FESTIVAL EDUCATION 2009
 

Fri 25 September – Sat 3 October

In common with many festivals, Hexham Abbey Festival has a strong commitment to education and community work. This can take many forms.

For the past two years we have included a creative music project with schools in the main festival programme. We also maintain a continuing association with Dilston College, with workshop sessions going on for several months of the year. Last year we had the "Big Knit" project with Ingrid Wagner, creating a colourful clothing for the bandstand in the Abbey Gardens, and also the film and music installation, Face, created by Carolyn Mendelsohn with over 100 Hexham residents of all ages.

Like many festivals too, the timing of the festival is not ideal, for instance for working in schools, the spring allows more time for preparation of a major project. So, for the 2009 festival our main programme, with its theme of Distant Voices, amongst which we celebrate the 1300th anniversary of the death of St Wilfrid, who founded the Abbey, will see the start of The Faces of Wilfrid. This will explore the many facets of Wilfrid's life, culminating in a performance in the Abbey in March 2010.

However, the expansion of our Street Festival day (see Free page) offers us other opportunties to with with community groups. We are working with Hexham Sure Start, and with Northumberland Volunteers to provide a range of activities for young people to lead, and for other youngster and children to take part in.

More details of these and future projects will appear on this page in due course.