Following on from a year of uncertainty it was amazing to see the town of Winchcombe adorned with the colourful works of local artists and hear the sounds of musicians over the weekend of the 17th – 19th September.
The Winchcombe Festival of Music and Arts is a not-for-profit organisation run by the people of Winchcombe, staging live music and arts in Winchcombe. The festival showcases local talent as well as those performers and artists from further afield. This year was the festival’s 10th year and included the ever-popular music and arts with a wonderful mix of live music, talks, workshops, and for the first time, drama.
This year there was a particular highlight special to Winchcombe as there were scientists from the Natural History Museum talking about the Winchcombe Meteorite, which received official classification in July 2021. Work on the Meteorite by UK scientists indicated that the object dates back to the beginning of the solar system, 4.6 billion years ago, making it the most important rock ever to fall and be recovered in Britain. This added an extra special element to this year’s festival.
The Art Trail ran throughout venues in and around Winchcombe town centre, our office being one of the locations, as well as doubling up as a box office for the Festival. Alongside the Art Trail, the Family Fun Detective Trail saw guests scouring the local buildings and landmarks. Our Winchcombe office was host to David Durston, the artist in residence and it was incredible to display his artwork.
On playing a part in the festival, Zoey Kelly one of our Office Managers said, “I have been lucky enough to actively be a part of the Art and Music festival. During the run-up to the event, we had members of the festival team in-branch selling tickets we felt very involved and enjoyed them being with us. My personal highlight has been meeting David Durston our featured artist, what an absolute joy – ironically, he was the Art director from my previous secondary school, as you can imagine many stories have been shared. My knowledge of art is far more expansive because of his presence daily during the festival. I managed to take part in some of the events during the weekend which were great fun and hugely popular with visitors. It was wonderful to see the Town illuminated with art and people smiling and dancing in their seats at the exceptional musical events. The committee members are so enthusiastic, passionate, and energetic it has been wonderfully inspiring to be part of an occasion that has bought so much joy to the Town.
My personal thanks go to all the festival committee that have welcomed us. So many highlights”
Daniel Jackson, Director, and Co-owner said, “It has been such an honour to be the primary sponsor of the Winchcombe Music and Arts Festival 2021. A fantastically organised, not-for-profit event run by the people of Winchcombe staging live music and arts and showcasing wonderful local talent as well as performers and artists from further afield. Sheldon Bosley Knight, Winchcombe has provided a base for the festival as a box office and also the starting point for the art trail. The award-winning David Durston transforming our office into an art gallery for the week, please do check him out at www.daviddurston.co.uk
So many other thanks go to the fantastic volunteer organisers, particularly Helen Watts as well as the ever smiling Zoe Kelly and Jaine Sutton from Sheldon Bosley Knight, Winchcombe and everyone else involved in the event.
I even made it into Cotswold Life!”
If you would like to speak to Jaine or Zoey at our Winchcombe office please contact them on 01242 787747
