Palabras al Vuelo 2026, the 14th Lanzarote International Oral Storytelling Festival, runs from Thursday, October 8 to Sunday, October 18 with more than fifty storytelling sessions in Arrecife, Tías, Yaiza, Haría and San Bartolomé. Six storytellers from Kenya, France, Italy and Spain perform for adults and families, and three sessions are in English, French and Italian. Almost everything is free.

Palabras al Vuelo 2026: dates and times (October 8–18)

The festival runs for eleven days, with sessions on weekday evenings and weekends. The main dates:

Thursday the 8th · 7 pm · Camel Interpretation Center, Uga (Yaiza). La primera palabra, the opening: an immersive session for several voices with Pepito Mateo, Pablo Albo and Cristina Temprano. Free with booking and a refundable deposit; the last places are left.
Friday the 9th · 9 pm · Teatro Municipal de Tías. Planeta Cuento, with all six storytellers on one stage. Free entry until full.
Saturday the 10th · 8 pm · Centro Cívico, Arrecife. Cuentos poco edificantes, by Pablo Albo. Free entry.
Sunday the 11th · 6 pm · Albergue de Tegoyo (Tías). Casa de Cuentos: a walk through the hostel where every corner holds a voice and a story. Free with booking and a deposit.
Friday the 16th · 8 pm · Sala Buñuel, CIC El Almacén (Arrecife). El camino de la lengua, by Pepito Mateo. Free with booking.
Saturday the 17th · 8 pm · Biblioteca Insular (Arrecife). Delayed, stories for adults set in airport waiting rooms, with Isabel Bolívar. Free entry.
Sunday the 18th · 11 am · Puerto del Carmen harbor. Cuentos surcando las olas: a catamaran trip along the coast with stories from the Decameron told by Simone Negrín, traditional Canarian snacks and music from Angie&Eva. It is the only paid activity: €40.

All sessions are in Spanish except the three listed below.

Stories in English, French and Italian

Every year Palabras al Vuelo programs sessions in other languages for foreign residents, visitors and language students. In 2026 there are three, all at El Fondeadero in Puerto del Carmen, with free entry until full:

Monday the 12th · 5 pm: So They Said, in English, with Kenyan storyteller Wangari, a specialist in African oral traditions. For families, ages 6 and up.
Monday the 12th · 8 pm: Pepito Solo, in French, with Pepito Mateo, one of Europe’s leading figures in oral storytelling. For adults.
Saturday the 17th · noon: Racconti al sapore di vermut. Storie del Decameron, in Italian, with Simone Negrín. For adults.

Family program

The family sessions are mostly in Arrecife, in Spanish. On Friday the 9th at 6 pm, Estrella Escriña presents Mentiras y medias verdades at the Biblioteca Insular (ages 8 and up, registration required). On Saturday the 10th, Bebecuentos gathers babies aged 6 to 36 months at the municipal library in the Centro Cívico (the 11 am session is full; places remain at noon), and at 6 pm Planeta Cuento en órbita familiar brings four storytellers to the Centro Cívico (ages 4 and up, free entry). Animalario diverso, on Saturday the 17th at noon at the Biblioteca Insular, is full with a waiting list.

Workshops and other activities

On Saturday the 10th, the Centro Cívico in Arrecife hosts two free workshops with limited places: El narrador, la narradora y su imaginario, with Pepito Mateo (10 am–2 pm), and La mirada infinita, with Pablo Albo (11 am–1 pm). On Sunday the 11th at noon, the Sociedad de Máguez, in Haría, holds a Biblioteca Humana (human library) with Estrella Escriña and guests, with free entry. On Wednesdays in October, from 4 to 6 pm, the Biblioteca Insular runs the Toma la Palabra workshop for teenagers aged 14 to 18. Cuentos entre volcanes, in San Bartolomé on Monday the 12th, is sold out.

Tickets and bookings

Sessions in theaters and larger spaces are free until full: just arrive early. Workshops and sessions in small or outdoor spaces need booking through the festival website. Several of them ask for a deposit that is returned when the activity ends, so that no places go to waste. Some sessions are already full, so check the program before you go.

Venues and getting there

The Palabras al Vuelo 2026 venues are spread across the island. In Arrecife, the Centro Cívico, the Biblioteca Insular and El Almacén’s Sala Buñuel are a few minutes’ walk apart. In Puerto del Carmen, El Fondeadero hosts the sessions in other languages and the catamaran leaves from the harbor. The Teatro Municipal de Tías is in the town center; Tegoyo and Uga, next to La Geria, and Máguez, in the north, are easiest to reach by car.

More events in Lanzarote this month

On the same weekend, Arrecife en Vivo closes its edition with its last free concert route on Friday the 9th: times and stages in Arrecife en Vivo 2026. Uga, where the festival opens, is the village of the camels that carry visitors on the slopes of Timanfaya, and Tegoyo sits among the La Geria vineyards explained in our guide to Lanzarote wines.

→ The full October program, in the Lanzarote Cultural Agenda · October 2026.
→ The month’s weather, sea and plans, in Lanzarote in October.
→ For the full picture of the island, our guide to things to do in Lanzarote.

Published: Oct 5, 2026. Official sources: Palabras al Vuelo, Cabildo de Lanzarote · Cultura, Ayuntamiento de Tías.