

2.00pm

2.45pm

3.30pm

4.15pm

5.15pm

6.15pm

The Reeve’s Summons – CANOPY with Lorna Rees

The Five Fae on the Longest Day – Puppet Show with Alice Boland-Rhodes

Midsummer Tales with Terrie Howie

Hagstone Workshop with Gemma Hudson-Findley

Time Between Times with Owen Staton

Hagstone Workshop with Gemma Hudson-Findley

The Five Fae on the Longest Day – Puppet Show with Alice Boland-Rhodes

Midsummer Tales with Terrie Howie

Midsummer Mischief: Open Mic

City of Secrets with Steph Lay

The Five Fae on the Longest Day – Puppet Show with Alice Boland-Rhodes

About the events

The Reeve’s Summons – CANOPY with Lorna Rees

Calling the people of MK to the Midsummer Festival! Lorna Rees brings the enchanting sound world of CANOPY: 24 suspended sonic pods filled with music, stories and ideas celebrating the connection between humans and trees. 

The Five Fae on the Longest Day with Alice Boland-Rhodes

A charming marionette puppet show for children and families, where five woodland fae must save their Midsummer celebration – whimsical storytelling for all ages.

Midsummer Tales with Terrie Howie

Enjoy captivating tales for all the family from spellbinding storyteller Terrie Howie – AKA Red Phoenix.

Hagstone Workshop with Gemma Hudson-Findley

Learn the magic and mythic history of hagstones while creating one of your own to take away. These holed stones, rich in pagan folklore, were used across the centuries as protective charms against witches, bad luck and ne’er-do-wells – and as part of Midsummer tradition.

Time Between Times with Owen Staton

Join mesmerising and acclaimed storyteller Owen Staton as he spins some of the greatest myths and ghost stories from Wales and beyond, and step into a ‘time between times’, where history and legend blur and the veil between worlds feels at its thinnest.

Midsummer Mischief: Open Mic

Join MK’s best poets and writers for a host of witty, dark and exhilarating tales of Midsummer Mischief. There will be a few performance slots available on the day – sign up and join us!

City of Secrets with Steph Lay

Explore the hidden histories, folklore and uncanny possibilities of the new city of Milton Keynes as Steph Lay shares the local stories of the unexplained she has gathered. Discover what mysteries might lie beneath MK’s familiar surfaces...

Speakers and Performers at the House of Stories

Owen Staton

Owen Staton is a storyteller rooted deeply in the myth, folklore, and haunting landscapes of Wales. His work draws upon the ancient voices of the land – its mist-covered valleys, its restless spirits, and the echoes of stories passed down through generations. With a style that is both evocative and immersive, Owen invites audiences to step into that ‘time between times’, where history and legend blur and the veil between worlds feels at its thinnest. At the heart of his storytelling are themes of place, memory, and the supernatural. His performances often weave together historical fact with folklore, creating narratives that are rich, atmospheric, and deeply human.

Owen is also the creator and host of Time between Times, a podcast dedicated to these traditions. Beyond performance, Owen is committed to preserving and reimagining traditional tales for modern audiences. His work continues to grow through live storytelling, written pieces, and collaborations that celebrate the enduring power of myth.

Terrie Howie

Terrie Howie is also known as storyteller Red Phoenix (she was given that nickname as a heritage storyteller in Edinburgh). Terrie began her professional storytelling journey in 2003 and founded Red Phoenix in 2007. Awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2012 for cross-cultural mentoring of emerging storytellers across Canada and America, and earning a PhD in Storytelling in 2021, she combines academic expertise with creative practice. Terrie specialises in traditional oral storytelling told from memory. For her, storytelling is a shared art between teller and listener: the teller crafts the tale, guiding the listener through the story's landscape where the listener's own lived experience shapes their interpretation of the narrative; making each performance a unique interactive adventure and alive in its telling. 

Steph Lay

Dr Steph Lay is a writer, researcher and storyteller based in Milton Keynes. Her project City of Secrets explores the hidden histories, folklore and uncanny possibilities of the new city, gathering local stories of the unexplained and asking what might lie beneath its familiar surfaces. Behind the scenes, she also works with Peter Laws on the YouTube channel Into The Fog, helping to curate true paranormal experiences sent in by viewers and creating atmospheric artwork to bring those stories to life. Together, her work is rooted in a fascination with place, memory, mystery and the stories that make the everyday feel suddenly strange.

Gemma Hudson-Findley

Gemma Hudson-Findley is the ceramic artist behind Haus of Banshee, a pottery brand inspired by fantasy, myth and the natural world. Through hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramics, she creates functional and decorative pieces inspired by folk forms, fantasy and the natural world.

Based in Milton Keynes, her work draws on folk styles, decorative motifs and a love of nature, creating pieces that don't take themselves too seriously so feel both fun and slightly otherworldly. Inspired by the folklore of the banshee, she often imagines the objects that might be found inside a banshee's cottage and uses that vision as a starting point for new designs. Alongside her studio practice, she teaches pottery workshops, sharing her passion for clay with beginners and experienced makers alike.

For this event, she will be guiding participants in making clay hag stones, drawing inspiration from the folklore surrounding these naturally occurring stones and their association with protection, luck and seeing beyond the ordinary.

Lorna Rees

Lorna Rees is a multidisciplinary Live Artist who makes innovative work for the outdoors. She tours nationally and internationally with performance and sound inspired by earth science, landscape, the environment and folk. Major works include: CLOUDSCAPES, EAR TRUMPET, GEOPHONIC and CANOPY but occasionally she performs as The Blossom Queen, a convener of the Disco Maypole and The High Priestess of Pop. Lorna is Associate Artist for Inside Out Dorset Festival and Co-Chair of Outdoor Arts UK.