THE SCHOOL holidays are looming and we have lots going on at the museum to keep families entertained, as well as the return of our popular Poetry at the Parsonage summer event.

As we’re celebrating Patrick Brontë this year, we thought it appropriate to acknowledge his Irish roots.

As a result, in an event called ‘Crossings’ our writer-in-residence Zaffar Kunial will be joined by some of the most exciting contemporary voices in Irish writing.

They all all on one as you will come together in order to celebrate the Irishness of the Brontës, and the journeys that played a significant part in defining the family.

Zaffar will be joined by Nicole Flattery and Colette Bryce.

Nicole Flattery is an award-winning short story writer whose work has been published in the Dublin Review, BBC Radio 4, Irish Times, and will appear in a forthcoming Faber anthology of new Irish writing.

Colette Bryce is a poet from Derry, Northern Ireland, and has published four poetry collections.

Selected Poems, drawing on all her books, was winner of the Pigott Prize for Poetry 2018.

Crossings will take place at 5pm on July 20, and tickets cost £7/£5 or just £2 for 16-25 year olds. Please book in advance using at bronte.org.uk/whats-on or call 01535 640192.

Prior to the evening event, there’s an opportunity to take part in workshops led by Nicole and Colette.

Nicole’s workshop, at 11am on July 20, will explore voice in fiction, whilst Colette’s, at 2pm, is a close-reading workshop where you will be able to hone your own poetry.

Please don’t hesitate to call if you’d like more information about either of the workshops.

Tickets cost £20 for adults or £10 for 16-25 year olds and are bookable via the website or by calling the number above.

Throughout the school holidays, there will be plenty of activities to keep families busy.

Join us on any Wednesday for our free drop-in craft workshops which run from 11am-4pm and are free with admission to the museum.

Coming up in the next few weeks are Sun Print and Hapa Zome workshops.

On Wednesday 24 July you can make a sun print by arranging grasses, leaves and stones onto photographic paper and letting the sun work its magic to create an intriguing negative print.

Fingers crossed for good weather!

And the following week, on July 31, you can try your hand at Hapa Zome, an unusual technique that has its origins in Japan, and which uses a hammer to transfer natural dyes directly from leaves and flowers onto cloth or paper.

You’ll be able to make a unique, natural picture to take away with you.

And finally, put a note in your diary for Wednesday August 7.

We’re hosting a holiday extravaganza in our new Learning and Event space, housed within The Old School Room on Church Street.

Local artists will join us and there’ll be an opportunity to draw in the churchyard and make mono prints, and there’ll also be storytelling and a wonderful flying display by SMJ Falconry.

It should be a great day, so save the date in your diary!