THERE will be even more fun for all the family in the coming seven days as part of this year’s new-look Bromsgrove Festival.
Today (Friday) the Bromsgrove Folk Festival and Bromsgrove Carnival get underway – both are three-day events featuring activities for all ages and tastes.
The Folk Festival is being held at The Bowling Green Inn in Stoke Prior and the majority of Bromsgrove Carnival takes place in Sanders Park tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday (July 13). The annual parade leaves Artrix at 12midday tomorrow (Saturday) and travels, via the High Street, to the arena in the park. Visit www.bromsgrovestandard.co.uk for more on those.
Tomorrow (Saturday), the Nancy Butterfly Women’s Morris group will showcase their skills on Bromsgrove High Street between 10am and 12midday.
Also tomorrow, The Poetry Army Arts Council Tour takes to the stage at Artrix. The celebration of radical verse, which starts at 7.30pm, is a collaboration between poet Heathcote Williams and performer Roy Hutchings, encompassing such hits as Whale Nation and Autogeddon. The pair join forces with local actors, poets and musicians to give voice to radical writers, including Shakespeare, Shelley and Ginsberg.
Classical music lovers will be in for a treat at St Andrew’s Church in Barnt Green at 7.30pm tomorrow (Saturday) when a Sinfonia Summer Concert is held. The evening of orchestral music will see the Sinfonia play Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ with talented Bromsgrove solo violinist Charlotte Moseley.
That will be followed by Beethoven’s wonderful third symphony, ‘The Eroica’. Former South Bromsgrove High School pupil Charlotte studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, is the leader of the Virr string quartet and has recently won the RNCM’s prestigious Norman George Scholarship. Mike Seal, the assistant conductor of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, will be conducting the concert. Tickets, which are £10 (£8 seniors and £6 other concessions), are available by calling 0121 447 7671 or on the door. Under 12s go free.
On Sunday (July 13), Facta 3 will be the latest band to take to the Sanders Park Jubilee Bandstand as part of Bromsgrove District Council’s Music in the Park.
The free performance takes place between 2.30pm and 4.30pm.
Archers’ scriptwriter and author of The Ambridge Chronicles will give a talk at Bromsgrove’s Artrix on Sunday (July 13), taking those who go along behind the scenes of the popular soap.
Jo Toye’s speech will give a fascinating insight into how the programme is made, facts about storylines past and present and about why the radio show has its roots down the road in Hanbury.
It is almost 60 years since the BBC began its Ambridge archive which provided Jo with all she needed for her latest book The Archers Miscellany. She also wrote a trilogy retelling the main storylines from 1951 to 2000 for the programme’s 50th anniversary.
Tickets, at £12 (£6 students) are available from Artrix at www.artrix.co.uk or on 01527 577330.
They are also available by calling organiser WORDS on 0121 445 3485 or by visiting www.bromsgrovewords.com – the WORDS website.
The Oddsocks Theatre Company puts on an outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream at Avoncroft Museum on Sunday (July 13).
The show starts at 6.30pm and doors open at 5.30pm for those wanting to have a pre-performance picnic.
The piece of high energy family theatre features live music, exhiliratiing circus skills and hunting dogs.
Tickets, available from Avoncroft Museum, are £15 (£12 concessions and £8 for children) in advance or £17 (£14 concession and £10 for children) on the night. Visit www.avoncroft.org.uk or call 01527 831363.
The world-famous Science Museum Live presents three performances of The Energy Show at Artrix – at 7pm on Tuesday (July 15) and at 11am and 7pm on Wednesday (July 16). It centres around two futuristic science students who are in a race against time to prove their knowledge of energy. Tickets, which are £15 (£12 for the under 16s), are available online at www.artrix.co.uk or from 01527 577330.
The latest acoustic cafe hosted by Bob Bignell from Bromsgrove Folk Club will be held at Plaza Coffee from 3pm to 5pm on Wednesday (July 16). Musicians, singers and poets of any genre, along with those who want to listen, are welcome to the free event. Call 0121 476 5938 or 07828 716842.
On Thursday (July 17), residents can go back in time with the Five Star Swing Band at Artrix. Music from Glenn Miller, Sinatra, Basie, Ella Fitzgerald will be performed on the night by the band which features Simone from the Ivy Benson Orchestra and Chris Smith (Junior), composer and arranger for the BBC Radio Big Band.
Tickets, at £16 (£15 concesstions) are available by visiting www.artrix.co.uk or by calling 01527 577330.
Visit www.bromsgrovefestival.co.uk for more on the Bromsgrove Festival.
Charlotte Moseley will be performing as part of the Sinfonia Summer Concert at St Andrew’s Church in Barnt Green tomorrow (Saturday). s
The Five Star Swing Band will be at Bromsgrove’s Artrix at 7.30pm on Thursday (July 17). s
