Arts festival goes online to avoid lockdown cancellation
HOLMFIRTH ARTS Festival will take place virtually this year after the event had to be cancelled due to lockdown restrictions.
The environment-themed festival was due to take place this weekend, but will now happen online on September 18-20. Although access is free, organisers are running a ‘pay as you feel’ scheme for attendees.
On each of the three days, there will be three short magazine-style programmes. The line-up includes award-winning comedian Kieran Hodgson and new cello music from Slow Cooked Louie, written especially for this year’s festival based on a JG Ballard’s environmental novel, The Drowned World.
Spectacular outdoor shows will include Urban Astronaut and the Whale, a 50ft installation, plus Kit and Caboodle, from Thingumajig Theatre, which tells puppet stories from around the world.
Funding from Arts Council England has enabled festival organisers to hire media experts to create the virtual content, and there will also be a host.
Local musicians and Holmfirth Writers’ Group will also perform and there will be other outdoor art installations that can enjoyed while ensuring social distancing.