Well, we’ve now got a snazzy logo and a title for the festival!
This is an update on where we are with the Arts and Music festival at St Mark’s. However, as I’m writing this on the last day of August, for the October magazine, it’s likely that by the time you read this we’ll have extra publicity material with more details available.
Dates: Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd October 2017.
The festival will be free. We will have buckets available for voluntary donations. Any donations on the Friday night will go towards the organ restoration fund. Any subsequent donations, after deduction of expenses, will go the parish general fund and the fabric fund, both of which need all the help they can get!
Friday
We’ll be setting up an art exhibition in the afternoon. In the evening there will be a concert starting at 7pm. We’ve sorted the acts now. We’ll have a couple of pieces on Emily (the pipe organ), songs to piano accompaniment, a rock band, a choral group and a rock-a-billy/country band. There will be an interval and tea, coffee etc. half way through.
Saturday
Workshops in the morning 10 – 12:30 and the afternoon 2 – 4:30. We’re still finalising the times and contents, but there will be a come-all-ye music workshop where musicians of any standard and any instrument are welcome to come along and join in. There will also be a singing workshop, run by Veronica (Nonny) Tabbush, an experienced choir leader who has organised choirs in Aldershot and Bordon. She presently lives in the Bristol area and runs choirs there.
There will definitely be painting and arts and crafts workshops, possibly with photography and stone masonry, but we’re still finalising the details here.
At the moment the schedule has to be finalised. Details will be available well in advance of the festival.
Saturday night ceilidh 7 – 10pm. This starts and finishes early as we have to get the church ready for services the following day. The band will be the one that plays for the annual Candlemas barn dance at St Georges, with Kris Lawrence as caller. There could also be a variable number of additional musicians, as those attending the workshop during the day will be welcome to sit in with us. We will also hopefully have a performance from the choir workshop and displays of art and photography generated during the day.
Sunday
Service 11am. By this time we should have a highly decorated church as the output of the workshops will be on display! The service will be led by Lesley Shatwell. As she is a lay minister, it won’t be a communion service. However, it will be highly unusual, if not unique, in that it will be almost entirely a sung service, including the Gospel reading and sermon! We will make sure the melodies are accessible to all – no weird phrasing or unusual cadences designed to catch the uninitiated. It’s highly likely we’ll make any unfamiliar hymns etc. available as MP3 files before the event.
We will finish with a bring and share lunch. All welcome.
Bob Shatwell
