Holmfirth Arts Festival announces exciting line-up for 2023
Events run from May to October – with the outdoor festival weekend on 17-18 June
Holmfirth Arts Festival makes a welcome return for 2023, with an action-packed programme running across the Holme Valley, from May to October.
Comedian Jenny Eclair headlines the festival, which features soul and blues sensation Kyla Brox, Irish band The Méabh Begley Trio, two brass bands, five walks, plus the premiere of an aerial dance performance.
There is a weekend of free/Pay as You Decide street theatre with outdoor music, installations, as well as loads of opportunities for people to bring their own creativity to the participatory programme.
During the outdoor festival weekend on 17-18 June, music and live street theatre will take over Holmfirth town centre, featuring top quality arts, activities and performances, plus the popular festival parade, created by Handmade Productions, with help from the community.
Festival director Bev Adams said: “The excellent and varied programme will run at several venues and places across the Holme Valley between May and October, with the stunning Pennine landscape used to full advantage to help celebrate this year’s theme ‘Forces of Nature’.
“The festival weekend will fill the town with music, song, and performance, and crafting activities, plus there will even be a nod to the 50th anniversary of Last of the Summer Wine, with a special performance from aerial artists in the characters of Nora Batty and Compo.”
She said the annual event, a firm favourite on the Yorkshire festival scene, takes almost a year of preparation and is made possible thanks to the scores of volunteers and local organisations, from across the Holme Valley, who help to run the events and welcome people during festival weekend.
Scenic walks with a difference are taking place throughout the year and will include storytelling, craft activity and live performance, plus Kyla Brox appears at Brockholes Village Hall on 20 May and the Meabh Begley Trio, bring their southern Irish music and song, to Choppards Mission, in July.
There is a special festival double bill of Moby Dick by Grist to the Mill Productions, with performance poet Ryan Tomlin, at the Hade Edge Band Room, in July.
The Hallam Sinfonia performs in September and top TV comedian Jenny Eclair is at The Civic Holmfirth, in October, with an evening lantern trail as the final event, on 13 October.
On Saturday 17 June, from 12 noon to 5pm, Holmside Gardens in the centre of Holmfirth, will be the setting for a music festival garden party, promising a fun day out for all ages.
The Forces of Nature parade takes place on 17 June, when communities across the Holme Valley help to create a magical, inclusive and exciting event, meandering around the streets of Holmfirth in a tradition harking back hundreds of years.
Sunday 18 June kicks off with the bells ringing out from Holmfirth Parish Church for the first time in 30 years, with a thriving band of ringers, young and old.
The recipient of this year’s Steve Sykes Commission is musician Ellie Ford, who will give a live performance featuring harp, vocals and electronics on the banks of the River Holme.
Further commissions include Dark Horse Theatre with To Be Us, From Industry to Culture photo exhibition by U3A Digital Photography Group and FreeFall, a new vertical aerial dance piece from Urban Angels based on the myth of Icarus.
The Art in the Landscape art trail will also be open to view at Earthworks New Mill Community Garden.
Festival director Bev added: “Thanks to funding from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, Kirklees Council, Kirklees Year of Music, Creative Minds, Holme Valley Parish Council, One Community and Jimmy Dickinson of Longley Farm, we have been able to invite top quality, diverse, local, national and international artists to respond to the topic of the landscape and environment.
“The programme offers something for everyone. We are excited to welcome all to Holmfirth over the next six months and are particularly pleased to have Jo Rose Brewerton on board, as Access and Inclusion Liaison, who will help people with their access needs.”
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Holmfirth Arts Festival highlights include:
Kyla Brox with Dan Blomeley at Brockholes Village Hall, Holmfirth on Saturday 20 May at 7.30pm Info here: https://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/event-details/kyla-brox-with-dan-blomeley
The Méabh Begley Trio at Choppards Mission, Holmfirth on Friday 28 July at 7.30pm Info here: https://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/event-details/the-meabh-begley-trio
Special Festival Double Bill: Moby Dick by Grist to the Mill Production and performance poet Ryan Tomlin at Hade Edge Band Room, Holmfirth on Saturday 29 July at 7.30pm Info here: https://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/event-details/special-festival-double-bill-moby-dick-by-grist-to-the-mill-productions-and-ryan-tomlin
Hallam Sinfonia make their festival debut at Christ Church, New Mill, Holmfirth on Saturday 2 September at 7.30pm Info here: https://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/event-details/hallam-sinfonia
Comedian Jenny Eclair at The Civic Holmfirth on Sat 7 October at 7pm
Info here: https://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/event-details/jenny-eclair-sixty-plus-ffs
Find out more www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk
Book tickets here https://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/what-s-on
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Contact press officer Alison Bellamy alison.bellamy7@gmail.com m 07719487704 for more information.
About Holmfirth Arts Festival
Holmfirth Arts Festival celebrates creativity in the landscape by:
- Commissioning new work and supporting diverse artists
- Inspiring diverse communities to engage with the arts and their heritage
- Caring for the environment
- Connecting locally, regionally and internationally
Our Values underpin how we work across all aspects of our organisation including programming and co-working.
CREATE – nurture creativity in all forms
CELEBRATE – creativity, people and place
CARE – welcoming, kind to each other and custodians of our environment
CONNECT – people to each other and to the places they live
www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk
The 2023 Festival is possible thanks to our generous funders and sponsors.
